Better Ways to Track Lupus Activity

Monitoring Disease in Lupus

NIH-funded research University of Houston · NIH-11137806

This project looks for specific proteins in body fluids that can help doctors better understand and track lupus in patients.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of Houston NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Houston, United States)
Project IDNIH-11137806 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

Lupus is a complex autoimmune disease that affects many parts of the body, and current treatments don't always lead to full remission. Doctors need easier ways to diagnose lupus, predict how patients will respond to treatment, and understand long-term outcomes. This project aims to find specific proteins in body fluids that act as "biomarkers" to show how active the disease is. Researchers have already found some promising protein markers and are now focusing on a group of ten (called LN-10-plex) that seem to reflect disease activity well. They will test these ten proteins in many more patients from different backgrounds to confirm their usefulness.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), especially those with varying disease activity or different ethnic backgrounds, would be ideal candidates for this type of research.

Not a fit: Patients without Systemic Lupus Erythematosus would not directly benefit from this specific research.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to more accurate and easier ways to monitor lupus, helping doctors tailor treatments better for each patient.

How similar studies have performed: The researchers have previously identified and reported serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and excreted proteins for lupus, indicating prior success with similar proteomic approaches.

Where this research is happening

Houston, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Autoimmune Diseases
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.