September 24, 2019

Interleukin-2 at a low-dose may be effective in treating lupus, according to newly published results of a double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trial.

In this trial, 60 patients received either Interleukin-2 at a low dose of 1 million IU or placebo along with standard treatment for 12 weeks.  The primary endpoint – the primary measure of success – was a positive response at 12 weeks to a common tool used to evaluate response to treatment called the SLE Responder Index-4 (SRI-4).  The study did not meet this endpoint.  After 12 weeks, 55.17% of those treated with Interleukin-2 versus 30% of those receiving placebo responded as measured by the SLE Responder Index-4 (SRI-4).

At week 24, the rate of response to the SRI-4 tool was 65.52% among those treatment with Interleukin-2 compared with 36.67% of those who received placebo. Additionally, the low-dose Interleukin-2 treatment resulted in complete remission of 53.85% of patients with lupus nephritis versus 16.67% of those in the placebo group.

Researchers concluded that low-dose Interleukin 2 might be effective and tolerated in treatment of lupus.