November 12, 2019

The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) is pleased to announce a new collaboration with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) on a free course for healthcare professionals about ways to better diagnose, monitor and treat patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis.

The online course is critically important because as the community knows only too well, lupus can be easily overlooked or mistaken for other conditions and has not been well understood among many healthcare professionals who provide routine medical services.

The continuing medical education (CME) is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical plc. The company gave the educational grant to set up the program and offer it to a wide range of professionals who may not have deep experience in lupus including primary care physicians, rheumatologists, dermatologists, nephrologists, OB-GYNs, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses.

The potentially life-threatening complication lupus nephritis occurs when the immune system specifically attacks the kidneys, causing inflammation (swelling or scarring). Depending on the degree of damage, the patient may need dialysis to help filter wastes or to replace the kidney with an organ transplant.

“We are excited to partner with the NKF on this program, marrying their expertise in kidney disease with our in-depth knowledge of lupus nephritis,” said LRA President and CEO Kenneth M. Farber. “The program is sorely needed as lupus is too often misdiagnosed and meanwhile, lupus nephritis can develop as an emergency medical situation.”

Faculty for the course includes co-chair of our Scientific Advisory Board, Mary K. Crow, MD, who serves as Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Hospital for Special Surgery as well as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Other esteemed instructors are Ellen Ginzler, MD, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Medicine and Chief of Rheumatology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center; and Brad H. Rovin, MD, The Lee A. Hebert Professor of Nephrology, Director of the Division of Nephrology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

The new online course is currently available to healthcare professionals at www.kidney.org. We will keep you posted when the accompanying patient education activity is also available.