Scientists reveal how lupus gets better with age

Joey Marthyna Baldoza

They say time heals everything, and now, scientists explain how that works for Lupus.

A study from the University of California – San Francisco (UCSF), published in Science Translational Medicine,  discovered that Lupus fades due to the inactivity of antiviral genes that come along with aging.

Lupus, according to Mayo Clinic, is an autoimmune disease that affects different body systems. It shows symptoms such as inflammation in places such as the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.

However, according to studies, lupus, unlike other autoimmune diseases, can get better with age with patients in their 60’s and 70’s showing lessened inflammation in their systems.This is in comparison to other autoimmune diseases where patients show continuous inflammation with age. 

“If patients make it through those risky decades, they sometimes see a dramatic improvement,” said Sarah Patterson, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at UCSF. 

According to Patterson, she sees her younger patients on a monthly basis, constantly monitoring their conditions for severe diseases, while she monitors her older lupus patients just once a year for updates.

Now, Patterson and her colleagues at UCSF reveal how these improving conditions happen through their study. 

Through blood analysis with samples across different ages, the researchers revealed that aging dials down the immune system’s hyperactivity in older lupus patients. 

They discovered that important immune genes, especially those involved in antiviral signaling, become less active in lupus patients as they age. This slows down the production of interferons and inflammatory proteins, which are responsible for much of the damage the disease causes.

The study stated that while the production of inflammation-related genes and proteins was abnormally high in midlife but declined over the decades in lupus patients, it increased gradually over time in healthy adults, a process known as “inflammaging.”

Chaz Langelier, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at UCSF and senior author of the study, said that inflammaging appeared to be reversed in lupus patients, though not completely, as they still showed higher levels of inflammatory signaling than healthy older adults.

This partial reversal was consistent with what Patterson has observed in her patients, a progressively improving state that is close to a healthy body.

Meanwhile, the group intends to look into how well interferon-blocking drugs work for lupus patients of different ages. Additionally, they plan to expand their methodology to understand other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, COPD, and atherosclerosis.

Even though the disease is still dangerous and unpredictable, particularly in youth, time may provide some relief. Not only through adapting or experience, but also via actual, biological changes in immune function showing that lupus does get better with age.