As treatment options in advanced systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are limited, there is an urgent need for new and effective therapeutic alternatives for selected cases with severe disease. Bortezomib (BTZ) is a specific, reversible, inhibitor of the 20S subunit of the proteasome. Herein, we report clinical experience regarding efficacy and safety from all patients receiving BTZ as therapy for SLE in Sweden during the years 2014−2020. 8 females and 4 males were included with a mean disease duration at BTZ initiation of 8.8 years (range 0.7–20 years). Renal involvement was the main target for BTZ. Reduction of global disease activity was recorded by decreasing SLEDAI-2K scores over time and remained significantly reduced at the 6-month (p=0.007) and the 12-month (p=0.008) follow-up visits. From BTZ initiation, complement protein 3 (C3) levels increased significantly after the 2nd treatment cycle (p=0.05), the 6-month (p=0.03) and the 12-month (p=0.04) follow-up visits. The urine albumin/creatinine ratio declined over time and reached significance at the 6-month (p=0.008) and the 12-month follow-up visits (p=0.004). Seroconversion of anti-dsDNA (27%), anti-C1q (50%) and anti-Sm (67%) was observed. 6 of 12 patients experienced at least one side-effect during follow-up, whereof the most common adverse events were infections. Safety parameters (C-reactive protein, blood cell counts) mainly remained stable over time. To conclude, we report favorable therapeutic effects of BTZ used in combination with corticosteroids in a majority of patients with severe SLE manifestations irresponsive to conventional immunosuppressive agents. Reduction of proteinuria was observed over time as well as seroconversion of some autoantibody specificities. In most patients, tolerance was acceptable but mild adverse events was not uncommon. Special attention should be paid to infections and hypogammaglobinemia.

Objective Definitions of remission in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; DORIS (1A/1B/2A/2B)), disease activity assessments and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are useful in shared decision making between patients with SLE and physicians. We used longitudinal registry data from well-characterized Swedish patients with recent-onset SLE to explore potential correlations between DORIS status or disease activity, and PROMs. Methods Patients from the Clinical Lupus Register in North-Eastern Gothia, Sweden, who fulfilled the 1982 American College of Rheumatology and/or the 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics classification criteria without prior organ damage, were enrolled at diagnosis. Data on treatments, serology, remission status (DORIS), disease activity (SLE Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K)) and PROMs (quality of life: EuroQoL-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D); pain intensity, fatigue and well-being: visual analog scale (VAS) 0–100 mm) were collected during rheumatology clinic visits at months 0 (diagnosis), 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60. Correlations were assessed using Pearson correlation and/or beta regression coefficients. Results A total of 41 patients were enrolled (median age = 39 years, 80% female, 85% white). Achievement of DORIS 1A and 2A (neither of which includes serology) significantly correlated with all PROMs (EQ-5D: p ≤ 0.02; pain: p = 0.0001; fatigue: p = 0.0051; well-being: p < 0.0001). Disease activity measures were correlated with VAS pain intensity ( p < 0.03) and VAS well-being ( p < 0.04). Conclusions Our findings illustrate the importance of the interplay between remission, disease activity assessments and PROMs. PROMs may be a useful tool in clinical practice, being administered prior to patient visits to streamline clinical care.

In this study, IgG‐autoantibodies associated with autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) were found in a considerable proportion of well‐characterized patients diagnosed with primary Sjögren’s syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but without known liver involvement or autoimmune liver disease (AILD). PBC‐associated autoantibodies have previously not been reported in a substantial percentage of cases with SLE. However, the association between autoantibody findings and AILD was poor as no significant difference in liver enzymes was observed between AILD‐associated autoantibody negative and positive patients.

Abnormal liver function tests are frequently observed during follow-up of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but data on co-existence with autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are scarce. This retrospective study aimed to describe the prevalence of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) among well-characterized subjects with SLE. We also evaluated whether the presence of autoantibodies to complement protein 1q (C1q) and/or ribosomal P protein (anti-ribP) are, directly or inversely, associated with AIH, as proposed in some reports. The number of screened patients was 287 (86% females), and all cases were included in a regional Swedish cohort. Each subject of the study population met the 1982 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria and/or the Fries’ diagnostic principle. By applying the simplified diagnostic AIH criteria combined with persistent transaminasemia, 40 (13.9%) cases reached at least “probable AIH”. However, merely 8 of these had been diagnosed with AIH (overall AIH prevalence 2.8%). Neither anti-C1q nor anti-ribP associated significantly with AIH. By applying the recent PBC guidelines, 6 (2.1%) cases were found, but only 3 of them had actually been diagnosed with PBC and one additional subject was not identified by the guidelines (overall PBC prevalence 1.4%). Compared to prevalence data from the general Swedish population, both AIH and PBC were highly overrepresented in our study population. The sensitivity of the diagnostic AIH criteria was impeccable but the specificity was less impressive, mainly due to positive ANA and hypergammaglobulinemia. Based on our findings, among subjects with SLE, the AIH criteria are less useful and liver biopsy combined with detection of other AILD-associated autoantibodies should be performed.

The onset of rheumatic disease affects each patient differently and may impact quality of life with progression. We investigated the relationship between patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) scores and organ damage in patients with recent-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and those with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients with recent-onset SLE without prior organ damage from the Clinical Lupus Register in Northeastern Gothia and patients with early RA from the observational 2nd Timely Interventions in Early RA study, Sweden, were included. Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology damage index (SDI) was used to assess organ damage. PROM (visual analog scale [VAS]: pain, fatigue, well-being, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and EQ-5D-3L) scores were captured at months 0, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 after diagnosis. Statistical tests included Pearson correlation coefficients and t-tests. Forty-one patients with recent-onset SLE and 522 with early RA were included. Numerical differences were seen in age and sex. PROMs were worse for patients with RA versus SLE but improved by month 6 following diagnosis, while SLE PROMs remained stable. The incidence of organ damage in SLE was 13.6 per 100 patient-years. SDI significantly correlated with EQ-5D-3L (− 0.48, P = 0.003), VAS fatigue (0.44, P = 0.009), and well-being (0.41, P = 0.01) at month 24. As illustrated, the complexity of disease burden in patients with SLE is clear and may result from disease-related multiorgan system effects and slower symptom resolution compared with RA. This underscores the need for improved multiprofessional interventions to manage all aspects of SLE. Key Points• We observed an evident discrepancy in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) between patients with recent-onset SLE and early RA.• Despite differences in PROMs between patients with recent-onset SLE and early RA, both groups had prominent self-reported disability during the study period.• PROM scores for patients with RA were generally worse than those with SLE but improved by month 6, whereas PROM scores for patients with SLE remained stable over time.• Our findings underline the need of new therapeutic options and interventions for SLE disease management, including pharmacologic and multiprofessional aspects.