Scientists may have pinpointed a primary cause of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease.

Researchers from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston claim they have found a “molecular defect” that leads to systemic lupus erythematosus (known as lupus).

The study findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

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“Lupus is an autoimmune disease that at its core involves abnormal B cell activation and antibody production,” study author Deepak Rao, M.D., PhD, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Fox News Digital via email.

“This B cell activation and antibody production requires help from T cells (white blood cells that are integral to immune system activity).”

In the course of the research, the scientists tested the blood of 19 lupus patients and compared it to a control group of healthy individuals. 

The people with lupus shared certain molecular changes that caused a “dramatic imbalance” in the types of T-cells they generate, according to Rao.

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This imbalance resulted in too many “harmful” T-cells — which cause cellular damage — and too few of the “helpful” type that are necessary for cell repair.

The researchers also identified a protein called interferon that promotes the excess accumulation of T cells, Rao said.

“We have known for many years that patients with lupus have too much interferon production, yet how interferon contributes to disease has been unclear,” he said.

“This study reveals a new potential therapeutic strategy to treat lupus.”

The study discovered that interferon contributes to the lupus disease by promoting the expansion of certain types of T cells and “amplifying pathologic T cell-B cell interactions,” Rao said. 

The researchers also discovered that the activation of one specific protein, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), can prevent T cells from developing into disease-causing cells.

Some 1.5 million Americans are living with lupus, with about 16,000 new cases each year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America, based in Washington, D.C. (iStock)

“This study reveals a new potential therapeutic strategy to treat lupus,” Rao said.

“We aim to use small molecule activators of AHR, directed specifically toward T cells, as a treatment to suppress the pathologic T cell response in lupus and reprogram those T cells toward other benign or protective functions.”

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This approach could potentially be safer and more effective than current broad immunosuppressive therapies because it targets the disease-causing cells, according to study co-author Jaehyuk Choi, M.D., PhD, an associate professor of dermatology and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist.

“While we don’t know which patients this can best help, our data suggests it could potentially be broadly useful for all patients with lupus,” Choi told Fox News Digital in an email.

Industry experts weigh in

Dr. Mara Lennard Richard, scientific program officer at the Lupus Research Alliance in New York City, which partially funded the research, said the study provides hope to those who struggle with lupus symptoms.

“This research is very exciting, and we are intrigued by the findings, which may pave the way to a potential new treatment,” Richard told Fox News Digital via email. 

Brooke Goldner, M.D., a California-based board-certified physician and creator of the Hyper-Nourishing Nutrition Protocol for Lupus Reversal, said that targeted immune therapy using T cells and B cells is a “new and exciting focus” in lupus research.  (iStock/Dr. Brooke Goldner)

“However, lupus is a highly complex disease with many contributing factors, and more research is needed to confirm these results,” she went on.

“We believe that many new targets and treatments are needed to improve the lives of people living with lupus.”

Brooke Goldner, M.D., a California-based board-certified physician and creator of the Hyper-Nourishing Nutrition Protocol for Lupus Reversal, said that targeted immune therapy using T cells and B cells is a “new and exciting focus” in lupus research. 

“We believe that many new targets and treatments are needed to improve the lives of people living with lupus.”

“If it is proven effective, it would present a far more specific way to medically attenuate the abnormal immune response in lupus patients than current medications that suppress immunity more broadly,” Goldner, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital in an email. 

“However, the effectiveness and possible side effects of these therapies are still unknown.”

It is still unclear how these abnormalities in the immune cells are triggered, she noted.

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“People with lupus are not born with symptoms of the disease, but they are triggered at some point in their lives, which leads to their diagnosis,” Goldner said. 

“That leaves the question: Are their immune cells actually normal prior to the disease being triggered? Does this trigger then activate abnormal gene expression, which causes the creation of these abnormal immune cells?”

“If that is the case, then the immune treatments [the researchers] are proposing would still be considered a treatment, not a cure, unless they are going to turn off gene expression more specifically and permanently.”

Limitations of the study

The research was mainly performed in-vitro using cells from patients, Rao acknowledged.

“We do not yet know what will happen to the T cell response if activators of AHR are used in people, or how effective this strategy will be to improve symptoms of lupus,” he added.

Even so, the researchers are hopeful that this discovery will pave the way to advances in lupus treatment.

Lupus is more common among women between 15 and 44 years of age and people who are African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or Pacific Islander, according to experts in the field. (iStock)

“This study is an excellent example of how we can gain new, important insights into the pathways that contribute to disease by doing careful analyses of samples from patients with a disease,” Rao noted.

“This ‘human immunology’ approach provided both new insights into how T cells are regulated and a new idea for how to treat lupus.”

What to know about lupus

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue in the body, which causes inflammation and pain in the body, according to the Lupus Foundation of America’s website.

The disease most often affects the joints, skin and major organs, such as the kidneys and heart. 

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Common symptoms include joint pain, extreme fatigue or a butterfly rash.

There are four different types of lupus, as detailed on the foundation’s website.

A facial “butterfly rash” is one of the hallmark symptoms of lupus. (iStock)

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form, affects multiple organs or organ systems.

Cutaneous lupus only affects the skin, while drug-induced lupus is triggered by specific prescription drugs.

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Neonatal lupus is a rare condition that is passed from a pregnant woman to her infant.

Some 1.5 million Americans are living with lupus, with about 16,000 new cases each year, according to the Lupus Foundation of America, based in Washington, D.C.

Lupus can run in families, and it’s also more common among women between 15 and 44 years of age and people who are African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or Pacific Islander, according to the same foundation.

In addition to medication, lupus patients can manage their illness with certain lifestyle behaviors, such as eating an anti-inflammatory diet and managing emotional stress, an expert said. (iStock)

In addition to medication, lupus patients can manage their illness with certain lifestyle behaviors, Goldner said, such as eating an anti-inflammatory diet and managing emotional stress.  

“The field of lifestyle medicine has shown that symptoms can be reversed long-term using lifestyle modification,” she said. 

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“It would be extremely interesting to have researchers evaluate the activity of these abnormal immune cells before and after lifestyle modification to see whether it has manifested a similar reversal of the activity of these abnormal B cells without using the more invasive medical treatment.”

Lesions found in ancient skulls suggest that cancer could have been a medical issue long before our time.

Ancient Egyptian skulls studied at the Duckworth Laboratory Collection at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. have shown signs of varying lesions, some believed to be left by malignant tumors.

The case report, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, found that a skull labeled E270, which belonged to a woman in her 50s, had healed cranial injuries made potentially by a sharp object.

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The evidence indicates that the woman survived, thanks to “some kind of treatment and degree of post-traumatic care,” the researchers wrote.

Skull 236, belonging to a male in his 30s, was shown to have cut marks on the bone surface that suggest a tumor had been removed.

While these findings indicate “medical surgical exploration,” the researchers were unable to identify the timing of the cutting – before or after death.

“Applying scientific methodologies to archeology allows us to make new discoveries about the past.”

These surgical procedures could have been practiced during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, the researchers concluded.

“In this context, it becomes clear that caring for others, including wound care, is a key behavior among humans that has also been observed in non-human primates,” they wrote.

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First study author Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tübingen in Germany, discussed the results with Fox News Digital, noting that the most “remarkable finding” was the discovery of cut marks near “two secondary cancer lesions” on skull 236.

“They have been confirmed not to be taphonomic (environmental) damages, and there are two explanations for them,” she said.

Skull 236, pictured here, was shown to have two “secondary cancer lesions.” (Tatiana Tondini, Albert Isidro, Edgard Camarós, 2024)

The first possible explanation is that the ancient Egyptians attempted a surgical removal of the secondary tumors, “which would make it the first recorded cancer surgical operation in history, but we cannot confirm that,” Tondini said.

The second possibility is that the ancient Egyptians made those cut marks while examining the man after he passed away.

“Caring for others, including wound care, is a key behavior among humans.”

“This would also be remarkable, as it means that the ancient Egyptians were studying cancer,” the researcher said.

Another important discovery, according to Tondini, was the successful treatment of skull E270, which had traces of a lesion left by a sharp object like a sword or hatchet.

Skull E270, pictured here, had traces of a lesion left by a sharp object like a sword or hatchet. (Tatiana Tondini, Albert Isidro, Edgard Camarós, 2024)

“It is very unlikely that the individual would have made it without proper treatment,” she said. 

“We can see that the individual survived, as the fracture has clear signs of healing, which means ancient Egyptians were able to treat severe cranial fractures.”

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An accident or act of domestic violence was the most likely cause of the woman’s head injury, according to Tondini, although the depth of the wound and the sign of brutality could point to a battle wound.

“If that is the case, we should reconsider the role of women in Ancient Egypt,” she said. “It is known that women had more rights in Ancient Egypt compared to Rome and Greece, but warfare duties have always been associated with men.”

A fragment of wall painting depicts the transport of ointments, found in the tomb of Metchetchi at Saqqara in Egypt.   (DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini via Getty Images)

As the skulls were “very old” and “very fragile,” Tondini said it was difficult to assess the damage with the naked eye.

“But using a powerful microscope, it was possible to characterize most lesions,” she said. “For some more complex ones, the micro-CT scan allowed us to analyze the internal structure of a lesion and determine its cause.”

‘Cancer culture’

Based on the findings from skull 236, the researchers believe that cancer is not only a modern disease caused by unhealthy lifestyles and exposure to carcinogens, but that it was also present in ancient populations — though at lower rates, according to Tondini.

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Tondini admitted that she and her fellow researchers did not expect these findings before investigating these two “very rare” pieces of history.

“I remember I was analyzing skull 236 with the microscope to characterize its lesions,” she told Fox News Digital. “When I got to the first lesion that had those cut marks, I initially was a bit unsure of what I was looking at.”

A lesion inside skull 236 shows cut marks identified under the microscope. (Tatiana Tondini, Albert Isidro, Edgard Camarós, 2024)

“I asked my colleague, Dr. Camaros, who was also very surprised about the discovery,” she continued. “We characterized the cut marks and confirmed they were manmade and occurred before or immediately after the death of the individual.”

Within a few minutes, Tondini said, the laboratory was “filled with other researchers, technicians and professors, who were all around the microscope looking at the lesions and could not believe their eyes.”

Neurosurgeon’s take

Dr. Paul Saphier, M.D., a neurosurgeon and founder of Coaxial Neurosurgical Specialists in New Jersey, commented that while this new research is interesting, there has been similar evidence of neurosurgical procedures dating back to the Mesolithic period, around 6000 B.C.

“These early surgeries [known as trepanning] were usually small holes in the skull with limited surgical extent,” Saphier, who was not involved in the skull research at hand, told Fox News Digital.

A medieval surgeon performs a “trepanning” operation on a patient’s skull, circa 1350. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“Clearly, our ability to perform complex neurosurgical procedures was limited by technology, mostly radiographic (CT/MRI imaging) and direct surgical visualization.”

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The neurosurgeon added, “With these advances, as well as anesthesia and critical care medicine, we have been able to tackle more sophisticated cases, large in scope and extent.”

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In an “ironic twist,” he said, recently there’s been a “tremendous reversal toward a more minimally invasive approach” in cranial neurosurgery.

“This has been heralded by newer tech and an outspoken group of advanced cranial neurosurgeons championing these advances, of which I am proud to be a member of,” Saphier added.

Skull 236, at left, and skull E270, right, revealed interesting findings about ancient medicine. (Tatiana Tondini, Albert Isidro, Edgard Camarós, 2024)

“So ironically, what is old may … actually be new again.”

Tondini said she hopes the study findings will inspire more research on “cancer cases in antiquities using non-destructive techniques.”

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“For other researchers and the public, applying scientific methodologies to archeology allows us to make new discoveries about the past,” she said.

Semaglutide medications — including Ozempic and Wegovy — have spiked in popularity, with 6% of U.S. adults having tried the injectable weight-loss drugs and 3% currently using them, according to a Gallup poll.

Both drugs are injected weekly using prefilled pens — and it’s important for people to know how to properly dispose of the needles after the meds are administered, doctors say.

The needles cannot simply be tossed into the trash or recycle bin or flushed down the toilet. 

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The general rule of thumb is to dispose of needles in a “heavy-duty plastic household container,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s website.

Ideally, this should be a puncture-resistant sharps container, similar to the ones at doctors’ offices, the agency advised. 

If that isn’t available, people may be able to dispose of needles using household items depending on local regulations, according to Lifespan Health System’s website. 

If using a household item, such as a coffee can or laundry detergent bottle, it must be sturdy and have a tight-fitting lid to keep the needles safely inside.

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In certain states, you can put your sturdy container into your trash, while in others, the needles must be brought to a facility for proper disposal.

In most cases, however, regulations are similar across states, according to Joseph Wendelken, the public information officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Experts recommend familiarizing yourself with local regulations for needle disposal to confirm that you are taking the proper precautions. (iStock)

“In Rhode Island, you would put needles in a sharps container,” he told Fox News Digital. “That’s ideal, and you can just put them in a dark trash bag.”

To ensure proper disposal of needles, the FDA recommends checking with local trash removal services or the health department to verify official recommendations.

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Novo Nordisk, which manufactures both Ozempic and Wegovy, also offers a Drug Disposal Program, where consumers can order a sharps disposal container or medicine return container on the company’s website.

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Ozempic was approved in 2017 to help patients manage type 2 diabetes. Along with proper diet and exercise, it can help to regulate blood sugar levels and could contribute to weight loss, but the drug has not officially been approved for that purpose.

Certain state regulations allow for needles to be disposed of in sturdy containers such as a laundry detergent container.  (iStock)

The drug has gained widespread media attention, as many celebrities, including Sharon Osborne, have publicly discussed their use of the product for weight-loss purposes.

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Wegovy was approved by the FDA in June 2021 for weight loss and weight management, intended for obesity patients ages 12 and older. 

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To ensure safety, experts advise following proper procedures when throwing away needles. If you are not sure of the guidelines in your area, check with your local health department.

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