Prospective Study of Rapamycin for the Treatment of SLE

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease of unknown origin. It involves multiple organs including the joints, skin, kidneys and central nervous system. The disease process is caused by a dysfunction of the immune system. The drugs currently used for the treatment of SLE are only partially effective and carry significant risks for side-effects. Patients that were resistant or intolerant to conventional medication have been effectively treated with Rapamycin and were able to decrease the amount of prednisone they needed. The purpose of this study is to prospectively determine the therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of action of Rapamune in patients with SLE. Healthy subjects not receiving Rapamune will be asked to donate blood to serve as controls only for immunobiological outcomes. As part of the research effort to understand the reason for the variations in the effects of treatment drugs by different individuals, a sub-study of the DNA makeup of subjects enrolled in the trial will also be done. The purpose of the sub-study is to possibly determine whether different responses to the drugs used to treat SLE have a correlation with the differences in the genetic makeup of the subjects.