The Lupus Clinic was established in 1970 as a patient care referral centre designed to promote expert care for patients with lupus, to train future rheumatologists and to facilitate research into this disease. There are now more than 1,500 patients registered in the Lupus Clinic, making it one of the largest centres for specialized lupus care and research in the world.

The Lupus Databank Research Program, established in 1987, tracks information on patients seen in the Clinic since 1970.  At each visit over 200 specific items of information are collected using a standard data collection protocol, i.e. demographics, family history, lifestyle, known CAD risk factors. This data can be utilized in a wide variety studies and enables scientists to discern the course of the disease and patient response to therapy.

Led by Dr. Murray B. Urowitz and Dr. Dafna D. Gladman, the Clinic scientists are making exciting new advances in understanding Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), one of the most complex chronic disorders. SLE has challenged physicians for decades due to the range of symptoms and physiological systems that can be affected. SLE can be mild, affecting skin and joints only, or more severe, affecting internal organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain and may lead to damage or dysfunction of these organs. There is no cure for SLE and the cause is unknown.

For patients, these advances translate into improved outcomes and quality of life. In the 1950s, SLE greatly limited patients’ lives and most patients diagnosed with SLE survived fewer than five years. Longevity for patients with SLE has increased greatly since then to the current survival rates of 80 per cent at 20 years.