Description: High-tech research into better, safer ways to treat the autoimmune disease lupus is building up steam, a group of scientists report.

Striking an upbeat tone, researchers from across the United States spoke at a teleconference Tuesday -- hosted by the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) -- that focused on the improving outlook for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

"Today, we do have therapies that work," conference moderator Dr. Lee Simon, an associate clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said. "So, while in the 1950s, 95 percent of people were dead within five years of diagnosis, today, 95 percent of patients survive five years out. But the treatments we have carry a heavy toxic burden. So, we need new drugs that work as well, if not better, with less harsh side effects."

"Today, I'm incredibly excited," added Simon, who has also served as a division director for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "We