ArticleBMC rheumatology2026
The effect of belimumab combined with conventional treatment on NK cell count in childhood systemic lupus erythematosus.
Article in BMC rheumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the effect of belimumab combined with conventional therapy on natural killer (NK) cells counts and its correlation with clinical response in childhood systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE).
methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 46 cSLE patients treated with belimumab plus standard therapy for 48 weeks. NK cell counts, complement levels, SLEDAI-2 K scores, and steroid doses were assessed at baseline, 24, and 48 weeks. Statistical analyses included paired t-test, Wilcoxon test, Pearson/Spearman correlation, and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) calculation.
resultsNK cell counts increased from 72.0 ± 56.6 cells/µL at baseline to 185.6 ± 84.5 cells/µL at week 48 (P < 0.05). Complement C3 and C4 levels also improved significantly. SLEDAI-2 K scores decreased from 16.4 to 2.1 (P < 0.05), with 88.1% achieving low disease activity. Steroid dose was reduced in over 90% of patients. NK cell increase strongly correlated with both complement recovery (ρ = 0.68, P < 0.05) and disease activity improvement (ρ = 0.69, P < 0.05).
conclusionsBelimumab combined with conventional therapy may enhance NK cell counts, improve serological and clinical outcomes, and facilitate steroid tapering in cSLE. Further prospective controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.