The condition affects mainly women and can be debilitating.
Now, a promising clinical trial underway at UCI Health is aimed at helping patients achieve long-term remission.
Meet Kimberly Renihan
Renihan has lived her life in twilight. Nearly all her days are spent in bed.
"Fatigue was so crushing that I was sleeping about 17, 18 hours a day," she said.
It all started when she was 19.
"I had just gotten married that summer and I started to notice an overwhelming fatigue that I just couldn't ever shake," the 41-year-old said.
She also felt joint pain. Renihan pieced it together and went to her doctor.
"I said, 'These are my symptoms. I think that I might have lupus,'" she said.
Doctors confirmed the diagnosis then Renihan found out she was pregnant. Lupus attacked her kidneys, but she chose to carry on.
"To me, the life of my child was worth that. We would all do pretty much anything for our children," she said.
She went to UCI health, where she met the Chief of Rheumatology Dr. Sheetal Desai.
Renihan's son was born at 29 ounces.
"Lupus is an autoimmune condition where, for some reason, the immune system gets set off to attack your own self," said Desai.
She offered Renihan the handful of lupus medications available, but nothing worked.
Then, Desai heard of a clinical trial in Europe using the cancer treatment CAR T-cell therapy.
The study patient appeared to make a full recovery.
"I'm really excited that this could be something that could offer the potential for deeper levels of remission," said Desai.
The bioengineered T cells are delivered intravenously after chemotherapy. They attack and eliminate autoreactive B cells that drive the disease. The research is early, so it's not without risk.
"You can really get infections, you could sometimes get overstimulation of parts of the immune system," said Desai.
Renihan underwent CAR T-cell therapy in August. Within weeks, she noticed some dramatic improvement.
"I'm taking no lupus drugs right now and still feeling great," she said.
CAR T-cell therapy for lupus is still in Phase 1 trials but if all continues to go well, Desai said it could be about five to 10 years before it's available to more lupus patients.
Renihan's son, Owen, is now a 17-year-old long-distance runner. She's looking forward to catching up on everything she's missed.
"The small blessings are what I'm enjoying right now," she said.