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This week: lupus, autism spectrum disorder and sonography

The survival rate for lupus has improved significantly, but treatment of the chronic autoimmune disease remains difficult. That's according to Dr. Andras Perl, division chief of rheumatology at Upstate Medical University.

Lupus can affect almost any organ of the body and patients can suffer flares that last for days or months. But with new drugs on the horizon, the outlook for lupus patients is brighter today than it was 20 years ago, says Perl. He talks about the increasing use of indicators called biomarkers to measure a patient’s response to treatment.

Also on this week’s show: why the incidence of autism spectrum disorder is on the rise, and sonographer Lisa Allen tells about her job taking images of babies before they are born.