March 9, 2011 -- Researchers think they may have discovered the mechanism that drives the body’s attack on its own cells and tissues in the autoimmune disease lupus.

Two new studies published in the journal Science Translational Medicine point to a cycle of cell death and chronic inflammation involving blood cells called neutrophils, versatile soldiers of the immune system that race to the site of infection to destroy invaders, as a key engine in the disease.

The discoveries come during a week when the FDA is expected to announce its decision on the biologic drug Benlysta, which could be the first drug approved to treat lupus in nearly 50 years.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, lupus affects about 1.5 million Americans, many of them younger women.