UCI Health Nov 17 2025 UCI Health has opened a clinical trial to test an investigational cell therapy for lupus with the potential to give patients long-term remission of symptoms. One of the first California participants, a 41-year-old Irvine woman, experienced a striking decrease in symptoms and an improved quality of life, said Dr. Sheetal Desai, a UCI Health rheumatologist and principal investigator at the UCI Alpha Clinic, one of 10 U.S. clinical trial sites. Desai said the CAR T-cell