BACKGROUND It has been observed that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and discoid lesions have a milder systemic disease. OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical, demographic and autoantibody profile of systemic lupus erythematosus patients with and without discoid lesions. METHODS We carried out a retrospective study involving 288 systemic lupus erythematosus patients who met at least ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW A hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus is the production of autoantibodies that recognize nuclear antigens. However, the underlying events and mechanisms that lead to the selection of these molecules for the autoimmune response remain poorly understood. In this review, we will examine some of the proposed explanations for sources of systemic lupus erythematosus-specific au...

BACKGROUND Soluble Fas (sFas) is a marker of apoptosis that appears to increase in the serum of systemic lupus erythematosus patients and may have a correlation with disease activity. The exact role of sFas in apoptosis is not clear. The purpose of this study is to assess the correlation between serum levels of soluble Fas (Apo/1-CD95) and the activity of systemic lupus erythematosus. METHODS...

Aplastic anemia is a bone marrow failure syndrome characterized by peripheral cytopenias and hypocellular bone marrow. Although aplastic anemia is idiopathic in most cases, rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus are recognized as causes of aplastic anemia, with their possible etiological mechanisms being T and B lymphocyte dysfunction and pro-inflammatory cytokines and autoanti...

Introduction Hippocampal atrophy is associated with corticosteroid use and may be related to cognitive impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Some biomarkers associated with neuronal injury have been associated with neuropsychiatric SLE, but their roles in the pathogenesis and its validity and clinical applicability has not been studied in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus...

A 21-year-old woman with long-standing systemic lupus erythematosus developed extensive calcification of the soft tissues of the thoracic and abdominal walls and extremities early in her illness, and these calcifications gradually disappeared over the course of her disease. The extent of this calcinosis and apparent spontaneous regression are unusual events in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Bullous systemic lupus erythematosus is a rare blistering condition with a distinctive combination of clinical, histological and immunopathologic features that together constitute a unique bullous disease phenotype. It is often associated with autoimmunity to type VII collagen. Here we report a child who presented with bullous systemic lupus erythematosus. Rapid resolution of the blisters occur...

Libman-Sacks endocarditis is a classic but rarely symptomatic manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus, and valvular surgery is needed in a few cases. We present a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and Libman-Sacks endocarditis that progressed rapidly to severe mitral regurgitation that needed surgery; surgical valve repair was decided upon. The literature on this topic is reviewed.

We describe a 42-year old woman with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at the time of her visit. She presented with an atypical movement disorder and partial continuous epilepsy. A brain biopsy excluded cerebral vasculitis and tumoral processes. We discuss the differential diagnosis of status epilepticus in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Fibromyalgia has been reported to occur with high prevalence in systemic lupus erythematosus. Data on fibromyalgia in other subsets of lupus erythematosus are not available. Risk factors for fibromyalgia have not been defined. We investigated 60 patients with different subsets of lupus erythematosus for the presence of fibromyalgia, association with clinical and laboratory parameters and diseas...