OBJECTIVES To determine factors associated with damage accrual in a prospective cohort of patients with SLE. METHODS Patients with SLE who attended the Lupus Clinic at Monash Health, Australia, between 2007 and 2013 were studied. Clinical variables included disease activity (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2K, SLEDAI-2K), time-adjusted mean SLEDAI, cumulative glucocorticoi...

OBJECTIVE The costimulatory interactions of the B7 family molecules CD80 and CD86 on antigen-presenting cells with their T-cell counter-receptors CD28 and CTLA-4 modulate T lymphocyte-mediated immune responses in a reciprocal manner. We investigated the possible aberrant production of soluble (s) forms of the T-cell costimulatory molecules CD80, CD86, CD28 and CTLA-4 in plasma of patients with ...

INTRODUCTION Mer and Tyro3 are receptor tyrosine kinases important for the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. Together with Axl, they constitute the TAM receptor family. These receptors can be shed from the cell membrane and their soluble extracellular regions can be found in plasma. The objective of this study was to elucidate whether the plasma levels of soluble Mer (sMer) and Tyro3 (sTyro3) we...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in children is usually more severe than it is in adults and there is a higher incidence of renal involvement. We described 18 children (16 girls, 2 boys) with lupus nephritis (LN), whose average age was 14.4 ±1.81 years. Disease activity was assessed according to SLEDAI (SLE Disease Activity Index). Renal biopsy was classified according to the INS/RPS (Interna...

OBJECTIVES Hematological abnormalities, particularly lymphopenia, are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), whether the disease is active or not. The aim of this study is to assess whether lymphopenia (blood counts ≤1000 K/µl) is a risk factor for severe infections in patients with SLE. METHODS A retrospective case-control study was performed. We reviewed the clinical re...

OBJECTIVE To identify the prevalence of depression in Mexican pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. MATERIALS AND METHODS Analytical transversal study including patients aged 7-16 years with a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus seen at the Pediatric Rheumatology Consultation Service. The disease was classified by means of the MEX-SLEDAI questionnaire. Descriptive statis...

SLE is an autoimmune disorder that involves polyclonal autoimmunity against multiple autoantigens. PTX3, a marker of the acute-phase inflammatory response, plays an important role in innate immunity and in modulation of the adaptive immune response. Our study tried to resolve some rather controversial aspects of the use of PTX3 as a biomarker of disease activity in SLE patients. We demonstrated...

BACKGROUND To determine the prevalence of cryoglobulins in Iranian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and evaluate the correlation of cryoglobulins with disease activity in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a cross-sectional study, we investigated 80 consecutive women who fulfilled the 1982 revised criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for the classification of...

BACKGROUND The incidence and prevalence of CNS involvement in SLE remains unclear owing to conflicting results in the published studies. The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and prevalence of major definite CNS events in SLE patients. METHODS 370 SLE patients with no previous history of CNS involvement were prospectively evaluated in a tertiary hospital referral center for 3 yea...

In a time of increasing economic constraints, it is crucial that health systems optimize their resource use to ensure that they generate the maximum possible health gain. Therefore, it is necessary for health interventions to be evaluated and compared across therapeutic boundaries. Undertaking such an evaluation a generic utility-based measure is required. But it remains uncertain whether the u...