AIM To identify APO1/FAS promoter (-670A/G) genotypes in Indian Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients and correlate with clinical presentation and serum FAS (sFAS) levels. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventy clinically diagnosed SLE patients and seventy healthy normals were included. SLE patients were classified according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. Disease severity...

AIM To study clinical and electrophysiological properties of peripheral neuropathy (PN) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their association with disease activity parameters. METHODS A hospital-based observational study done among 50 SLE patients after informed consent. History and clinical examination including a detailed neurological examination was carried out. Blood and urine inves...

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between serum vitamin D and markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with SLE. METHODS We recruited SLE patients (≥ 4 ACR 1997 criteria) from outpatient clinics between January 2007 and January 2009. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25(OH)D <20 ng/ml measured by ELISA. Disease activity was measured using the SLEDAI-2K sco...

We investigated in Brazilian women with SLE the prevalence and levels of high avidity (HA) dsDNA antibodies and tested their correlation with lupus activity and biomarkers of renal disease. We also compared these correlations to those observed with total dsDNA antibodies and antibodies against nucleosome (ANuA). Autoantibodies were detected by ELISA, while C3 and C4 levels were determined by ne...

Although aberrant complement activation is involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the role of complement regulatory proteins in disease activity of SLE remains limited. We enrolled the pediatric-onset SLE patients from our cohort study over 10 years. The clinical and laboratory data including SLEDAI disease activity score, and serum complement factor H (CFH), CFI, C...

BACKGROUND Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with severe cardiovascular complications. The T50 score is a novel functional blood test quantifying calcification propensity in serum. High calcification propensity (or low T50) is a strong and independent determinant of all-cause mortality in various patient populations. METHODS A total of 168 patients with ≥ 4 American College of ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the construct and criterion validity of the Euro Qol-5D (EQ-5D), which allows quality-adjusted life-years to be calculated, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS Consecutive SLE patients who had been followed at the Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University were recruited. Cross-sectional correlations of the EQ-5D with eq...

BACKGROUND Alternative therapeutic options are needed for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) not adequately controlled with or intolerant to traditional treatments. This study evaluated the efficacy of Acthar® Gel (ACTH(1-39)) for reducing active SLE severity among patients receiving underlying conventional maintenance therapies. METHODS Ten females (mean age = 49 yrs, disease d...

Rhupus in an infrequent disease in which an overlap between lupus eritematosus and rheumatoid arthritis exists. Joint manifestations are prominent and treatment with non biological DMARDs is not always satisfactory, so immunosupressors and biological agents have been tried. A prospective, open clinical study was done to evaluate efficacy and tolerability of rituximab in patients with Rhupus. Th...

Objective. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness and safety of a Chinese herbal formula Zi Shen Qing (ZSQ) in the treatment of systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Chinese patients. Methods. A randomized controlled trial was conducted over 12 weeks in 84 Chinese patients who reported total scores of SLE Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2000) was from 5 to 14. The prima...