Systemic lupus erythematosus: III. observations on clinical renal involvement and follow up of renal function: Dutch experience with 110 patients studies prospectively

Article Abstract:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a long term inflammatory disease of connective tissue that is often associated with abnormalities of the kidneys. Because the occurrence of kidney disease influences the outcome of SLE, biopsy (sampling of kidney tissue) may be important in determining the presence of kidney disease. However, the routine use of kidney biopsy has not been established. The importance of clinical signs in diagnosing SLE-related kidney disease was evaluated in 110 SLE patients. Thirty-five percent of the SLE patients developed lupus nephritis (SLE-related inflammation of the kidney). Patients with SLE who had no clinical signs of kidney disease had a 10-year survival rate of 93 percent and normal kidney function. Lupus nephritis, accompanied by clinical signs, developed within three years after SLE diagnosis and was associated with a 10-year survival rate of 62 percent. The death rate was greater in males over 25 years of age and in females under 25 years of age, although rates of kidney failure did not differ between men and women. The steroid prednisolone, with or without immunosuppressants, (drugs that decrease the activity of the immune system) did not produce differences in patient survival or kidney function. These findings suggest that clinical signs provide a reliable guide for the management of patients with SLE and routine kidney biopsy is not necessary. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Causes of, Complications and side effects, Kidney diseases, Glomerulonephritis

---

Antinuclear antibodies in routine analysis: the relevance of putative clinical associations

Article Abstract:

The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) does not necessarily predict the incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or other connective tissue diseases (CTD). Previous studies in which levels of ANA were measured in patients known to have a CTD found several associations between the presence of certain ANAs and various CTDs. For example, antibodies to Ro/SS-A have been found in patients with neonatal and subacute cutaneous lupus. The number of various clinical symptoms that indicate SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, progressive systemic sclerosis and Sjogren's syndrome was determined in 266 patients who also tested positive for ANA. No correlation was observed between the presence of antibodies to Ro/SS-A and the incidence of clinical symptoms associated with these different CTDs. However, among the 19 patients with antibodies to La/SS-A, there was an increased frequency of Sjogren's syndrome. Among the 16 patients with antibodies to Sm, clinical symptoms associated with SLE - butterfly rash, discoid lupus skin lesions and myocarditis - were significantly more common.

Physiological aspects, Connective tissue diseases, Antinuclear antibodies

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas: clinical and biochemical heterogeneity: case reports and follow-up of nine patients
• Abstracts: Low avidity antibodies to double stranded DNA in systemic lupus erythematosus: a longtitudinal study of their clinical significance. part 2
• Abstracts: HIV heterosexual transmission in hemophilia couples: lack of relation to T4 number, clinical diagnosis, or duration of HIV exposure
• Abstracts: Survival differences in patients with AIDS. Cervical cytologic abnormalities and papillomavirus in women infected with human immunodeficiency virus
• Abstracts: The global epidemiology of HIV infection: continuity, heterogeneity and change. Cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection in Zaire

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.