Neonatal lupus erythematosus is a rare, passively acquired autoimmune disease, caused by maternal autoantibodies. The most common manifestations are skin rash and congenital heart block. Cutaneous manifestations may be present at birth, but often develop within a few weeks after delivery. Congenital heart block may present as bradycardia in utero or during physical examination at birth. Approxi...

Adequate pregnancy care of women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) rests on three pillars: a coordinated medical-obstetrical care, an agreed and well-defined management protocol and a good neonatal unit. Pregnancy should be planned following a preconceptional visit for counselling. Women with severe active disease or a high degree of irreversible damage, such as those with symptomatic pul...

Systemic lupus erythematosus, often abbreviated SLE, is a serious autoimmune syndrome that usually affects young women. Most lupus is idiopathic, which means that its cause is unknown, but approximately 10% is associated with the use of specific drugs (Adams and Hess 1991). The diagnosis of drug-induced lupus is made on the same basis as idiopathic lupus; in addition, the symptoms must have beg...

Both systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome are autoimmune diseases. Almost all organs can be involved but the gall bladder is an unusual site. We report a 39-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome presenting with acute acalculous cholecystitis. It is a very rare complication and, in the literature review, surgical interventions are mostly applied f...

The macrophage activation syndrome is a rare but potentially fatal complication of patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases. This is a clinicopathological entity characterized by activation of histiocytes with prominent hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow and other reticuloendothelial systems. In patients with lupus it may mimic an exacerbation of the disease or infection. We report the case...

Purpose We present a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus with significant vaso-occlusive retinal findings mimicking antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, who developed Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. Observations Our patient was initially diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome given consistent serologic markers and profound retinal vascular ischemia....

This review reports main progresses in various pediatric issues published in Italian Journal of Pediatrics and in international journals in 2016. New insights in clinical features or complications of several disorders may be useful for our better understanding. They comprise severe asthma, changing features of lupus erythematosus from birth to adolescence, celiac disease, functional gastrointes...

OBJECTIVE To extend the information base on the hepatobiliary manifestations of neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) with regard to frequency of occurrence, clinical characteristics, and outcome. METHODS Review of records from the Research Registry for Neonatal Lupus. RESULTS Nineteen (9%) of 219 patients who had NLE and were enrolled in a national registry had probable or possible NLE hepato...