BACKGROUND Severe deficiency of ADAMTS13 activity leads to von Willebrand factor (VWF) ultralarge multimers with high affinity for platelets, causing thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Other pathological conditions with moderate ADAMTS13 activity exhibit a thrombotic risk. We examined the ADAMTS13 activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its value as a thrombotic biomarker. METHOD...

CD55, CD59, CD46, and CD35 are proteins with complement regulatory (Creg) properties that ensure cell and tissue integrity when this system is activated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Creg expression on peripheral blood cells from SLE patients and its association with cytopenia and disease activity. Flow cytometric analyses were performed on blood cells from 100 SLE patients and 61 ...

In juvenile onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), musculoskeletal involvement is one of the most common manifestations. Musculoskeletal symptoms may be due to disease activity itself, organ damage SLE activity, drug exposure, or comorbidities. Although they are not life-threatening, still have a significant impact on disability severity and social exclusion. This article discusses clinical ...

BACKGROUND Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by activation of T and polyclonal B lymphocytes. IL-18 was originally identified as a factor which enhances IFN-γ production and is a potent inducer of the inflammatory mediators by T cells, causing severe inflammatory disorders in SLE. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the association of plasma...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) can predict worsening of global and renal disease activity in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS One hundred eleven patients with childhood-onset SLE were enrolled in a longitudinal, prospective study with quarterly study visits and had at least 3 study visits. At each visit, global disea...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to examine whether circulating levels of the proinflammatory glycoprotein tenascin-C (TNC) are useful as an activity-specific or predictive biomarker in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS Serum TNC levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at inception visit in a prospective cohort of 59 SLE patients, and in 65 healthy controls...

This study assessed the utility of some novel inflammatory markers compared with traditional laboratory markers in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In a cohort of 43 SLE patients (19 with inactive and 24 with active SLE) and 20 healthy controls, serial measures of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1) were significantly associated with SLE disease activity, scored u...

Among their immunological alterations patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been shown to have diminished natural killer (NK) cell activity. This abnormality is at least in part related to humoral factors, as sera from patients with SLE can inhibit the NK activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal individuals. The present study extends these findings to demonstra...

This review summarises most currently used indices to assess and monitor patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in clinical trials, long-term observational studies, and clinical care. Six SLE disease activity indices include the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group Index (BILAG), European Consensus Lupus Activity Measurement (ECLAM), Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM), Systemic Lu...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of serial measurement of urine neopterin concentration in monitoring the progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity scored using the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index. METHODS We followed prospectively 68 unselected SLE patients for a total of 464 patient months during which 233 separate assessments were carried out. A...