A longitudinal multiethnic study of biomarkers in systemic lupus erythematosus: Launching the GLADEL 2.0 Study Group.

After more than 20 years of sustained work, the Latin American Group for the Study of Lupus (GLADEL) has made a significant number of contributions to the field of lupus, not only in the differential role that race/ethnicity plays in its course and outcome but also in several other studies including the beneficial effects of using antimalarials in lupus patients and the development of consensus guidelines for the treatment of lupus in our region. A new generation of "Lupus Investigators" in more than 40 centers throughout Latin America has been constituted in order to continue the legacy of the investigators of the original cohort and to launch a novel study of serum and urinary biomarkers in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. So far, we have recruited 807 patients and 631 controls from 42 Latin-American centers including 339 patients with SLE without renal involvement, 202 patients with SLE with prevalent but inactive renal disease, 176 patients with prevalent and active renal disease and 90 patients with incident lupus nephritis.

Anti-malarials exert a protective effect while Mestizo patients are at increased risk of developing SLE renal disease: data from a Latin-American cohort.

Objective: To examine the role of ethnicity and the use of anti-malarials (protective) on lupus renal disease.

Methods: A nested case-control study (1:2 proportion, n = 265 and 530) within GLADEL's (Grupo Latino Americano De Estudio de Lupus) longitudinal inception cohort was carried out. The end-point was ACR renal criterion development after diagnosis.