High occurrence of in vitro apoptosis of lymphocytes induced by serum from systemic lupus erythematosus patients is associated with increased serum levels of anti-C1q autoantibodies.

Background: The ethiopathogenesis of increased apoptosis of lymphocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is still incompletely understood but anti-C1q autoantibodies have been shown to induce apoptosis in lymphocytes from healthy donors and certain cell lines.

Aim: This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between peripheral lymphocyte apoptosis and serum levels of anti-C1q autoantibodies in SLE patients.

Methods: The sera of 124 patients with SLE involving 62 active SLE and 62 inactive SLE, fulfilling America College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SLE (1997) were incubated with peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy donors.

Kimura's Disease: A Rare Cause of Nephrotic Syndrome with Lymphadenopathy.

Kimura's disease is a rare condition and typically presents as non-tender subcutaneous swellings in the head and neck region, usually in the pre-auricular and submandibular areas. It is associated with lymphadenopathy (both local and distal), marked peripheral eosinophilia, and an elevated IgE level. It can easily be mistaken for a malignant disorder.

ANA negative (Ro) lupus erythematosus with multiple major organ involvement: a case report.

Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) negative systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) occurs in about 4-13% of SLE cases. A small group of ANA negative SLE patients with positive anti-Ro antibodies usually present with typical vasculitic skin lesions which can be associated with photosensitivity, renal disease, congenital heart block or neonatal lupus. We present a case of a persistently ANA negative patient who presented with joint pain, rashes, mouth ulcer and alopecia.