Retinal Drusen Are More Common and Larger in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus With Renal Impairment.

Introduction: Complement has been implicated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis on the basis of the associations with inherited complement defects and genome-wide association study risk alleles, glomerular deposits, reduced serum levels, and occasional reports of retinal drusen. This study examined drusen in SLE and their clinical significance.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study compared individuals with SLE recruited from renal and rheumatology clinics with hospital controls.