Demyelinating syndrome in SLE: review of different disease subtypes and report of a case series.

Demyelinating syndrome (DS) is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (1%) with high clinical heterogeneity and potentially severe prognosis. It can represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for clinicians. A recent study described 5 different patterns of demyelinating disease presentation, characterised by specific clinical, laboratory and brain and spine magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities: 1) neuromyelitis optica; 2) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders; 3) DS prevalently involving the brain; 4) DS prevalently involving the brainstem; 5) clinically isolated syndrome.

Severe neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus successfully treated with rituximab: an alternative to standard of care.

Demyelinating syndrome secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (DS-SLE) is a rare encephalomyelitis burden with a high risk of disability and death. We report on a 49-year-old Caucasian woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) complicated by severe cognitive dysfunction, brainstem disease, cranial nerve palsies, weakness and numbness in limbs and multiple discrete magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) areas of damage within the white matter of semioval centers, temporal lobe, external capsule, claustrum, subinsular regions and midbrain. She also had multiple mononeuritis diagnosed through sensory and motor nerve conduction study.

International consensus: What else can we do to improve diagnosis and therapeutic strategies in patients affected by autoimmune rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritides, systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome and Sjogren's syndrome)?: The unmet needs and the clinical grey zone in autoimmune disease management.

Autoimmune diseases are a complex set of diseases characterized by immune system activation and, although many progresses have been done in the last 15years, several unmet needs in the management of these patients may be still identified. Recently, a panel of international Experts, divided in different working groups according to their clinical and scientific expertise, were asked to identify, debate and formulate a list of key unmet needs within the field of rheumatology, serving as a roadmap for research as well as support for clinicians. After a systematic review of the literature, the results and the discussions from each working group were summarised in different statements.

Demyelinating syndrome in SLE encompasses different subtypes: Do we need new classification criteria? Pooled results from systematic literature review and monocentric cohort analysis.

Objective: To describe features of demyelinating syndrome (DS) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: A systematic review using a combination of Mesh terms in PubMed and a retrospective analysis of 343 adult patients with SLE were carried out to identify patients with DS. Retrieved cases were classified as affected with DS according to 1999 ACR nomenclature and attributed to SLE by applying the 2015 algorithm.

Ultrasonographic assessment of bone erosions in the different subtypes of systemic lupus erythematosus arthritis: comparison with computed tomography.

Background: The aim was to determine the accuracy of high-resolution ultrasonography (US) for detecting erosion in the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and wrist joints of patients with different subtypes of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) arthritis, using computed tomography (CT) as the gold-standard reference method.

Method: The ulnar head, radiocarpal and second to fifth MCP joints in 26 patients with SLE - 9 classified as having rhupus syndrome, 10 as having Jaccoud's arthropathy (JA) and 7 as having non-deforming non-erosive (NDNE) arthritis - were subdivided into areas and bilaterally evaluated for the presence of bone erosion by CT and US. On CT, erosion volume was scored according to the outcome measures in rheumatology-rheumatoid arthritis magnetic resonance imaging (OMERACT-RAMRIS) score.

Predictors of musculoskeletal flares and Jaccoud׳s arthropathy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A 5-year prospective study.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of US in predicting musculoskeletal flares and Jaccoud׳s arthropathy (JA) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: A total of 80 out of 94 patients (76 female; age 45.5 ± 13.

Population-based analysis of hospitalizations for patients with systemic sclerosis in a West-European region over the period 2001-2012.

The aim of this study was to evaluate systemic sclerosis (SSc) hospitalizations through a retrospective population-based study analyzing administrative data during 2001-2012 in Sardinia, an Italian region with universal Health System coverage. Data on hospital discharge records with ICD-9-CM code for SSc (710.1) were obtained from the Department of Health and Hygiene.

Population-based analysis of hospitalizations in a West-European region revealed major changes in hospital utilization for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus over the period 2001-2012.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to evaluate hospital admissions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients through a retrospective population-based study analyzing hospitalization data during 2001-2012 in Sardinia, an Italian region with universal health system coverage.

Methods: Data on the hospital discharge records with the ICD-9-CM code for SLE (710.0) were obtained from the Department of Health and Hygiene and analyzed, mostly focusing on primary and non-primary diagnosis and Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) code.

Twenty-year brain magnetic resonance imaging follow-up study in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Factors associated with accrual of damage and central nervous system involvement.

To evaluate the long-term progression of cerebral MRI abnormalities in patients with longstanding SLE, 30 patients (age 53.5 ± 11.3) underwent brain MRI at baseline (b-MRI) and after 19.