Clinical and laboratory manifestations of yemeni patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVES

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by multi-systemic involvement. This is the first study undertaken to determine the relationships between serological marker positivity and age, gender, signs and symptoms, risk factors and the treatment of SLE in Yemen.

METHODS

We investigated the cases of 149 patients with SLE admitted to Al-Thawra Hospital in Sana'a city between November 2009 and November 2010. Of the 149 patients, females represented 75.2% and males, 24.8%.

RESULTS

The most frequent presenting signs and symptoms were fatigue (84.6%), fever (81.9%), arthropathy (81.2%), anaemia (64.4%), photosensitivity (54.4%), renal involvement (53%), malar rash (52.3%), and alopecia (49%). Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were detected in 95.3% of the patients and were associated significantly with most clinical presentations, except weight loss, hypertension and serositis. Anti-ds deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA) was detected in 59.7% of the patients, and was associated significantly with fever and fatigue. Anti-Smith (anti-Sm) antibodies were detected in 27.5% of the patients, but were not significantly associated with all clinical presentations. Social stress was the most important risk factor for inducing SLE, with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.0, followed by common exposure to sunlight (OR = 2.2).

CONCLUSION

In this study, SLE was more prevalent among females and young adults. The clinical presentation was characterised by a high incidence of fatigue and fever, and a low incidence of oral ulcers and serositis. ANA was associated with most clinical presentations except weight loss, hypertension, and serositis. Anti-dsDNA antibodies were most frequently associated with fever, fatigue and hypertension. There was no significant association of the anti-Sm antibodies with any clinical presentations.

Hematological disorders in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

This article is a review of different management strategies for the hematological manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the strategies include immunosuppressive drugs, some noval therapies and B-cell depletion for refractory thrombocytopenia in patients with SLE and in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome associated with SLE. The researcher questions the validity of the current classic treatment modes and the article explores the relationships between SLE hematological manifestations and the level of morbidity and mortality burden and focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches and management strategies of these manifestations. The researcher focuses on hematological abnormalities because they are the commonest among most manifestations in SLE seen in Anemia, leucopenias and thrombocytopenia. They commonly result from an immune mediated bone marrow failure, excessive peripheral cells destruction or certain drugs and infections. There is also an association between anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) and SLE referred to as secondary APS or SLE-APS. Furthermore, it was recently found that mycophenolatemofetil acts as corticosteroids and as cyclophosphamide sparing agent. Although there is no specific therapy for cytopenias in SLE, corticosteroids remain the mainstay in the treatment of these patients along with less used other conventional treatment options such as azathioprine, cyclophosphamide and human normal immunoglobulin. There are other novel therapies such as thrombopoietin receptor agonists in thrombocytopenia and the use of autologous hematopoitic stem cells transplantation in refractory SLE-APS that are under review. Some of these therapies include thrombopoietin receptor agonists in thrombocytopenia and the use of autologous hematopoitic stem cells transplantation in refractory SLE-APS. The study concludes that treatment of hematological abnormalities is challenging because the treatment itself can cause undue complications sometimes such as granulocytosis due to infection or the use of high doses of steroids and may occur during acute exacerbations of SLE. It is important to take these factors into consideration for disease therapy and management.

PUBLICATION ABSTRACT

This article is a review of different management strategies for the hematological manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The strategies include immunosuppressive drugs, some novel therapies and B-cell depletion for refractory thrombocytopenia in patients with SLE and in anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome associated with SLE. The researcher questions the validity of the current classic treatment modes and the article explores the relationships between SLE hematological manifestations and the level of morbidity and mortality burden while it focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches and management strategies. The study concludes that hematological abnormalities are the commonest among most manifestations in SLE, and that their treatment is challenging because the treatment itself can cause undue complications sometimes such as granulocytosis due to infection or the use of high doses of steroids and may occur during acute exacerbations of SLE. It is important to take these factors into consideration for disease therapy and management.

Random spot urine protein/creatinine ratio: a reliable method for monitoring lupus nephritis?

Background

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common and severe manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that can lead to end-stage renal disease. According to the Kidney Disease Outcomes Global Improving clinical Guidelines for Glomerulonephritis, spot urine protein/creatinine (P/C) ratio should be used for monitoring LN. However, some reports write that the random spot urine P/C ratio is unreliable in monitoring proteinuria in SLE glomerulonephritis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement of these two assay methods.

Methods

The prospective observational study was performed. Fifty-three paired (total 106) spot and 24-h urine collections were evaluated. Statistical analysis: SPSS 20.0.

Results

Paired samples t-test did not reveal significant differences between the two-paired assay methods (spot P/C ratio versus 24-h proteinuria and 24-h P/C ratio) and a statistically significant correlation was observed between them: Pearson's coefficient of 0.847 (P < 0.001) and 0.863 (P < 0.001), respectively. However, after stratifying by degrees of proteinuria, a poor correlation was found in the range of <500 mg/day and only 26.6% of 24-h P/C ratio was explained by the spot P/C ratio. Adding to this, for proteinuria range between 500 and 1000 mg/day, there was no correlation (Pearson's −0.098; P > 0.05). In fact, only 1% of 24-h measurements could be explained by the spot P/C ratio.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated a good correlation between 24-h proteinuria and random P/C ratio among patients with LN. However, this correlation was poor for proteinuria under 500 mg/day and did not exist in a range between 500 and 1000 mg/day. This finding is of greater importance because this range is quite common in patients with LN remission. Until further clarification, to the best of our knowledge, we maintain reluctant to completely substitute the 24-h collection by the P/C ratio especially when a renal flare is suspected, or before any change in therapy.

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. The results were compared with 124 sex- and age-matched normal controls. Apoptotic lymphocytes (AL) were detected by flow cytometry using annexin V and propidium iodide binding. Anti-C1q autoantibodies were detected by an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit for all SLE patients.

RESULTS

Results demonstrated that the percentage of AL in the peripheral blood of active SLE patients was significantly higher (n = 62, 34.95 ± 12.78%) than that of the inactive SLE patients (n = 62, 30.69 ± 10.13%, P = 0.042, 95%CI = 0.16-8.36) and normal controls (n = 124, 27.92 ± 10.22%, P = 0.001, 95%CI = 3.33-10.73). The percentage of AL significantly correlated with serum levels of anti-C1q autoantibodies in the active SLE patients (r = 0.263, P = 0.039) but not in the inactive SLE patients (r = 0.170, P = 0.185).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study suggest that increased serum levels of anti-C1q autoantibodies are responsible for apoptosis and may play a pathogenic role in SLE patients, especially in active disease.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. A comparative study

This retrospective study aimed to collect data related to the clinical manifestations and laboratory investigations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, in one of the tertiary-care centers, King Fahd Hospital Al-Hasa, and to compare it with other regions of Saudi Arabia. Forty-six patients fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology 1997 criteria (ACR) were collected over a period from January 2004 to December 2008. The results showed an average age of onset of 26.17 (±9.17). The most common clinical features were nonspecific constitutional symptoms (fever, fatigue and malaise) seen in 44 patients (95.7%). Musculoskeletal features seen were mostly arthralgias (91.3%) and arthritis (76.1%). Nephritis was seen in 58.7% and hypertension in 52.2%. Mucocutaneous involvement included oral ulcers (71.7%), hair loss (65.2%), butterfly rashes (67.4%), photosensitivity (47.8%) and discoid lupus (13%). Neurologic manifestations showed psychosis in 17.4%, depression in 15.2% and headache in 28.3%. The most common hematologic presentation was leukopenia (58.7%) followed by hemolytic anemia and anemia of chronic disease (47.8%). Antinuclear antibodies were positive in 44 (95.7%), anti-dsDNA in 38 (42.6%), anti-Ro SSA and La SSB in 38 (82.6%). Anticardiolipin antibodies and lupus anticoagulant were positive in eight (17.4%). Low complement levels (C3 and C4) were seen in 41 (89.1%) of the patients with active disease. The drugs used in treatment were NSAIDs (100%), antimalarials (97.8%), steroids (100%), intermittent cyclophosphamide and other immunosuppressive drugs (71.7%). We found that the age of onset and sex distributions were different from other areas of Saudi Arabia, while clinical manifestations were the same as in other areas. The prognosis of lupus was good overall despite the multi-organ involvement. However, further studies based on larger number of patients are needed.

Clinical and immunological features of 888 Brazilian systemic lupus patients from a monocentric cohort: comparison with other populations

Epidemiological studies with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients have been reported worldwide but, until now, a large evaluation had not been performed in Brazil. Therefore, we determined the clinical and immunological features of 888 SLE patients followed at our service from 2008 to 2012. The mean age at SLE onset and the mean disease duration were 29.9 ± 9.5 years old and 14.5 ± 8.4 years, respectively. A predominance of female gender (91.9%) and Caucasian ethnicity (69.9%) were observed. Cumulative mucocutaneous manifestations (90.7%) were most commonly identified (malar rash (83.2%), photosensitivity (76.9%)) followed by articular (87.4%), hematological (44.0%) and renal (36.9%) involvements. Antinuclear antibody was detected in all patients, followed by anti-dsDNA (35.1%), anti-Sm (21.8%) and anti-ribosomal P protein antibodies (19.8%). Additional comparison of clinical and laboratory features between genders revealed that malar rash was observed more in female SLE patients (84.5% vs. 69.4%, p = 0.001). Male lupus patients presented a higher frequency of anti-dsDNA (45.8% vs. 34.2%, p = 0.047) and a trend of more nephritis (47.2% vs. 36.0%, p = 0.059). In conclusion, we identified a high prevalence of mucocutaneous manifestations in this Brazilian SLE cohort compared to other countries, mainly malar rash that was most commonly observed in female patients. Anti-dsDNA and other specific SLE autoantibodies were also identified in a higher frequency, predominantly in the male gender.

Pediatric lupus nephritis: more options, more chances?

Lupus nephritis (LN) is more common and severe in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) than in adults. It is one of the major causes of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children. Steroid therapy has been used as the first-line treatment for SLE since 1970, and has improved the survival of SLE patients from ∼ 50% to >80%. Over the years many immunosuppressive drugs, including pulse methylprednisolone, oral cyclophosphamide, pulse intravenous cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofitil, rituximab, and tacrolimus, have been combined with prednisolone, further improving survival rates to 90%-95%. However, the effectiveness of these drugs is still uncertain, as most seem very good in the beginning, but in studies examining longer-term follow-up the remission of disease does not remain. Fatal infection is still a major complication of aggressive chemotherapy, and the potential benefits as well as adverse events from each drug need to be considered. Induction of remission is the major aim of therapy, with safe and effective maintenance therapy for long-term remission. The survival rates of many published studies vary widely because of differences in patients and treatment modalities, severity of disease, renal histopathology, racial factors, and duration of follow-up. Finding the optimal treatment for SLE and related co-morbidities is highly challenging, and will likely involve a complex combination of different drugs for different patients in the search for giving them an opportunity to be free from this debilitating disease.

Further evidence of subphenotype association with systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility loci: a European cases only study

Introduction

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) shows a spectrum of clinical manifestations that complicate its diagnosis, treatment and research. This variability is likely related with environmental exposures and genetic factors among which known SLE susceptibility loci are prime candidates. The first published analyses seem to indicate that this is the case for some of them, but results are still inconclusive and we aimed to further explore this question.

Methods

European SLE patients, 1444, recruited at 17 centres from 10 countries were analyzed. Genotypes for 26 SLE associated SNPs were compared between patients with and without each of 11 clinical features: ten of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria (except ANAs) and age of disease onset. These analyses were adjusted for centre of recruitment, top ancestry informative markers, gender and time of follow-up. Overlap of samples with previous studies was excluded for assessing replication.

Results

There were three new associations: the SNPs in XKR6 and in FAM167A-BLK were associated with lupus nephritis (OR = 0.76 and 1.30, P_corr = 0.007 and 0.03, respectively) and the SNP of MECP2, which is in chromosome X, with earlier age of disease onset in men. The previously reported association of STAT4 with early age of disease onset was replicated. Some other results were suggestive of the presence of additional associations. Together, the association signals provided support to some previous findings and to the characterization of lupus nephritis, autoantibodies and age of disease onset as the clinical features more associated with SLE loci.

Conclusion

Some of the SLE loci shape the disease phenotype in addition to increase susceptibility to SLE. This influence is more prominent for some clinical features than for others. However, results are only partially consistent between studies and subphenotype specific GWAS are needed to unravel their genetic component.

Predictors of mortality and end stage renal disease in Saudi patients with lupus nephritis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presentation and factors affecting outcome over a 9-year period in 99 consecutive Saudi patients with biopsy proven lupus nephritis (LN), 35.5% of whom had nephrotic range proteinuria, 46.8% had estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60  ml/min/1.73  m(2) and 65.5% had histological class IV. The female:male ratio was 3.7:1. During the observation period, there were significant rises in eGFR (p = 0.005), C4 (p = 0.000) and significant decrease in 24-h urine protein (p = 0.028). No correlation was found between final eGFR and baseline 24-h protein, anti-DNA, C3 or C4. Female patients had a significantly higher rise in eGFR (p = 0.05).During follow-up (FU), 28.2% required dialysis. The survival rates at 5, 10 and 15  years were 92%, 77% and 77% respectively. Baseline C3 and C4 levels were significantly lower in the patients who died (p = 0.0001 and 0.02 respectively). Those who required dialysis were more likely to die (p < 0.000) (risk ratio = 4.46; 95% confidence interval 2.8-7.2). Hypertension at presentation was associated with lower baseline eGFR (p = 0.01) and final eGFR (p = 0.002) but did not affect the baseline proteinuria. Baseline eGFR of <60  ml/min/1.73  m(2) at presentation was associated with lower eGFR at end of FU (p = 0.000), higher activity score (p = 0.0001) and chronicity scores (p = 0.017).

Shrinking lung syndrome: recognition, pathophysiology and therapeutic strategy

Shrinking lung syndrome is a rare complication of systemic autoimmune diseases, mainly systemic lupus erythematosus, but also Sjögren's syndrome and polymyositis. It should be suspected in any patient with autoimmune disease presenting with an unexplained dyspnea. Shrinking lung syndrome is characterized by small lung volumes, elevation of the diaphragm and restrictive physiology without parenchymal involvement. Its pathogenesis remains controversial: diaphragm dysfunction, phrenic neuropathy or pleural inflammation. Pleural adhesions and pain probably play a significant role in the pathogenesis. Electrical or magnetic phrenic stimulation is an important method of investigation but it is not widely available. No treatment has been validated. Steroids are proposed as first-line treatment, alone or associated with β2-adrenergic receptor agonists. In refractory cases, immunosuppressors are used. Biotherapies may be beneficial. Long-term prognosis is good, but respiratory failure can occur in some cases.

Glomerulonephritis with crescents among adult Saudi patients outcome and its predictors

The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical and pathological features and outcome of glomerulonephritis with crescents among adult patients. This is a retrospective study of all cases of crescentic GN seen over a 9-year period (2001-2010). Histological features were assessed, and renal function at baseline and end of follow-up period was recorded. Results among different etiological groups at baseline and end of follow-up period were compared. The mean age in the whole group was 35.6 years (16.2), with the lowest mean in the lupus nephritis (LN) group [27.7 years (9.9)] and the highest in the pauciimmune glomerulonephritis (PIGN) group (P = 0.001). There were 72 cases enrolled in the study. LN accounted for 49.3% of the cases, PIGN for 26.5%, other immune complex glomerulonephritis (ICGN) for 19% and post-infectious GN accounted for 6.3% The majority (85.7%) of the patients had renal impairment at presentation (mean serum creatinine levels were 247 (85) μmol/l, 412 (75) μmol/l and 230 (141) μmol/l in LN, PICN and ICGN, respectively (P = 0.05). Women accounted for 85.3, 76.5 and 36.2% of the patients in LN, PICN and ICGN, respectively (P = 0.025). By the end of the follow-up period of 26 (22.9) months, 25.8% of the patients were requiring dialysis (16.70% in the LN group, 50% in PIGN and 25% in ICGN (P = 0.05) and 21.7% had nephrotic range proteinuria (16.7, 1 and 33.3%, respectively (P = 0.4). Using logistic multivariate analysis, the only independent factors found to predict need for dialysis of prognosis were percent of sclerosed glomeruli (P = 0.05) and presence of ATN (P = 0.028). Baseline proteinuria or SCr, gender and number of glomeruli with crescents, on the other hand, did not impact prognosis. Using linear regression multivariate analysis, SCr, protein excretion and activity score at biopsy did not influence change in SCr or final SCr during the follow-up period. Using ANOVA to compare the groups of LN, PIGN and ICGN), we found significant differences only in gender between LN and ICGN (P = 0.035), in percent glomerular global sclerosis (between LN and PIGN (P = 0.007) and between LN and ICGN (P = 0.012) and in age (between LN and PIGN (P = 0.006). Almost half of our patients with CrGN were due to LN which is higher than that reported by others where PIGN was the more prevalent etiology. Patients with PICN were older and had worse prognosis. This could be explained by the higher number of globally sclerosed glomeruli in the PIGN group.

Major lupus organ involvement: severe lupus nephritis

Lupus nephritis is a common and severe complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. A number of patients have nephritis as a presenting feature that, in its severe form, can shortly lead to end-stage renal disease and/or death. Renal flare usually occurs a few years after the first episode and is remarkably predominant in the Asian population. Frequent monitoring for renal flare enhances early recognition and timely treatment. The mainstay therapy continues to be the prolonged use of cytotoxic/immunosuppressive drugs that have a number of undesirable effects, particularly ovarian failure and development of opportunistic infections. This review will focus on the pathogenesis and the unique genetic factors found in Asian patients with lupus nephritis. Here, we propose an appropriate management scheme for the treatment of lupus nephritis in Asian patients.

Stem cell transplantation: progress in Asia

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with multiorgan involvement and high mortality, which was reduced because of the most widely and classically used immunosuppressive therapies. However, some patients continue to have significant mortality. So a shift in the approach to the treatment of SLE is needed. In the past decade, most transplants have been performed in the treatment of SLE with allogeneic or autologous hematopoietic stem cells and currently emerging mesenchymal stem cells. There are some important differences between the two procedures.

Sm peptides in differentiation of autoimmune diseases

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and related diseases are characterized by circulating autoantibodies to defined intracellular targets. Among the earliest identified autoantibodies were those directed to components of U2-U6 small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) known as Smith (Sm) antigen, which are highly specific for SLE. The Sm-antigen is composed of at least nine different polypeptides with molecular weights ranging from 9 to 29.5 kDa (B (B1, 28 kDa), B' (B2, 29 kDa), N (B3, 29.5 kDa), D1 (16 kDa), D2 (16.5 kDa), D3 (18 kDa), E (12 kDa), F (11 kDa), and G (9 kDa)). All of the nine core proteins, but most frequently the B and D polypeptides, are targets of the anti-Sm autoimmune response. However, since SmBB' and U1 specific RNPs share the cross-reactive epitope motif PPPGMRPP, SmD is regarded as the most SLE specific Sm-antigen. It has been shown that the polypeptides D1, D3, and BB' contain symmetrical dimethylarginine, constituting a major autoepitope within the C-terminus of SmD1 and SmD3. Several synthetic peptides have been used for the detection of anti-Sm antibodies and thus for the diagnosis of SLE. Anti-Sm antibodies have been reported to occur later than other SLE associated autoantibodies and, on average, around 1 year before the clinical onset of SLE. The present review provides a comprehensive summary on the history of anti-Sm antibodies and their use as biochemical tools to study cellular processes and as biomarker in the diagnosis of SLE. Additionally, a meta-analysis focused on recent data analyzes the prevalence of anti-Sm antibodies in SLE.

The geoepidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease with manifold clinical manifestations and immunological abnormalities, affecting primarily women. Although accurate current data on its incidence and prevalence are largely lacking, there are numerous indications that SLE is far less common in Europeans and their descendants compared to all other ethnicities. The clinical manifestations of the disease show geographic or ethnic variation, generally being less severe in patients of European ancestry than in African, Asian, certain "Hispanic" or mestizo, and various indigenous populations. In particular, renal involvement is far more common in non-European patients. Genetic as well as environmental, sociodemographic and sociocultural factors are likely to contribute to the differences in the incidence and clinical expression of SLE.

The implications of autoimmunity and pregnancy

There are multiple epidemiological studies that document the potential adverse affects of autoimmunity on nearly every aspect of reproduction, even in the absence of clinically manifest autoimmune disease. Two decades ago, it was suggested that women with autoimmune diseases avoid pregnancy due to inordinate risks to the mother and the child. In contrast, newer epidemiological data demonstrated that advances in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and the management of pregnant women with these diseases have similarly improved the prognosis for mother and child. In particular, if pregnancy is planned during periods of inactive or stable disease, the result often is giving birth to healthy full-term babies without increased risks of pregnancy complications. Nonetheless, pregnancies in most autoimmune diseases are still classified as high risk because of the potential for major complications. These complications include disease exacerbations during gestation and increased perinatal mortality and morbidity in most autoimmune diseases, whereas fetal mortality is characteristic of the anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS). In this review, we will discuss these topics, including issues of hormones, along with potential long-term effects of the microchimerism phenomenon. With respect to pregnancy and autoimmune diseases, epidemiological studies have attempted to address the following questions: 1) Is it safe for the mother to become pregnant or are there acute or chronic effects of pregnancy on the course of the disease? 2) Does the disease alter the course and/or the outcome of a pregnancy and thereby represent an inordinate risk for the fetus and infant? And do new therapeutic and management approaches improve the pregnancy outcomes in women with autoimmune diseases? 3) Does passage of maternal autoantibodies represent a risk to the child? 4) Do pregnancy, parity, or other factors influencing hormonal status explain the female predominance of many autoimmune diseases, and is the pregnancy effect related to microchimerism? Answering these questions has taken on additional importance in recent decades as women in western countries now frequently choose to delay pregnancies and have some or all of their pregnancies after disease onset. In this paper, we primarily focus on APS, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Ten cases of systemic lupus erythematosus related to hepatitis B vaccine

The objective of this article is to identify common and atypical features of systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosed following hepatitis B vaccination. We analyzed retrospectively the medical records of 10 systemic lupus erythematosus patients from different centers, who developed the disease following hepatitis B vaccination and determined the prevalence of different manifestations and the time association to vaccination. In this case series, 80% of the patients were female, mean age 35 ± 9 years, of which 20% received one inoculation, 20% received two doses and 60% received all three inoculations. The mean latency period from the first hepatitis B virus immunization and onset of autoimmune symptoms was 56.3 days. All patients were diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, according to the American College of Rheumatology revised criteria within 1 year. The prevalence of some systemic lupus erythematosus manifestations was typical and included involvement of the joints (100%), skin (80%), muscles (60%) and photosensitivity (30%). Other symptoms differed in this unique group of systemic lupus erythematosus patients such as low rate of kidney and hematologic involvement, and a relatively high rate of hepatitis (20%). Neurological (80%) and pulmonary (70%) symptoms were also common in this group. Data from this case-series, and previously documented cases in the literature could only show a temporal relation between hepatitis B vaccination and the appearance of systemic lupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus related to vaccine may differ from idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus in its clinical presentation and may resemble drug-induced systemic lupus erythematosus. Thus, physicians should be alerted to this potential association, its possible long latency period and unique presentations, and be encouraged to report and analyze these cases. Lupus (2009) 18, 1192—1197.