Neonatal lupus erythematosus with heart block: family study of a patient with anti–-ss-a and ss-b antibodies

✍ Scribed by Michael D. Lockshin; Allan Gibofsky; Carol L. Peebles; Irma Gigli; Marilena Fotino; Sidney Hurwitz

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 336 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780260215

✦ Synopsis

Neonatal lupus erythematosus, a syndrome consisting of lupus-like rash and lupus-associated hematologic and serologic abnormalities, is a rare, transient phenomenon found in children of mothers with idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or undefined connective tissue disease and, occasionally, no recognized rheumatic disease (1,2). Congenital atrioventricular heart block, also rare, is frequently associated with a maternal SLE-like illness that is either present or nascent (3-6). At least 9 children with congenital heart block and/or neonatal lupus have had transient antibody to the nuclear antigen SS-A (Ro) or SS-B (La) (7-9).

Although an increased frequency of the histocompatability antigens HLA-DR2 and DR3 has been