What are the reasons for SLE specific labs to turn negative?
I agree and appreciate the answers by Dr @Dr. First Last and Dr @Dr. First Last. My answer may be stating the obvious, but I think it is important to mention that lupus is not infrequently over-diagnosed and overtreated. Serologies are sometimes over-interpreted with low-titer antibodies labeled as ...
I have to refer back to the phase 2 study of Belimumab in SLE. In that study, patients had to fulfill ACR criteria and had to have SLEDAI≥4 to enter the study. And yet 23.9% of these patients were not ANA or dsDNA pos. The two groups of seropositive and seronegative SLE patients were compared and th...
@Dr. First Last gives an excellent answer, and funny that when I saw the question, I also immediately thought of Dan Wallace's paper (as Vasili refers to).
Two additional points, the first one is incredibly important:
1. PLEASE, calling all rheumatologists (an important service announcement)... when y...
I have personally seen patients who certainly fit the diagnosis of lupus, including strongly positive ANA and other autoabs, who have seroconverted and had an incredible response to HCQ. One patient was hospitalized with pleurisy, had rash and arthritis, all of which resolved with plaquenil. 2 years...