[Lupus erythematosus]

Our paper summarizes the clinical and photobiological studies on lupus erythematosus (LE) performed at the Department of Dermatology, University of Düsseldorf, during the last 5 years. A total of 190 LE cases were examined and classified according to the various cutaneous forms of LE. Except for lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET), we found a female predominance in all other groups. Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is the most common variant of cutaneous LE. Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE), a less common type, is characterized by the presence of Ro-antibodies, although this marker does not correlate with the degree of photosensitivity. The rare LET is an extremely photosensitive form of LE, which clearly prefers the male sex.