[Allergic manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus]

Clinical experience suggests that allergic signs and symptoms are more frequently observed in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus than in the general population. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the frequency of allergic clinical manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by anamnesis. Sixty three SLE patients, 51 cases of other autoimmune diseases and 133 healthy individuals, were included in the study. The protocol was taken from Goldman's paper on the same subject (4): urticaria, rhinitis, pharyngitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, eczema and allergy to foods, drugs and insect stings were recorded. The results disclosed that 76% of SLE cases, 37% of those with other autoimmune diseases and versus healthy controls had had one or more of those clinical manifestations throughout their lives (SLE versus other autoimmune diseases and versus healthy controls; p: less than 0,0005; other autoimmune diseases versus healthy controls; p: not significant). The frequency of each of the following-urticaria, pharyngitis, conjunctivitis and food allergy was statistically increased in SLE. Furthermore, patients with SLE had the highest incidence of different types of clinical manifestations per individual. Allergic manifestations in SLE are thought to express: a higher level of hypersensitivity to exogenous antigens, or disease activity through cytotropic autoantibodies or through anaphylactoid products of complement activation.