One hundred anti-Ro (SS-A) antibody positive patients: a 10-year follow-up

To explore further the varied clinical expression of anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients and to determine the outcomes of these patients, we followed 100 anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients, originally seen at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in 1982 and 1983, over a 10-year period. The results of this study indicate that anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients have a diverse clinical presentation and that the anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody response generally persists for years. Some of these patients appear to have a static disease process for years. However, 65% (51, including 13 deaths, of 78 patients) of the patients for whom we had follow-up data had a chronic (10 years or greater) progressive disease process. Black patients, in general, have an earlier onset of disease and may have a more severe disease than white patients. At least 25% of our anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients demonstrated a dynamic change in clinical presentation with the development of Sjögren syndrome and/or a progressive "rheumatoid-like" arthritis. Interstitial pulmonary disease, central nervous system disease, and vasculitic insults occur frequently in these patients. Renal disease occurred in 19 anti-Ro(SS-A) positive patients, and in 47% of these renal disease patients, no anti-DNA antibodies (dsDNA or ssDNA) were detected. Cutaneous manifestations are prominent in anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients with lupus. Photosensitivity and a malar dermatitis were the most common features. Twenty percent of lupus patients had discoid lesions, and 20% had SCLE lesions. Based on this study, we believe that anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients should be routinely evaluated for the emergence of systemic features. Since these systemic features are at least in part, if not solely, the result of inflammation, early treatment with steroids and/or immunosuppressive agents may minimize the damage and influence in a positive manner the significant morbidity and mortality observed in some anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody positive patients.