Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0409974 (lupus)
 22,386 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 32-year-old female patient with systemic lupus erythematosus was admitted to our hospital with fever and cytopenia, and diagnosed as haemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) by bone marrow aspiration study showing haemophagocytosis. Since the serologic activity of lupus was not increased at that time and HPS was refractory to the conventional therapies, an additional aetiological factor was suspected. Real-time PCR analysis identified reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A combination therapy targetting EBV-associated HPS, consisting of intravenous administration of cyclosporine A as well as immunoglobulin with a high titre of anti-EBV antibody, significantly suppressed EBV viraemia and led to the remission of HPS until the time of writing.
Lupus 2006
PMID:Emergence of Epstein-Barr virus-associated haemophagocytic syndrome upon treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. 1648 47

Viral infections have been associated with autoimmune connective tissue diseases. To evaluate whether active infection by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), human herpesvirus (HHV)-6, -7, -8, as well as parvovirus B19 (B19V) occur in patients with autoimmune connective tissue diseases, viral DNA loads were assessed in paired samples of serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 115 patients affected by different disorders, including systemic sclerosis, systemic, and discoid lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and dermatomyositis. Two additional groups, patients affected by inflammatory diseases (n=51) and healthy subjects (n=58) were studied as controls. The titers of anti-HHV-6 and anti-EBV antibodies were also evaluated. Cell-free HHV-6 serum viremia was detected in a significantly higher proportion of connective tissue diseases patients compared to controls (P<0.0002); a significant association between HHV-6 reactivation and the active disease state was found only for lupus erythematosus (P=0.021). By contrast, the rate of cell-free EBV viremia was similar in patients and controls groups. Cell-free CMV, HHV-8, and B19V viremia was not detected in any subject. Anti-HHV-6 and anti-EBV early antigen IgG titers were both significantly higher in autoimmune diseases patients as compared to healthy controls, although they were not associated with the presence of viremia. EBV, HHV-6, -7 prevalence and viral load in PBMCs of patients with connective tissue diseases and controls were similar. These data suggest that HHV-6 may act as a pathogenic factor predisposing patients to the development of autoimmune connective tissue diseases or, conversely, that these disorders may predispose patients to HHV-6 reactivation.
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PMID:Selective reactivation of human herpesvirus 6 in patients with autoimmune connective tissue diseases. 2398 82