Lupus Erythematosus, Lupoid Syndromes and Their Relation to Collagen Diseases, Part 1

Abstract

Lupus erythematosus, a variant of “rheumatoid arthritis,” is a common disease which has a wide clinical spectrum ranging from the mild form with or without minor systemic manifestations (discoid lupus) to the malignant disseminated or systemic type. Evidence for a unitary theory of these forms is presented, as well as a discussion of their relation to rheumatoid arthritis. The tendency for occurrence of transitional forms between all these disorders, with progression from one to another, is emphasized. Newer forms of therapy have produced dramatic benefit in discoid lupus and have prolonged life appreciably in the systemic type.