Access: Lupus Research -- Neonatal Lupus
Research Summaries from 2008
A Clue to Congenital Heart Block
Neonatal lupus is a condition that can occur when anti-SSA/Ro antibodies cross the placenta in pregnancy from the mother to her developing baby. Babies born to women who are positive for anti-SSA/Ro antibodies (even those who do not have lupus) are at greater risk for neonatal lupus, although this remains rare. A number of symptoms are seen in infants who are born with neonatal lupus, most commonly skin rashes or liver involvement, which go away over time as the infant’s own immune system develops, and the mothers antibodies are cleared from the baby’s system. Even more rarely, however, there is a potentially life-threatening heart condition that these babies can be born with, called congenital heart block (CHB).
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Research Summaries from 2007
New Symptoms related to neonatal lupus
Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is a rare but serious condition that can occur in newborn babies, and is related to anti-Ro (SSA) and/or anti-La (SSB) antibodies, which can cross the placenta in pregnancy from the mother to the fetus. The researchers sought to determine if infants born with NLE were at greater risk for hydrocephalus, a condition characterized by excess spinal fluid in or around the brain, which in turn contributed to macrocephaly, an enlarged head size. The researchers found that the infants born to anti-Ro positive mothers developed hydrocephalus and macrocephaly at higher rates than would be expected.
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Potential Biomarker Identified for Neonatal Lupus
Researchers in France, England, and the United States may have identified a potential blood test that can be used to predict complications of pregnancy among women who have lupus. Their research focused on tiny segments of proteins (called peptides) that interact with antibodies called anti-Ro, and their association with the birth complication called neonatal lupus.
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