Immunological and Clinical Characteristics of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Series from Morocco

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with a high female predominance. To date, studies about SLE inMorocco are few. This retrospective study describes the clinical and immunological features in a series of 50 SLE Moroccan patients in University Hospital Center of Rabat, Morocco, between December 2011 and December 2013. All patients were screened for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-DNA antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence, followed by identification of antiextractable nuclear antigen antibodies by ELISA. The female to male ratio was 6.1: 1. Mean age was 31.72 years. The main clinical manifestations were arthritis (82%), mucocutaneousmanifestations (80%), renalmanifestations (50%), and hematological features (46%). Of themucocutaneous features, the highest frequencies were observed in themalar rash (68%) and photosensitivity (60%). Of the hematological features, lymphopenia wasmost frequently observed in 30% of patients, followed by hemolytic anemia in 16% and leucopenia and thrombocytopenia in 8%. Central nervous system was involved in 10%. ANA were found in 88%, anti-DNA antibodies in 56%, and anti-Sm antibodies in 50%. Anti-SSA, anti-SSB, anti-Sm/RNP, and anti-Scl70 antibodies were detected in 38%, 10%, 48%, and 8%, respectively. Our data show that, in our patients, the main clinical and immunological features of SLE remain comparable to patients from other Arab countries.