Current status of treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus in China and its prospect

Abstract

CURRENT OVERALL LEVEL IN CHINA OF SLE TREATMENTSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a kind of most complicated auto-immune disease and its etiology is still not clear so far. There are at least one million patients in China. SLE was taken as an “inc urable disease” in the fifties, but recently th e understanding of SLE got gradually elevated, and the efficacy of treatment won further progresses, therefore prognosis was obviously improved. According to the re sult of an 18-year follow-up of 50 SLE patients treated by Shanghai Renji Hospital in 1999, their 5-, 10-, 15- and 18-year survival rate reached 98%, 84%, 76% and 70% respectively, and the international progressive level has been reach ed (1) , it was also discovered that 13 cases (26%) has stopped medication for 12 years (2-17 years) and did not have manifestation of SLE activation. SLE usually occurred in child-bearing women, hence pregnancy complicated with SLE was also a problem fr e quently encountered. The most frequent thought then was to take measures to stop pregnancy to save the life of the women, while at present, if a woman took small dosage of prednisone without the activation of SLE over 12 months, pregnancy can be considered; for those already pregnant women, dosage of pre dnisone could be inc reased under the guidance of rheumatologic and gynecologic specialists; during labor corticosterone (CS) intravenous dripping and other measures were added. Eighty-one new born babies by 80 cases of pregnancy complicated with SLE, have been delivered with both mot her and baby surviving: an inspiring good outcome (2) . ……