Abstract
We agree that there are many improvements in diagnosis and therapy during the years that this study covered and mentioned specifically in the discussion: The notably improved survival rates we have observed may be due to several factors. One may be a generally better understanding of the disease and complications of therapy. Another may be the recent use of newer antibiotics. We do not believe we were diagnosing additional lupus cases because of the use of the antinuclear antibody, C3, or anti-DNA antibodies since all patients in both groups met the American Rheumatism Association's (ARA) Preliminary Criteria for the Diagnosis of SLE, which does not include any of these laboratory tests. Indeed, the lupus erythematosus cell test, which is included in the criteria, was positive in a higher percentage of the New York patients because this test was performed at every clinic visit in New York and was
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