Table 1.
Treatment with glucocorticoid and immunosuppressive agents modulates the clinical profiles of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
| Characteristics | Response group (n = 17) | Non-response group (n = 10) | Healthy controls (n = 18) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before treatment | After treatment | Before treatment | After treatment | ||
| Male/female | 2/15 | 2/15 | 1/9 | 1/9 | 2/16 |
| Age (years), median (range) | 23 (18–29) | 23 (18–29) | 26 (20–32) | 26 (20–32) | 25 (17–30) |
| SLEDAI, median (range) | 19 (9–38) | 4 (2–5)* | 12 (2–24) | 9 (6–15) | n.d. |
| Positive anti-dsDNA | 15 (88%) | 5 (29%) | 9 (90%) | 7 (70%) | n.d. |
| Positive anti-Sm | 4 (24%) | 2 (12%) | 5 (50%) | 4 (40%) | n.d. |
| Positive anti-nuclear antibodies | 15 (88%) | 7 (41%) | 8 (80%) | 5 (50%) | n.d. |
| CRP (mg/l) | 11·25 (2·99–117) | 10·74 (1·59–20·42) | 24·45 (3·73–202) | 15·25 (2·19–18) | 7·2 (0–15) |
| ESR (mm/h) | 5·68 (3·29–7·91) | 2·5 (2·32–5·34)* | 6·89 (4·10–9·24) | 5·63 (3·79–8·73) | 3 (0–5) |
| C3 (units/ml) | 0·47 (0·36–0·95) | 1·2 (0·79–1·90)* | 0·54 (0·38–0·96) | 0·96 (0·48–1·63)* | 1·12 (0·9–1·8) |
| C4 (units/ml) | 0·08 (0·02–0·14) | 0·15 (0·08–0·4)* | 0·06 (0·02–0·13) | 0·08 (0·05–0·10) | 0·26 (0·1–0·4) |
| WBC (×109/ml) median (range) | 3·98 (3·68-9·60) | 4·23 (3·70–18·8) | 6·77 (3·19–9·18) | 11·74 (7·59–15·9)* | 6·31 (4·09–9·13) |
*
P < 0·05 versus before treatment. The normal range of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 0–15 mg/l and 0–5 mm/h, respectively. The normal range of C3 and C4 was 0·9–1·8 and 0·1–0·4 units/ml, respectively. SLEDAI = systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index; n.d. = not determined; WBC, white blood cells.