Table I.

SLE group characteristics and baseline results

Characteristics	Results
Male	14 patients	17.1%
Female	68 patients	82.9%
Lupus nephritis	21 patients	25.6%
ANA positivity	69 patients	84.1%
Anti-dsDNA level	Mean ±SD	102.4 ±116.8 IU/ml
ESR basal level	Mean ±SD	46.7 ±17.7 mm/h
CRP basal level	Mean ±SD	33.4 ±27.7 mg/l
C3 basal level	Mean ±SD	104.9 ±60.2 mg/dl
C4 basal level	Mean ±SD	25.1 ±18.3 mg/dl
SLAM > 6	32 patients	39%
SLEDAI > 6	22 patients	26.8%