This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Current classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are heavily skewed to skin manifestations and serum antibodies, and involvement of other organs is not stratified. New criteria would be helpful in classifying patients for new studies in SLE. The investigators will test the hypothesis that SLE, despite its widely varying manifestations, is a single nosologic entity that can be diagnosed specifically using appropriate criteria. The objective of this study is to devise new criteria for the diagnosis of SLE and to validate the specificity of these criteria. This is a multicenter trial in which patients with established SLE and other rheumatic diseases will be enrolled, examined, their blood tested for a variety of antibodies and other studies. New criteria will be established using information from the first 100 patients and validated with the remaining 250. Essentially, specific information (history, physical, laboratory tests) will be collected on 750 patients with SLE and a similar number with non-SLE rheumatic diseases. Specific manifestations will be catalogued and, using iterative methods, the utility of a more specific characterization of the disease will be recorded. In addition, a series of laboratory tests will be performed on each patient, with some of these laboratory tests being performed at a central site.The study is needed to improve the enrollment of patients in trials of new drugs for SLE.
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