| Abstract: | In veterinary medicine, lupus erythematosus has been classically divided into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and discoid (cutaneous) lupus erythematosus (DLE). These two subdivisions vary markedly in presenting clinical signs, laboratory evaluation, immunologic testing, aggressiveness of therapy and prognosis, and, therefore, will be discussed separately. Systemic LE has been reported in dogs,1–15 cats,16–19 and mice.8 Discoid LE has been reported in dogs.20–23 SLE is a rare disease in dogs and has been estimated to affect approximately one of every 4000.24 Epidemiologic studies have shown no increased risk of SLE in human contacts of SLE dogs or dogs with high-titer antinuclear antibody tests.25,26 Human contacts and controls showed no difference in antinuclear, anti-DNA, anti-RNA, and anti-lymphocyte antibody titers, lymphocytotoxic activity, rheumatoid factors, or elevation of serum immunoglobulins.Prior to these studies, one unfortunate clinical brief erroneously implied a possible correlation between human and canine SLE based on DNA binding studies.27 |
