Aquaporin-4 IgG antibodies & neuropsychiatric disorders and white matter lesions in Juvenile SLE

What is it about?

Renal involvement and neuropsychiatric involvement are more frequent in jSLE than in adult onset disease and can cause significant morbidity. The incidence of arthritis, nephritis, and neurological involvement in jSLE appears to be negatively correlated with age at disease onset. Egyptian children with jSLE appear to have severe disease on presentation, with high SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores, a high prevalence of lupus nephritis (LN), and a high prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders. The presence of neurotoxic antibodies such as AQP4-Abs remains unclear in jSLE.

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Why is it important?

jSLE patients with higher severity scores, neurological disorders, or white matter lesions could develop antibodies against AQP4. We recommend more studies for systematic screening of AQP4-Ab positivity in jSLE patients to confirm its relationship with neurological disorders.