A database analysis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus with the EUSCLE Core Set Questionnaire.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Core Set Questionnaire developed recently by the European Society of Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (EUSCLE) is a useful tool to evaluate clinical features and therapeutic strategies in cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Disease characteristics were analysed in 50 patients with different subtypes of cutaneous lupus erythematosus from two European centres (Germany and Sweden). Mean age at onset of disease was 42.0 +/- 13.3 years (range: 7-69 years) and this differed significantly between the cutaneous lupus erythematosus subtypes. Moreover, 22 (44.0%) of the patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus fulfilled four or more of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria; however, only 7 (14.0%) had severe systemic organ manifestations, such as kidney involvement. The analysis of serological features, such as antinuclear antibodies, revealed further significant differences between the cutaneous lupus erythematosus subtypes. In conclusion, the EUSCLE Core Set Questionnaire provides a useful tool for standardized collection and statistical analysis of data on cutaneous lupus erythematosus in clinical practice.

The 100th anniversary of lupus erythematosus tumidus.

In 1909, the term "lupus erythematodes tumidus" was first introduced by the German Dermatologist E. Hoffmann. The next case reports of lupus erythematosus tumidus (LET) were not described until 1930, and in the following years, only a few further cases were reported. This might have been due to the fact that authors have not considered LET as a separate entity different from other variants of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), and it is likely that skin lesions described under different designations represent the same disease entity. Therefore, LET has been underestimated and neglected in the literature and has been characterized by clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features only in recent years. In particular, phototesting has been crucial in defining LET as a very photosensitive entity of CLE. Up to now, more than 40 reports of LET have been published demonstrating that the course and prognosis of LET are generally more favorable than in other subtypes of CLE. A new classification system, including LET as the intermittent subtype of CLE (ICLE) has been suggested. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first description of LET, we have reviewed the literature and provide here an overview on the different aspects of the disease.