Clinical Features and Long-Term Outcomes of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Dear Colleagues,

The clinical spectrum of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is highly heterogeneous, ranging from mild disease, which can be limited to skin and joint involvement, to life-threatening conditions with renal impairment, severe cytopenias, central nervous system disease, and thromboembolic events. Apart from the host genetics, several environmental factors, such as sunlight, infections, drugs, and probably hormonal factors, can trigger the onset of symptoms related to SLE. Despite significant advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology and optimization of medical care, patients with SLE still have significant premature mortality and many patients experience severe disease with increased risk to acquire organ damage and reduced health-related quality of life. Development of effective drugs that can induce remission or low disease activity, unanimous use of definitions of remission and low or high disease activity, flare, and response to therapy, identification of non-invasive biomarkers of disease activity and long-term outcomes, and implementation of SLE patients’ perspective as an integral part of the clinical assessment constitute only a few of the many unmet needs in the field of SLE.

This Special Issue aims to provide a broad overview of current and new knowledge on clinical features and long-term outcomes of SLE, including disease phenotypes, therapeutic strategies, and biomarkers. Research incorporating the COVID-19 viral pandemic and its consequences for SLE patients is also welcome.

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Christopher Sjöwall
Dr. Ioannis Parodis
Guest Editors

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