Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) differs from adult-onset disease in important ways, but treatment approaches generally have derived from the adult arena, a pediatric rheumatology expert said.
In most population-based cohorts of SLE, 15%-20% of cases are diagnosed before the age of 18, most often from ages 12 to 14. More pediatric cases are in males than among adult patients.
"But there is no single sign or symptom seen only in adults or only in children," said Hermine Brunner, MD, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and scientific director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Collaborative Study Group.
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