Discoid Lupus tests.

[*Claire*]

Hi there,

I have had DLE for nearly 11 years and have used all the medication available, none have improved my contition at all.

While researching the condition for the umpteenth time I came accross an article that said DLE was the easiest out of the Lupus family to diagnose as antibodies show up in the biopsy.

Could somone please tell me exactly what these antibodies are?

Many thanks.

[Lily]

Hi Claire and welcome,

I used to have a good site about what was found in skin biopsies and will have to go looking for it again.

Most articles I looked at today said that there would be deposits of IgG in the biopsy. Also most articles I looked at said that it can be impossible to tell if something is discoid or sle related by biopsy alone. Therefore the blood tests for SLE should be run to rule it out. Discoid lesions do have a specific appearance but we do have some people here who have SLE and get some discoid lesions as well.

http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/test...us_000063_6.htm (http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/tests_will_confirm_a_diagnosis_of_systemic_lupus_e rythematosus_000063_6.htm)

Skin Tests

If a skin rash is present, the doctor may take a biopsy (a tissue sample) from the margin of a skin lesion. A test known as a lupus band detects antibodies known as immunoglobulin G (IgG), which are located just below the outer layer of the tissue sample. They are present in about 80% of patients with active SLE and in between 30 - 40% of those with inactive disease. The biopsy will not differentiate between systemic and discoid lupus, but it can rule out other diseases. Tests for other antibodies will rule out or confirm discoid lupus and subacute cutaneous lupus.
Here's another article that may be of help:


http://atlases.muni.cz/atl_en/main+uvod+immunofluor.html

I hope that your docs can come up with some solutions and answers for you :flowers: 11 years is a very long time with no solutions :(

love
Lily

[srinivas rao]

hi claire

these antibodies are the bodies own antibodies which fights against foreign matter but they attacks the own body system doue to some unknown reasons these are called as auto immune antibodies.

[enrico]

well i'm not sure but i have been diagnosed with sle after having this biopsy (lupus band test) because my doc wanted to b very sure. they cut a little piece of skink from my "butt" (sorry but it's the truth) and then called me after 30 days saying they found igg deposits and c3 c1q deposits in my skin and this was a clear proof of discoid lupus...........but since i also fullfilled other 6 criteria for sle my diagnosis was sistemic.

[Clare.T]

Hello enrico

For the sake of accuracy this lupus band test with the biopsy being taken from non exposed non affected parts like the butt will only show abnormalities when the patient has systemic lupus. They might have no visible lupus related skin problems at all but the immune deposits can still be there. It's usually only used when extra evidence is needed to confirm a diagnosis.

Discoid lupus refers to obvious lesions in the skin with a distinctive appearance. The biopsies need to be taken from the lesion.
See the post Lupus and the Skin stuck on the Symptoms section for pictures of the three main sorts of lupus specific skin problems

People with discoid lesions do not usually have systemic disease, and the malar rash,which can also be on the body, is associated with systemic illness.
However a person can have SLE and have any or even all the sorts of lupus skin

Edited to add

You can have SLE with no lupus skin problems. It's said about 25-30% have problems at diagnosis and about 75% have them at some point in the course of their disease.



Cheers
Clare

NB 'Text speak' tendency