1. Selective C4 deficiency, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Whipple's disease
- Author
-
M Ehrenfeld, M B Urowitz, and M. E. Platts
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Pathology ,Opportunistic infection ,Immunology ,Autopsy ,Gastroenterology ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Rheumatology ,Internal medicine ,Immunopathology ,Immunology and Allergy ,Medicine ,Humans ,Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ,Whipple's disease ,Lupus erythematosus ,business.industry ,Whipple Disease ,Complement C4 ,Complement deficiency ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Connective tissue disease ,Jejunum ,Female ,Lymph Nodes ,business ,Research Article - Abstract
A 45-year-old female with selective deficiency of C4 and systemic lupus erythematosus developed puzzling gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms in the last 6 months of her life. Extensive investigation of the gastrointestinal tract did not yield any diagnosis, and the patient died shortly afterwards. Autopsy revealed evidence of a typical Whipple's disease of the jejunum and lymph nodes. This association has not been previously described. The disease is reviewed with emphasis on its being an opportunistic infection in an immunosuppressed host with a complement deficiency and SLE.
- Published
- 1984