Clinical phenotype of neonatal lupus erythematosus relates to autoantibody level and gender

Background Neonatal Lupus Erythematodus (NLE) is a rare disease occurring in offspring from mothers with anti-Ro with or without anti-La antibodies. Much is known about the individual manifestations (congenital heart block (CHB), cutaneous rash, hematologic and hepatic laboratory abnormalities and macrocephaly) but it is unclear how these and other autoantibodies (anti-dsDNA, anti-RNP and anti-Sm antibodies) influence disease phenotype.