Castleman Disease Presenting as Lymphadenopathy in a Female with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A rare case report

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; lupus) is an autoimmune disease. The common neurological manifestations are psychosis, cognitive dysfunction, and headache. Transverse myelitis (TM) may be the first manifestation of lupus. We describe one such case in which TM was the only presentation of SLE.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease and may be associated with many autoimmune conditions. hypoparathyroidism as an initial presentation of SLE is still a rare condition. In this study, we reported a young woman who presented the sign and symptoms of hypoparathyroidism.

Background: Macrophages play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) acts as an autocrine regulator of macrophage activation. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess serum level of GDF-15 as a potential biomarker for detecting RA activity. Method: A total of 100 female RA patients and 55 age matched healthy control females were enrolled. The serum level of GDF-15 was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay by an eBioscience kit. Results: Serum levels of GDF-15 in RA patients with high, moderate, low and no disease activity were 989.0±161.9, 505.6±220.5, 349.2±155.9 and 349.0±144.0 pg/ml, respectively. GDF-15 with a cut-off value higher than 705 pg/ml was indicative of high RA activity with sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 92%. Conclusion: GDF-15 serum levels may be used as a biomarker to predict high RA disease activity.