Factors Influencing the Course and Prognosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

UNTIL about 1950 systemic lupus erythematosus was generally considered to be a progressive and fatal disease. This concept began to change, gradually at first and then more rapidly, when Jessar, Lamont-Havers and Ragan1 reported on 44 of their own cases and 279 from the medical literature between 1948 and 1952. In this series spontaneous remissions were noted in nearly a third of the cases. Others2 3 4 confirmed these findings and suggested that survival for five years from the time of diagnosis was not unusual. Also, about 1950 the Hargraves or L.E.-cell test came to be generally recognized as a very helpful . . .