Low serum antimycobacterial glycolipid antibody titers in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus associated with central nervous system involvement.

Antibodies which bind to glycolipids derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis were sought in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with and without neurological disease, patients with active tuberculosis and normal controls. A significantly lower activity against the mycobacterial glycolipids was detected in the sera of patients with SLE with neurological involvement compared to other patients with SLE or controls. We suggest that low antibody levels against mycobacterial glycolipids may be useful in the diagnosis of patients with SLE in whom involvement of the central nervous system is suspected.