The Silent Danger of Maternal Autoimmunity. Neonatal Lupus: A Disease That Is Born with the Baby… But Doesn’t Stay

Abstract

First described in 1954 by McCuistion and Schoch, neonatal lupus is a transient condition in which a baby’s immune system mistakenly identifies its own body as foreign and begins to attack itself in defense. This occurs due to two proteins, anti-Ro and anti-La, that are transmitted from the mother through the placenta (the organ that nourishes the baby, exchanges waste and provides oxygen) between the 16th and 24th weeks of gestation. The condition primarily affects the heart and skin. Because it is transient, the baby recovers, as the disease is actually a manifestation of the mother’s autoimmune condition—even if she has been asymptomatic until that point. However, when the heart is affected, the damage is irreversible for the baby and must be treated with a pacemaker (device that produces electrical impulses in the heart).