A recent finding by a team of researchers from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, suggests that patients with SLE who also have pre-eclampsia (a condition in which a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure and protein in the urine after the 20th week of pregnancy) are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Pre-eclampsia, we should note, is a condition that is itself unrelated to lupus.

"Since inflammation plays a role in atherosclerosis and SLE, and the inflammatory response is altered in pre-eclampsia compared with normal pregnancies, with elevated levels of cytokines and vascular adhesion molecules, it portends a potentially detrimental combination for the future risk of CVD in women with SLE," wrote investigators online in Lupus Science & Medicine. Inflammation has also been implicated in fetal growth restriction and preterm birth.

More about the research, published by MedPage Today and the American Heart Association, is available here. We reiterate that specific additional complications aside, pregnancy among lupus patients continues to be considered safe. As always, if you are a lupus patient who is or wants to become pregnant, please consult your physician about your specific risk factor, if any.

As 2014 comes to a close, we are excited about what we have accomplished this year, and we are looking forward to the new year with anticipation. As you bring your year to a close, please consider making a tax-deductible gift to the Lupus Foundation of Northern California so that we can continue to make progress for the lupus community here in northern California, and through our advocacy efforts, nationwide.

Here are a few ways to give:

• Donate directly via our website. You can make donations in honor or in memory of a loved one or an occasion, or simply make an individual contribution.
• Become a member. Membership benefits include discounted entry to our medical conferences as well as to our partners at the Tech Museum in San Jose.
• Give to the Annual Fund Campaign.