Polymyalgia Rheumatica or Late Onset Lupus? A Case Report

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease with a peak age of presentation between the 15 and 40 years with a wide variety of disease manifestations. Although there is no formal definition, late onset SLE is generally defined in the literature as onset after the age of 50. It is estimated that 2% to 20% of patients with SLE overall fall into this category. It is important for the clinician to recognize this less-common entity because arthralgia, myalgia, fatigue, and sicca symptoms in the elderly can so easily be attributed as symptoms of normal aging or other common degenerative processes rather than a systemic disease similar to SLE or Sjogren’s syndrome. The following report outlines a case of late onset SLE which initially was suspected to be polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).