Complete Heart Block and the HLA System

Excerpt

To the editor: In the recent UCLA conference on systemic lupus erythematous in pregnancy, Dr. Barrett (1) stated that the most serious neonatal complication in maternal systemic lupus erythematosus is complete heart block. Certainly, it has been shown in recent years that one in three mothers giving birth to babies with complete heart block have, or will develop, systemic lupus erythematosus or another connective tissue disease. Several possible pathogenic mechanisms have been postulated: IgG autoantibodies might cross the placenta and affect the baby; immuno-complexes might cross the placenta and generate complete heart block or otherwise be formed by that baby