Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head supervening on systemic lupus erythematosus in identical twins--case report.

Identical twins who grew up in different environments from 100 days after birth developed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), followed later by aseptic necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH). Diagnosis of SLE was made in the younger sister (case 1) at age 14 and the elder (case 2) at 21 years of age. ANFH developed in these cases 5.9 and 1.2 years after the onset of SLE respectively. From some ovular identifications, they were diagnosed as being completely identical. These cases are of particular interest, since they suggest that hereditary factors are concerned with the development of ANFH to some degree.