RESEARCH - LUMINA: hydroxychloroquine delays onset of itegument damage in lupus

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Hydroxychloroquine Delays Onset of Integument Damage in Lupus

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 11 - The antimalarial hydroxychloroquine

appears to significantly delay the onset of integument damage in

patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, a new study shows.

The benefits of hydroxychloroquine in lupus have been previously

identified, but this is the first time it has been associated with

delayed integument damage, the researchers note.

" Until targeted therapies become available, this compound should be

background therapy for all lupus patients unless contra-indications

are present, " said Dr. Graciela S. Alarcon, a rheumatologist at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham and a study author, in a statement

to Reuters Health.

Using data from LUMINA, an extensive national cohort study that was

started in 1994, Dr. Alarcon and her colleagues studied predictors of

time to onset of integument damage in 580 patients, including

Hispanics, African Americans and Caucasians. All had been diagnosed

with lupus for five years or less and were free of integument damage.

Nearly 90% were women.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/716902

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