RESEARCH - Antimalarials recommended for all lupus patients

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Antimalarials Recommended for All Lupus Patients

Medscape

Reuters Health Information

J. Brown, MD

January 22, 2010 — Use of antimalarial agents can improve survival

with systemic lupus erythematosus and should be given to all patients

with the disease, according to a report in the January 7th issue of

Arthritis & Rheumatism.

During a median follow-up period of 55 months, the mortality rate for

non-users of antimalarial drugs was 11.5%, while that of users was

just 4.4% (p < 0.001). Further analysis showed that patients who used

the drugs for more than 2 years had the lowest mortality per 1000

person-years of follow-up — 0.54 deaths, compared to 3.07 in

non-users.

Prior research has suggested that antimalarial therapy can help

prevent flare-ups of lupus and reduce overall damage from the disease,

Dr. Bernardo A. Pons-Estel, from Hospital Provincial de rio,

Argentina and co-researchers note.

" The beneficial effects of antimalarials in lupus, however, go beyond

disease activity and damage accrual, " the authors state. As an

example, they cite a study in Caucasian patients in which

antimalarials seemed " to have a protective effect on survival " with " a

reduction in mortality. " Of note, none of the subjects in the study

died from cardiovascular causes, the most common cause of death in

untreated patients, they add.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/715655

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