Does Antimalarial Therapy Delay SLE Onset?

Symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are progressive in predisposed individuals and are often preceded by the formation of autoantibodies (see Journal Watch Dermatology Nov 12 2003 and N Engl J Med 2003; 349:1526). Given this observation, it is natural to wonder whether disease-modifying therapy might delay the onset of LE symptoms.

In an extension of the earlier observations, some of the same authors studied 130 military recruits who eventually developed at least four American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE. They measured the effect of medication on lag time between the first clinical symptom and SLE diagnosis. The presenting symptom was arthritis in most patients, but several had cutaneous LE (discoid rash). Twenty-six …