Hydroxychloroquine has no significant effect on lipids and apolipoproteins in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients with mild or inactive disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who were either on a low dose of prednisone or not on prednisone.


METHODS
65 consecutive Chinese lupus patients without features of nephritis underwent assessment of the fasting serum lipid profile, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-cholesteorl (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A-1 (apo A-1), apolipoprotein B (apo B) and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)).


RESULTS
44/65 (67.7%) patients were on HCQ with a dose of 244 +/- 86 mg daily and 34/65 (52.3%) patients were on 4.3 +/- 2.6 mg daily of prednisone. The percentages of patients taking prednisone and the mean dose in those patients receiving this treatment were not different between the groups with or without HCQ treatment. TG tended to be lower in those patients on HCQ (median and interquartile range) (1.0 (0.7-1.4) mmol/L vs 1.2 (0.8 1.6) mmol/L), but there were no significant differences in TC or other lipid parameters including Lp(a) between the 2 groups of patients with or without HCQ treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
HCQ had no significant effect on the serum lipid profile in these lupus patients with mild or inactive disease. This finding probably reflects the low doses of corticosteroid used and a lower background lipid level in this population.
Tam
L S
LS
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, tamls 813@yahoo.com
Li
E K
EK
Lam
C W
CW
Tomlinson
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001053:Apolipoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011241:Prednisone / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D001053:Apolipoproteins; D008055:Lipids; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine; D011241:Prednisone