Treatment of lupus skin involvement with quinacrine and hydroxychloroquine
Lupus, 06/10/2009
Cavazzana I et al. – Study reports that the combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and quinacrine (Qn) is rapidly effective at 100 mg/qd and well tolerated in the treatment of lupus skin lesions unresponsive to HCQ alone.
Methods- An evaluation of the efficacy of HCQ and Qn association, at 2 different dosages, in treatment of lupus skin lesions not responding to HCQ alone
- 34 pts, affected by cutaneous and SLE, were retrospectively analysed
- They were treated by HCQ (5 mg/Kg/qd) and Qn with two regimens: 100 mg/qd (29 cases) and 50 mg/qd (5 cases)
- Following cases showed a significant improvement with combination therapy:
- Discoid lupus erythematosus (19 cases)
- Acute malar rash (6 cases)
- Chilblain lupus (4 cases)
- 10 pts with subacute cutaneous lupus showed a PR, whereas lupus profundus didn’t improve
- Same ORR was recorded comparing 2 Qn regimens, but subjects taking 100 mg/qd improved more rapidly than the others
- 10 pts developed side effects, mainly represented by skin yellowish discolouration
- Depression and severe headache with nausea, which were globally recorded in 2 cases, led to drug withdrawal
- 1 additional case of hepatitis was recorded in a patient with preexisting Hepatitis C virus infection
