This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Drug-induced systemic lupus erythematosus

Authoring team

Drugs such as hydralazine may be associated with the development of an SLE-like syndrome.

However, compared to idiopathic SLE, in drug-induced SLE:

  • there is no female preponderance
  • renal and CNS involvement is uncommon
  • anti-ds DNA antibodies are generally absent
  • anti-Sm antibodies are generally absent
  • anti-histone antibodies are present in more than 95% of cases
  • the majority of cases resolve with withdrawal of the drug

People with the HLA-DR3 antigen seem particularly at risk of developing a drug-induced SLE. Such patients are "slow acetylators" - they have a genetically determined inability to acetylate the amine or hydralazine moiety of these drugs.

Nonacetylated metabolites accumulate, bind to nucleoprotein or cellular macromolecules, form an antigenic complex and induce an autoimmune reaction.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.