Hydroxychloroquine

A Few Good Meds #2: HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may have symptom improvements with hydroxychloroquine treatment, which may also reduce cardiovascular risks associated with the disease, particularly at a high dose, according to researchers at the Meir Medical Center, in Kfar Saba, Israel. The researchers’ r…
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Sep 30. pii: S0002-9378(15)01192-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2015.09.078.…
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov|By Sciascia S , et al.


A Few Good Meds #2: HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE in Lupus

La Presse Médicale – Vol. 43 – N° 6P2 – p. e167-e180 – Hydroxychloroquine: A multifaceted treatment in lupus – EM|consulte
www.em-consulte.com

Don’t let the title of this article fool you: it’s not just about Lupus, but paints broad strokes of HCQ’s pleiotropic efficacies. More interestingly, it surveys our current understanding of HCQ’s novel modes of action.

Like Metformin, HCQ has similar wide-ranging benefits on inflammation, lipid metabolism, cardiovascular risk, cancer, aging and subfertility. Which is why it is second on my list of A Few Good Meds

It’s modes of action discovered so far seem to revolve around the innate immune system: lysosomes alkalinisation and stabilisation, inhibition of TLRs (esp TLR9), reduction of IFNgamma/IL1/IL6/TNFalpha, and more recently, TH17 cytokines.
It’s undisputed importance in preventing Lupus flare and progression (such that it is now recommended for life) perhaps attests to the role that innate activation plays in SLE, which till recent times is viewed as a mainly adaptive immunity disorder.
IFNgamma inhibitors for Lupus are looming over the horizon


A Few Good Meds #3: HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE

Hydroxychloroquine is one of many medications frequently used in rheumatology practice. Its remarkable versatility is attested by its routine use in lupus, in…
rheumnow.com

This EASY-2-READ (for clinicians) summary of HCQ rounds up today’s posts. But the previous one is the MUST-READ!