Treatment with the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), sold as a dietary
supplement, for 3-6 months in SLE patients with mild to moderate disease
resulted in an improvement in indices for overall SLE activity. van Vollenhoven
RF et al: An open study of dehydroepiandrosterone in systemic lupus
erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum 37(9):1305-10, 1994.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, treatment for 3 months with the
hormone DHEA on 28 women with SLE resulted in a decrease in disease activity
whereas the placebo group experienced a small increase in disease activity. van
Vollenhoven RF et al: Dehydroepeiandrosterone in systemic lupus erythematosus.
Results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.
Arthritis Rheum 38(12):1826-31, 1995.
Autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus can result from destructive
enzymes which escape from lysosomes (digestive particles found inside cells)
whose membranes have been damaged by lipid peroxidation (peroxidation is
normally prevented by vitamin E). If these enzymes attack and denature normal
tissue proteins the immune system may treat the proteins as "non-self"
and initiate antibody attacks. The investigators gave large doses of vitamin E
to patients with autoimmune diseases on the grounds that it is a physiological
stabilizer of cellular and lysosomal membranes. Finding that lupus and several
other diseases responded to the supplements, the researchers postulate that
vitamin E deficiency may be involved in the onset of autoimmune diseases by
promoting damage to lysosome membranes. Ayres S Jr et al: Is vitamin E involved
in the autoimmune response? Cutis 21(3):321-5, 1978.
