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. 2004 Dec;63(12):1623–1626. doi: 10.1136/ard.2003.016576

Dehydroepiandrosterone suppresses interleukin 10 synthesis in women with systemic lupus erythematosus

D Chang 1, S Chu 1, H Chen 1, S Kuo 1, J Lai 1
PMCID: PMC1754850  PMID: 15547086

Abstract

Objective: To study the effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (prasterone, DHEA) 200 mg/day on cytokine profiles in adult women with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: In a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled study conducted as part of a larger multicentre study, 30 adult women with active SLE received oral DHEA 200 mg/day or placebo for 24 weeks. Baseline prednisone (<10 mg/day) and other concomitant SLE medications were to remain constant. The levels of cytokines including interleukin (IL) 1, IL2, interferon γ, IL4, and IL10 were determined by ELISA. The mean change from baseline to 24 weeks of therapy was analysed.

Results: The two groups (DHEA n = 15; placebo n = 15) were well balanced for baseline characteristics. Only IL1ß and IL10 could be detected in the serum of lupus patients; however, there was no significant mean (SD) difference in serum IL1ß before and after treatment (9.94 (8.92) v 9.20 (6.49) pg/ml). IL10 demonstrated a greater and significant reduction from baseline (9.21 (9.66) to 1.89 (1.47) pg/ml in the DHEA treatment group).

Conclusions: In a 24 week study of adult Chinese women with mild to moderate SLE, treatment with DHEA 200 mg once daily resulted in significant reduction of serum levels of IL10. This finding may suggest why DHEA could significantly reduce lupus flares.

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Figure 1.

Figure 1

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 Hormone determination from baseline to last visit. (A) Change in oestradiol (B) change of testosterone. Data are means. The p value of the change in testosterone between groups was<0.05 (one way analysis of variance).

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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 Comparison of cytokine profiles. (a) Change in IL1ß after treatment for DHEA and placebo groups. Patients treated with DHEA showed an average decrease of 0.74 compared with patients with placebo, who showed an average increase of 1.8. (b) Change in IL10 in the two groups. Patients treated with DHEA revealed a statistically significant decrease (p<0.01) compared with their own baseline. The changes from baseline between the DHEA and placebo groups also reached statistical significance (p<0.05).

Selected References

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