Objective: To investigate the effect of APO E gene polymorphism over lipid profile, macular toxicity and clinical manifestations in RA and SLE patients treated with chloroquine.
Materials and methods: We studied 45 RA and 29 SLE patients treated with chloroquine who were classified based on the therapeutic regime of chloroquine into three groups: A) Cumulative dose of 100-300 g, B) >300 g and C) Never received chloroquine. Clinical evaluation, fasting lipid profile, visual field testing and stereoscopic photos of the retina were performed. APO E genotype was determined by PCR-RFLP.
Results: Reduced apo B levels in RA and SLE according to the cumulative dose of chloroquine 2/3 APO E genotype in a subset of SLE patients were observed. Macular toxicity was independent of both APO E genotype and cumulative chloroquine dose.
Conclusions: Reduced apo B levels were observed associated to chloroquine treatment and 2/3 APO E genotype.