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A beneficial influence of antimalarials on lipid profile of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has been recently claimed. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the effect of chloroquine on cholesterol levels of a Brazilian population with SLE. Sixty patients were studied, 95% females. Mean age was 48.7 years (SD 13.3 years). Overweight or obesity was documented in 27 cases (45%). Thirty-four patients (56.6%) were using chloroquine in standard dosage, while 33 (55%) were on corticosteroids. Hypercholesterolemia was present in 26 patients (43.3%), while low HDL cholesterol levels were seen in 18 cases (30%). Normal cholesterolemia was documented equally in users and non-users of antimalarials (P > 0.20). After adjustment for statin and corticosteroid intake by multivariate analysis, cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol levels did not significantly differ in users or non-users of chloroquine (P > 0.05). There was no association of chloroquine intake with low body mass index (P = 0.314). Our findings suggest that antimalarial intake by itself does not distinguish cholesterol profiles in SLE patients.

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is characterized by fever and lymphadenopathy, usually localized in the cervical region. This disease principally affects young females. It can be confused with lymphoma, adenocarcinoma metastasis and tuberculosis. We report two cases of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. In the first case, a 28-year-old female had been treated for tuberculosis one year prior and presented with a clinical and histological profile compatible with Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. The second patient, a 58-year-old female, initially received treatment for Wegener's granulomatosis and, subsequently, for tuberculosis. Histopathological examination followed by immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the diagnosis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease in both cases. After the definitive diagnosis had been made, both patients were treated symptomatically, and both presented clinical improvement within one month. Subsequently, the latter patient developed systemic lupus erythematosus.

Immune ablation of T lymphocytes, key players in the physiopathogenic processes leading to autoimmune diseases, may arrest scleroderma progression even in some severely ill patients. High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell reinfusion - sometimes named peripheral blood stem cell transplantation - has been an effective therapy for some autoimmune diseases, including scleroderma. In this paper the authors present a patient with the diffuse form of scleroderma who received immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide 0.5 g/m² and fludarabine followed by infusion of autologous CD-34+ cells without T lymphocyte purging. This patient was followed up with cutaneous score measures, imaging and laboratory tests, as well as a well-being questionnaire. After transplantation there were major positive responses on skin and gastrointestinal tract, with cessation of diarrhea and malabsorption syndrome. These clinical improvements did not last past 6 months. We observed transitory stem cell transfusion reaction and localized herpes zoster. The patient died 12 months after the procedure due to aspirative pneumonia and gastrointestinal complications. The immunosuppressive regimen, and not the autologous stem cell transplantation, could have been responsible for the observed transitory patient improvement.