Effective Treatments for Japanese Patients' Skin Lesions Associated with Discoid Lupus Erythematosus

This chapter aims to discuss about Effective Treatments for Japanese Patients' Skin Lesions Associated with Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). DLE is an inflammatory skin disease that can occur in patients with or without systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Localized DLE, generalized/widespread DLE, hypertrophic/ verrucous DLE, and mucosal DLE are all clinical characteristics. There are topical and systemic therapies available. Corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors are examples of topical treatments. Antimalarials are widely accepted as first-line systemic therapy around the world. Dapsone and/or retinoids can also be beneficial if the positive and negative effects are carefully considered. It is critical to understand and explore the mechanics of skin eruption development utilizing various methodologies such as mouse models in order to find better treatments.

This publication describes the characteristics of DLE, its pathogenesis, diagnostics, and current and novel targeted therapy. A PubMed and Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews literature search was conducted, and the most relevant references were considered. DLE treatment encompasses both topical and systemic treatments. Professional application of topical corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors is considered first-line therapy. When topical treatments are ineffective, antimalarials are accepted as a first-line systemic therapy. An immunosuppressive or immunomodulator may be added if the antimalarial treatment program is insufficient. Some novel promising medicines have been evaluated or tested in patients who have become resistant to various combinations of antimalarials and immunosuppressives/immunomodulators.