Dehydroepiandrosterone treatment of women with mild-to-moderate systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicentre randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

This aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a daily dose of 200mg DHEA versus a placebo in 120 women with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The researchers found that the number of patients with flares decreased by 16% in the group receiving DHEA. In addition, the number of women with serious adverse events, most relating to SLE flares, was significantly lower in the DHEA treated group compared with the placebo group.