ANTIHISTONE ANTIBODY PROFILE IN SULFASALAZINE INDUCED LUPUS

Two patients developed drug induced lupus secondary to sulfasalazine ( SSZ). One patient was receiving SSZ for Crohn's disease and was subseq uently treated with olsalazine, which lacks the sulfapyridine componen t of SSZ. Her inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remained controlled and she did not develop a recurrence of lupus, suggesting that olsalazine is safe in patients with IBD and a history of SSZ induced lupus. The SSZ induced antibodies were predominantly IgG against the (H2A-H2B)-DN A complex. Since lupus induced by 7 other drugs was associated with a similar antibody response, our findings support the existence of a com mon pathway for autoantibody induction.