Successful febuxostat desensitization in a patient with febuxostat hypersensitivity: A Malaysian experience.

Over the years, allopurinol has been widely used as the preferred choice of urate lowering therapy in patients with gout. However, its role in patients with renal impairment is limited; and adverse reactions are well documented. Febuxostat, a newer oral non-purine xanthine oxidase inhibitor has been proven in several trials to be more effective and tolerable compared to allopurinol and may be used in patients with renal impairment.

Vitamin D levels: its relationship to bone mineral density response and disease activity in premenopausal Malaysian systemic lupus erythematosus patients on corticosteroids.

Aim: To determine if baseline vitamin D levels would influence the gain in bone mineral density (BMD) in female systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients on corticosteroids (CS) taking bone-active medication.

Method: Premenopausal SLE patients participating in a trial assessing the efficacy of calcium alone, calcitriol and calcium, and alendronate and calcium, on BMD in patients on CS, were studied. Patients were randomly allocated to the treatment groups at the start of the study and followed up for 2 years.