Effect of chloroquine on DNA synthesis in the skin of DLE patients

Changes in the semiconservative and excision repair DNA synthesis were studied autoradiographically in the skin of 12 patients with discoid lupus erythematosus during Chloroquine treatment (500 mg/day for 8 weeks). The originally increased rate of the semiconservative DNA synthesis in the area of the skin lesions returned to the normal level simultaneous with clinical improvement. No effect on the excision reapir DNA synthesis could be detected.