Efficacy of Vitamin C Supplementation on Malondialdehid Levels and Disease Activity in SLE Patients

This research is a double blind randomized controlled trial study. The study subjects were 38 patients diagnosed with mild to moderate lupus activity, randomly divided into 2 groups, who received vitamin C supplementation twice daily for 8 weeks and the group that received placebo. Serum malondialdehid levels and the degree of disease activity using MEX-SLEDAI score were measured before and after treatment.

Inclusion criteria

• All patients diagnosed with mild to moderate systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
• Patients aged over 18 years.
• Willing to participate in the study by signing an informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnant or breastfeeding patients.
• Patients currently taking vitamin C supplementation within the past 3 days.
• Patients with other immune-related disorders, either autoimmune or immunocompromised conditions, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection.
• Patients with comorbid diseases.
• Patients diagnosed with severe SLE or those who have achieved remission.
• Patients with hemochromatosis.
• Patients with a history of kidney stones.

Drop-Out Criteria

• Death before the completion of the study.
• Patients who stop taking the study medication for more than 3 weeks.
• Occurrence of severe side effects or worsening of the disease.
• Hospitalization or symptom worsening during the intervention period.
• Loss to follow-up.