American clinicians have studied the prevalence and risk-taking among patients suffering from cutaneous autoimmune diseases who use herbal treatments:
These included dermatomyositis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),
- 673 adult patients consulting the University of Pennsylvania between 2007 and 2024 were included in a retrospective study,
- a third of the patients, particularly younger patients and Hispanics, had used this type of complementary medicine,
- adverse effects, in the form of exacerbation of their underlying disease, were noted in a third of dermatomyositis patients.
The authors blame elderberry and its derivatives in particular.
