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Study · Case report or series · n = 1 · 2025

2 results

From Prescription to Predicament: A Case of Semaglutide-Induced Discoid Lupus Erythematosus in an Adult Male Patient.

Nazzicone K, Sidiropoulos M, O'Toole A

Cureus3 Apr 2025Cited by 4 (Europe PMC)

PMID40330408 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC12051072 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.7759/cureus.81663 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-40330408
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Summary

We report the case of a 30-year-old male patient who presented with a pruritic, irregular, 4x3 cm scaly purple-red plaque with surrounding papules on his lateral face, scalp, and chin after the introduction of semaglutide (Ozempic). Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) was suspected. A punch biopsy of a scalp lesion showed interface changes with loss of pilosebaceous units and follicular plugging, findings consistent with DLE. A complete blood count, antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA), and extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) panel was quantified along with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), complement levels, creatinine, and glomerular filtration rate, ruling out systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The patient's condition improved with drug discontinuation as well as topical treatment, including tacrolimus 0.1% ointment and clobetasol lotion. Hydroxychloroquine 200 mg daily was trialed but discontinued due to the patient's concerns about ocular side effects. Follow-up after four months showed improvement, with less scale and erythema. Although semaglutide has been widely used for glycemic control and weight loss, cutaneous adverse effects are seldom reported. This case highlights the potential for drug-induced cutaneous lupus erythematosus (DICLE) associated with immune-modulating medications such as semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA).
CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study2

2 results from studies that gave the peptide. 2 results from people.

  1. 01HumanCase report or seriesSafety outcome

    In a 30-year-old man, a scaly purple-red facial and scalp plaque, with a biopsy consistent with discoid lupus erythematosus, appeared after semaglutide was introduced.

    In plain wordsIn one man, a scaly skin plaque, shown on biopsy to be discoid lupus, appeared after he started semaglutide.

    Peptide
    Semaglutide
    Outcome
    Not applicableDiscoid lupus erythematosus after semaglutide start
    Study

    n = 1

    Outcome group
    Adverse events · Skin and wound
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    We report the case of a 30-year-old male patient who presented with a pruritic, irregular, 4x3 cm scaly purple-red plaque with surrounding papules on his lateral face, scalp, and chin after the introduction of semaglutide (Ozempic).
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    A punch biopsy of a scalp lesion showed interface changes with loss of pilosebaceous units and follicular plugging, findings consistent with DLE.
  2. 02HumanCase report or seriesSafety outcome

    In the same patient, the condition improved after semaglutide was stopped and topical tacrolimus and clobetasol were given; at four months there was less scale and erythema.

    In plain wordsIn this man, the skin condition improved after he stopped semaglutide and used skin treatments, so the stopping alone cannot be credited.

    Peptide
    Semaglutide
    Outcome
    Not applicableSkin lesion course after semaglutide discontinuation
    Study

    n = 1

    Outcome group
    Adverse events · Skin and wound
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated

    Source sentences

    Summary
    The patient's condition improved with drug discontinuation as well as topical treatment, including tacrolimus 0.1% ointment and clobetasol lotion.
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Follow-up after four months showed improvement, with less scale and erythema.
    Summary · context
    We report the case of a 30-year-old male patient who presented with a pruritic, irregular, 4x3 cm scaly purple-red plaque with surrounding papules on his lateral face, scalp, and chin after the introduction of semaglutide (Ozempic).

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    11 Oct 2026, 00:04 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    9 Oct 2026, 03:06 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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