When and How Is it Possible to Stop Therapy in Patients with Lupus Nephritis?

Author(s):  
Gabriella Moroni ◽  
Giulia Frontini ◽  
Claudio Ponticelli

Glucocorticoids and other immunosuppressants still represent the cornerstone drugs for the management of SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) and lupus nephritis. The refined use of these drugs over the years has allowed to obtain stable disease remission and improvement of the long-term kidney and patient survival. Nevertheless, a prolonged use of immunosuppressive agents may be accompanied by severe and even life-threatening side effects. Theoretically, a transient or even definitive withdrawal of immunosuppression could be useful to prevent iatrogenic morbidities. For many years, however, the risk of SLE reactivation has held clinicians back from trying to interrupt therapy. In this review we report the results of the attempts to interrupt glucocorticoids and other immunosuppressive agents in lupus nephritis and in SLE. The available data suggest that the therapy withdrawal is feasible at least in patients enjoying a complete clinical remission after a prolonged therapy. A slow and gradual reduction of treatment under medical surveillance is needed to prevent flares of activity. After therapy withdrawal around one quarter of patients may have kidney or systemic flares. However, most flares may respond to therapy if rapidly diagnosed. The other patients can enter stable remission even for 20 years or more. The use of antimalarials can help in maintaining the remission after the withdrawal of the immunosuppressive therapy. A repeated kidney biopsy could be of help in deciding to stop therapy, but given the few available data, it cannot be considered essential.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena V. Zakharova ◽  
Tatiana A. Makarova ◽  
Elena V. Zvonova ◽  
Alina M. Anilina ◽  
Ekaterina S. Stolyarevich

Lupus nephritis is one of the most severe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus features, defining treatment modality and prognosis. Our retrospective study, including 178 patients treated for lupus nephritis during 23 years with mostly cyclophosphamide-based initial regimens followed by azathioprine or mycophenolic acid, demonstrates 84.8% of renal response with 19.2% of flares, 15-year patient survival 78.7% and kidney survival 76.3%, and low damage accrual. Both patient and kidney survival significantly differ for subgroups that achieved complete or partial renal response and nonresponders: patient 15-year survival 95% versus 65% versus 35%; kidney 15-year survival 100% versus 58% versus 0%, respectively. 51% (24 out of 47) of patients evaluated at the end of the study period sustained complete renal response; however, only 9 of them had 0 disease activity according to SELENA SLEDAI scale, while 13 patients had scores 2–4 due to the serological abnormalities only. We conclude that (1) initial treatment with cyclophosphamide followed by azathioprine is effective and can be used in agreement with International Guidelines until the evidence for biological treatments benefits becomes available; (2) complete and even partial renal response have positive prognostic value, and failure to achieve renal response negatively influences kidney and patient survival; (3) the validity of complete renal response in SLE is questioned by the absence of conventional definition of SLE remission.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haider S Al-Hadad ◽  
Aqeel Abbas Matrood ◽  
Maha Abdalrasool Almukhtar ◽  
Haider Jabur Kehiosh ◽  
Riyadh Muhi Al-Saegh

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease. Few biomarkers for SLE have been validated and widely accepted for the laboratory follow-up of inflammatory activity. In SLE patients, with lupus nephritis (LN), complement activation leads to fluctuation of serum C3 and C4 that are frequently used as clinicalm biomarker of disease activity in SLE. Patients and Methods: In this study the number of patients were 37, seven patients were excluded for incomplete data collection, 28 were females ,2 were males. The duration of the study is two years from 2015 to 2017. Patients were considered to have SLE and LN according to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, and International Society of Nephrology/ Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS). All patients were evaluated withm clinical presentation, laboratory investigations. Our patients underwent kidney biopsy according to standard procedure by Kerstin Amann, and their tissue specimens were studied in the laboratory with light microscope (LM) and immunofluorescence microscope reagents. The relationship between the serological markers and immunofluorescence deposits in kidney biopsy of all patients were studied using the statistical analysis of Pearson correlation and single table student's T test. A P value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The granular pattern of IF deposits was present in all LN patients, and in more than two third of patients these IF deposits presented in glomerular, tubular, and mesangium sites. While less than one third of patients had IF deposits in the mesangium only. There was no statistically significant correlation between serum ANA, anti-dsDNA, and IF deposits of different types. There was significant correlation between serum C3 and C4 hypocomplementemia and IgG immune deposits in kidney biopsy, and there was significant relationship between serum C3 hypocomplementemia and full house immunofluorescence (FHIF) deposits inm kidney biopsy.Conclusions:Immunofluorescence deposits is mainly granular pattern in LN patients. There was no significant association between serum ANA, anti-dsDNA, and immune deposits in kidney tissue. Immunofluorescence deposits of IgG type correlates significantly with serum C3 and C4 hypocomplemetemia, and these immune deposits in association with low complement levels correlates with LN flare. There was significant correlation between C3 hypocomplementemia and FHIF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1403.2-1403
Author(s):  
L. Bohmat ◽  
N. Shevchenko ◽  
I. Bessonova

Background:Lupus nephritis is the most severe and adverse systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) syndrome. According to modern recommendations, the clinical manifestations of active nephritis should be taken under medical control in 6 months after the start of the disease’s treatment1.Objectives:The aim of this study was to examine the functional status of the kidneys in children with SLE in the course of the disease for more than one year.Methods:The analysis included case histories of 43 patients with SLE, mostly females (41), aged 7 to 18 years (mean age 14.4 years) with disease duration of 4.75 ± 0.58 years of whom 22 were less than three years, 21 - more than three years. All children received corticosteroid therapy, at the time of the examination the average dose was 13.85 ± 1.86 mg per day in terms of prednisolone. The second component of therapy was azathioprine (average dose 97.61 ± 2.11 mg). All children received hydroxychloroquine (5 mg/kg per day).To determine the functional state of the kidneys a clinical analysis of urine, a study of the scope of specific gravity of urine during the day (Zymnytsky test), the content of creatinine and urea in serum to determine the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), the level of microalbuminuria per day were evaluated.Results:Renal involvement in the developed SLE occurred in 73.08% of patients. Among them, therapy during the first 6 months was considered quite effective in 58.06% of patients. It was found that in children with disease duration from one to three years proteinuria was registered in 68.18%, a decrease in GFR in 4.45% and hyperfiltration in 9.09%. In the group of children with duration of SLE more than three years revealed deeper changes in renal function; there was proteinuria in 90.47%, the frequency of GFR decreased was in 19.04%, a decrease of renal concentration function was in 14.28% of cases.Indicators of renal function in children with SLE depending on the duration of the disease (M ± m)IndicatorDuration of the diseasefrom 1 year to 3 years n = 22over 3 yearsn = 21Creatinine, mmol/l0,080 ± 0,0140,090 ± 0,018Мочевина, mmol/l5,66 ± 1,425,63 ± 1,61GFR, ml/min117,05 ± 19,68100,20 ± 18,98 *Microalbuminuria, mg/day24,41 ± 13,1334,73 ± 24,76Density min1,007 ± 0,0051,006 ± 0,005Density max1,024 ± 0,0051,019 ± 0,005 ***р<0,03;**р<0,01 the probability of differences when comparing between groupsConclusion:Long-term follow-up of children with SLE over one year reveals a prolongation of renal dysfunction, which worsens after three years, and is the basis for the development of irreversible renal impairment.References:[1]European evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of childhood-onset lupus nephritis: the SHARE initiative /Noortje Groot, Nienke de Graeff, Stephen D Marks et all. //Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Dec;76(12):1965-1973.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 705-708
Author(s):  
Natasa Jovanovic ◽  
Jasmina Markovic-Lipkovski ◽  
Stevan Pavlovic ◽  
Biljana Stojimirovic

Introduction. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic immunological disease causing a significant morbidity and mortality in younger women and involving several organs and systems, most often the kidneys, being consequently the incidence of lupus nephritis (LN) about 60%. Case report. We reported a 57 year-old patient with the diagnosed SLE in 1995. Pathohistological analysis of kidney biopsy revealed LN type V. The patient was treated with corticosteroid pulses and azathioprine during one year. A remission was achieved and maintained with prednisone, 15 mg daily. Nephrotic relapse was diagnosed in 2006 and the second kidney biopsy revealed recent kidney infarction due to extensive vasculitis. Soon, a cerebrovascul insult developed and CT-scan revealed endocranial infarctus. The patient was treated with corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide pulses (totally VI monthly pulses), and also with low-molecular heparine, anticoagulants and salicylates because of the right leg phlebothrombosis. After the pulses, the patient was adviced to take prednisone 20 mg daily and azothioprine 100 mg daily, and 6 months later mycophenolate mofetil because of persistent active serological immunological findings (ANA 1 : 320) and nephrotic syndrome. Mycophenolate mofetil was efficient in inducing and maintaining remission of nephrotic syndrome. Conclusion. The aim of LN treatment is to achieve and maintain remission, improve patients? outcome, reduce the toxicity of immunosuppressive drugs and the incidence of relapses. Mycophenolate mofetil was shown to be efficient in inducing and maintaining remission of nephrotic syndrome in the frame of LN.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Alfredo Podestà ◽  
Giuseppe Remuzzi ◽  
Federica Casiraghi

Transplantation is the gold-standard treatment for the failure of several solid organs, including the kidneys, liver, heart, lung and small bowel. The use of tailored immunosuppressive agents has improved graft and patient survival remarkably in early post-transplant stages, but long-term outcomes are frequently unsatisfactory due to the development of chronic graft rejection, which ultimately leads to transplant failure. Moreover, prolonged immunosuppression entails severe side effects that severely impact patient survival and quality of life. The achievement of tolerance, i.e., stable graft function without the need for immunosuppression, is considered the Holy Grail of the field of solid organ transplantation. However, spontaneous tolerance in solid allograft recipients is a rare and unpredictable event. Several strategies that include peri-transplant administration of non-hematopoietic immunomodulatory cells can safely and effectively induce tolerance in pre-clinical models of solid organ transplantation. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), non-hematopoietic cells that can be obtained from several adult and fetal tissues, are among the most promising candidates. In this review, we will focus on current pre-clinical evidence of the immunomodulatory effect of MSC in solid organ transplantation, and discuss the available evidence of their safety and efficacy in clinical trials.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine I. Brunner ◽  
Michael R. Bennett ◽  
Gaurav Gulati ◽  
Khalid Abulaban ◽  
Marisa S. Klein-Gitelman ◽  
...  

Objective.To delineate urine biomarkers that forecast response to therapy of lupus nephritis (LN).Methods.Starting from the time of kidney biopsy, patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus who were diagnosed with LN were studied serially. Levels of 15 biomarkers were measured in random spot urine samples, including adiponectin, α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), ceruloplasmin, hemopexin, hepcidin, kidney injury molecule 1, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, lipocalin-like prostaglandin D synthase (LPGDS), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), transferrin, and vitamin D binding protein (VDBP).Results.Among 87 patients (mean age 15.6 yrs) with LN, there were 37 treatment responders and 50 nonresponders based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria. At the time of kidney biopsy, levels of TGF-β (p < 0.0001) and ceruloplasmin (p = 0.006) were significantly lower among responders than nonresponders; less pronounced differences were present for AGP, hepcidin, LPGDS, transferrin, and VDBP (all p < 0.05). By Month 3, responders experienced marked decreases of adiponectin, AGP, transferrin, and VDBP (all p < 0.01) and mean levels of these biomarkers were all outstanding (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve ≥ 0.9) for discriminating responders from nonresponders. Patient demographics and extrarenal disease did not influence differences in biomarker levels between response groups.Conclusion.Low urine levels of TGF-β and ceruloplasmin at baseline and marked reduction of AGP, LPGDS, transferrin, or VDBP and combinations of other select biomarkers by Month 3 are outstanding predictors for achieving remission of LN. If confirmed, these results can be used to help personalize LN therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 570-573
Author(s):  
Hongjian Ye ◽  
Peiyi Cao ◽  
Jianxiong Lin ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
Qunying Guo ◽  
...  

The long-term clinical outcomes of peritoneal dialysis (PD) for patients with lupus nephritis (LN) have not been well researched. In the present study, we investigated the long-term prognosis of a Chinese PD cohort. This was a retrospective case-control study that included LN patients receiving PD treatment for more than 90 days from January 2006 to December 2012. Non-diabetic control patients were selected using a ratio of 1:2 for age- and gender-matching. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included technique failure and hospitalization rate. All patients were followed up to 31 December 2017. A total of 28 LN patients on PD (89.3% female, mean age 42.2±15.8 years) and 56 controls were included. After a median follow-up period of 53.1 months, 11 LN patients died. The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year patient survival rates were 92.4%, 84.7%, and 67.6% in LN patients, and 100%, 93.5%, and 82.9% in the control group, respectively ( p = 0.035). After adjusting for confounders, LN was not significantly associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45 – 4.26); However, LN was still an independent risk factor of technique failure (HR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.08 – 7.66). Meanwhile, the LN group had significantly higher hospitalization and infection rates. In conclusion, LN patients undergoing PD had poor patient survival and technique survival, and higher hospitalization and infection rates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshul Mittal ◽  
Jagdish Chander Suri ◽  
Shibdas Chakrabarti ◽  
Pranav Ish

It is uncommon for Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) to present with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) as the initial presentation. To diagnose this in a young male with no renal involvement is further uncommon. We report a case of a 16-year-old boy, who presented with hemoptysis and was eventually diagnosed as DAH with underlying SLE. Treatment with steroids and immunosuppressant helped in rapid recovery from this potentially life-threatening condition. This case highlights the need of defining diagnostic criteria for SLE in patients presenting as DAH and formulating guidelines for treatment of the same, especially in absence of co-existing lupus nephritis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59
Author(s):  
Pushpa Gurudas Kini ◽  
Karen Moras ◽  
Sandeep Kumar ◽  
Deepti Shetty

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a relatively rare and life threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in childhood. We report two distinct cases of SLE presenting with DAH as the sole manifestation of the disease during long term follow up. Both were successfully treated with oral prednisolone.


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