Authors: Rita Raturi Avani A Patel John D Carter
Publish Date: 2016/12/20
Volume: 36, Issue: 3, Pages: 725-728
Abstract
Renal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus SLE is common and has been associated with an increased risk of mortality 1 Early diagnosis is imperative to control proteinuria and prevent the progression to endstage renal disease Standard induction therapies include cyclophosphamide CYC and mycophenolate mofetil MMF however it has been estimated that approximately 30 of patients are refractory to these standard treatments after 1 year 2 We present two cases of patients diagnosed with lupus nephritis LN who demonstrated persistent proteinuria while on standard treatments that markedly improved after addition of thalidomide THD A literature review was performed indicating that THD use with prednisolone PL was more efficacious than MMF with PL in resolving lupus nephritis in a mouse model Thalidomide which was well tolerated was associated with a reduction in the proteintocreatinine ratio with sustained results in both of our patient cases These cases suggest more clinical data is needed to explore the potential utility of thalidomide in the treatment of LN
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