Lupus Nephritis: Current Treatment Paradigm and Unmet Needs

Title:Lupus Nephritis: Current Treatment Paradigm and Unmet Needs

Volume: 13 Issue: 2

Author(s): Steven P. Menez*, Basset El Essawy and Mohamed G. Atta

Affiliation:

• Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Baltimore, MD,United States

Keywords: Chronic kidney disease, clinical trials, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), immunosuppression, kidney biopsy, systemic lupus erythematosus.

Abstract: Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation, which can result in a multitude of systemic or organ-limited manifestations, including the skin, lungs, heart, and kidney. SLE nephritis is present in an average of 38% of patients at the time of diagnosis, and may occur as the initial presentation of disease with progression to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in roughly 10-20% of patients.

Methods: A review of the current literature was undertaken to investigate the evolution of treatment of SLE nephritis based on randomized trials and robust observational studies. We aimed to provide a timeline of the development of current induction and maintenance therapy, as well as the development of novel targeted therapies, all leading to current guidelines.

Results: Based on all available current data on standard of care therapies for SLE nephritis, there is at best a complete remission rate of 50-60%, and roughly 13-25% of patients experience periods of relapse during maintenance therapy for SLE nephritis. Therefore, the need for newer, targeted therapies has been the focus of many current, ongoing clinical trials.

Conclusion: Standard induction and maintenance therapies at present are anti-proliferative and nonspecific, that is, interfering with the process of autoantigen presentation and activation of autoreactive leukocytes. However, newer agents with specific T-cell, B-cell, or proteasome targets are currently being investigated.

Cite this article as:

Menez P. Steven *, El Essawy Basset and Atta G. Mohamed, Lupus Nephritis: Current Treatment Paradigm and Unmet Needs, Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials 2018; 13 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1574887112666171123113200