Active clinical trials for "Lupus Nephritis"

The aim of this work is to study the effect and side effects of the cyclophosphamide versus mycophenolate in lupus nephritis

Urinary levels of plasmin ,TF , and TFPI are all elevated in active LN patients compared to inactive LN patients and healthy controls. All four proteins correlated with systemic disease activity and renal disease activity. Importantly, urine plasmin performed best among the four proteins in discriminating active LN from inactive disease, even better than traditional markers, such as anti ds DNA and complement C3. Furthermore, the combination of urine plasmin and TFPI showed higher specificity and negative predictive values than urine plasmin when compared to anti-ds DNA and complement C3

This study will be conducted to find out whether low dose or high dose cyclophosphamide therapy is effective in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis.It will also compare the side effects and risks of infection in low dose and high dose cyclophosphamide group. Half of the participants will receive a low dose cyclophosphamide for 3 months and half will receive high dose cyclophosphamide therapy monthly for 6 months followed by azathioprine 2 mg/kg.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of belimumab in adult patients with active lupus nephritis.

The purpose of this study is to: To access the efficacy of TW compared to Aza in the maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis To investigate the safety and tolerability of TW versus Aza in the maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis

Intravenous cyclophosphamide is considered to be the standard of care for treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis. However, its use is limited by potentially severe toxic effects. Cyclosporine A has been suggested to be an efficient and safe treatment alternative to cyclophosphamide. In a randomized, multicenter, open-label, controlled trial the investigators sought to compare the efficacy of oral cyclosporine A with intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide to induce durable remission in patients with lupus nephritis III-IV.

The purpose of this study is to examine the safety of a single dose of RG2077 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are currently receiving cyclophosphamide. This study will also determine if RG2077 is effective in decreasing disease activity in these patients. Study hypothesis: CTLA4-Ig mediates a T cell costimulatory blockade that effectively induces an antigen-specific nonresponsiveness in T cells.

The investigators study the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in the treatment of membranous nephritis secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus.

This study will test the safety and effectiveness of combination therapy with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and fludarabine in treating lupus nephritis (kidney inflammation). This condition, common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, is caused by abnormal action of immune cells called lymphocytes against the kidneys. Left untreated, severe cases can result in loss of kidney function. The current treatment of choice-intermittent high doses (pulses) of cyclophosphamide-does not work in all patients and causes infertility in many women. The rate of infertility in men is not known. This study will examine whether fludarabine can safely be given with significantly lower doses of cyclophosphamide, and if this combination controls kidney inflammation. Patients 18 years of age and older with severe lupus nephritis (called proliferative lupus nephritis) may be eligible for this study. Candidates will have a history and physical examination; blood and urine tests; chest X-ray; electrocardiogram; cancer screening that may include a Pap smear, mammogram, rectal examination, PSA testing, and sigmoidoscopy. Participants will be divided into one of the following treatment groups: Group 1-Patients undergo three treatment cycles of cyclophosphamide, taken by mouth, and fludarabine, injected subcutaneously (under the skin). Patients receive both drugs on day 1 of the cycle, and fludarabine alone on days 2 and 3. This regimen is repeated once every 5 weeks for three cycles. Group 2-Same as for Group 1, except fludarabine injections are given intravenously (through a vein) for the second treatment cycle. Patients in this group have frequent blood sampling during the first and second treatment cycles to monitor blood levels of the drug. Samples are collected before the first injection is given and at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 8, 24 and 48 hours after the third injection. A total 12 tablespoons of blood is drawn over a 2-month period. All patients will have blood drawn once or twice a week during the first two cycles and then less frequently to monitor blood counts. Some patients will have the following additional procedures to test the effects of treatment on lymphocytes: Blood sample collection Bone marrow aspiration-The skin over the hip bone is cleaned and a local anesthetic is injected into the outer covering of the bone. Bone marrow is suctioned through the needle into an attached syringe. The procedure is done before treatment begins, at the end of treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Tonsillar biopsy-The tonsils are numbed with a local anesthetic and 1 to 4 pieces of tissue are removed using special forceps. The procedure is done before treatment begins, at the end of treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen-The patients lies on a table in a narrow cylinder (the MRI scanner) containing a strong magnetic field, which is used to create images of parts of the body in small section views. Patients will be followed for at least 24 months to monitor late side effects and the response to treatment.

Prospective, multi-center, randomized, controlled, trial to compare tacrolimus with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for induces complete remission in lupus nephritis patients. The study duration is one year. Research hypothesis The proportion of patients who have achieved complete remission between regimen of tacrolimus plus prednisolone is greater than MMF plus prednisolone as an induction therapy in lupus nephritis.