title: Steroid therapy and prognosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in the elderly.
abstract: Idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is an infrequent renal biopsy diagnosis in the elderly. In our single-centre referral registry there were only 17 cases seen in 822 biopsies performed in patients aged 60 or over giving an incidence of 2%. These seventeen patients ranged from age 61 to 78 at the time of biopsy and were followed a median period of 29.5 months. The incidence of nephrotic syndrome at baseline was similar to younger adults (70.5%), but both hypertension (71%) and renal insufficiency (53%) were higher. Fifty-three percent (9/17) of the patients were treated with either steroids or a combination of steroids and cytotoxic therapy. A complete remission in proteinuria was observed in 44% of the treated patients versus none in the untreated patients. No relapses were seen in those that had a complete remission. As well, none of the patients with a complete remission, versus 9/14 (63%) of the untreated or non-responsive patients progressed to renal failure during the observation period. One patient who was treated with cytotoxic therapy and steroids subsequently died of a pancreatic carcinoma. Idiopathic FSGS is an infrequent glomerulopathy in the elderly but it is important given its malignant natural history. Alternate day prednisone for up to 6 months may be a reasonable approach since a complete remission in proteinuria was seen in 44% of our treated patients and this response was closely linked to a good long-term prognosis. The risks of therapy however must be carefully weighed against the potential benefit in each case because of the advanced age of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Metropolitan Toronto Glomerulonephritis Registry, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Cattran
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pei
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011379:Prognosis; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone