title: [Treatment of lupus nephritis].
abstract: SLE begins with renal symptoms in about 30-50% of the patients and after 10 years over 70% of them has complications. In the last years the medical therapy improved the outcome of SLE and its complications. Presently, the survival for lupus nephritis is 80% after five years. The nephritis treatment is divided into remission-inducing treatment that is followed by remission-maintaining treatment. Moreover, it is considered the therapy for preventing or reducing toxic and side-effects from drugs and the therapy for flare-ups. To initiate the specific therapy is important to consider the histological class (WHO). In the remission-inducing treatment steroids are used alone for 3-6 months in class IIB or in association with cyclophosphamide in classes III-IV and V and for flare-ups. For remission-maintaining treatment steroids are used in association with azathioprine. The drugs improved the outcome of nephritis but produced side-effects that determined the suspension of the drug and/or reduction of dosage and/or the use of other drugs like mycophenolate mofetil or rituximab.
authors.affiliation: U.O. Nefrologia, Dialisi e Trapianti ARNAS Civico, Palermo. angelonef@libero.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrantelli
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bono
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tortorici
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Termini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giammarresi
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rotolo
mesh_terms: D003663:Decision Trees; D006801:Humans; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000188:drug therapy*