Outcome of patients with lupus nephritis under long-term immunonephrological care / Tartós immunonephrológiai gondozásban részesült lupus nephritises betegeink hosszú távú kezelési eredményei

INTRODUCTION: Lupus nephritis is the most severe complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), its development and the effectiveness of immunosuppressive therapy substantially influence patients' quality of life and survival. AIM: In this retrospective observational investigation, the long term-outcome of patients with lupus nephritis, followed at the St. Margit Hospital Immunonephrological Outpatient Clinic, was evaluated. RESULTS: Between 1997 December 1 and 2019 April 30, 73 patients (age 33.7 ± 15 years, 82% female, 18% male) were under care with median observation of 119 [between 3-264] months. At diagnosis, eGFR showed 68 [7-120] ml/min, proteinuria was 2800 [23-16812] mg/day; 10 patients needed dialysis treatment acutely. Renal biopsy, performed in 68 patients, proved proliferative lupus nephritis in 55 and pure membranous lupus nephritis in 6 patients. Administering combined immunosuppressive therapy, complete remission was achieved in 50 and partial remission in 21 cases; one or repeated relapses developed in 28 subjects. Two patients, by the time they got under our care, had already required chronic dialysis, and in the long term, three more patients progressed to end-stage renal disease requiring renal replacement therapy. Renal function stabilized in all other participants, clinical activity of SLE, SLEDAI score, complement levels and immunserology results improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Lupus nephritis can be effectively treated by combined induction and prolonged maintenance immunosuppression, but to prevent progression of the disease, long-term care is necessary by co-operation of nephrologist and immunologist. To provide adequate prevention and therapy of the SLE's multiorgan involvement and also the potential complications of immunosuppression, multidisciplinary team is needed with all specialists who may facilitate these patients' complex care. For the long-term management of patients with lupus nephritis, the nephrologists have to be responsible, and the multidisciplinary teams also have to be under their direction. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(31): 1293-1301.

Physician-patient interaction and medication adherence in lupus nephritis.

OBJECTIVE: The quality of physician-patient interaction can have a significant impact on medication adherence. Little is known about this relationship in patients with lupus nephritis. METHODS: A cross-sectional, quantitative study. Data collected included demographics, current medication, systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index, medication adherence, beliefs about medicines, shared decision-making, patient-doctor depth of relationship, patient-doctor quality of relationship, interpersonal trust in a physician and illness perceptions. RESULTS: Ninety-eight patients with lupus nephritis completed the questionnaires. Logistic regression indicated that medication adherence was significantly predicted by (a) interpersonal trust in a physician (B = 0.85, Wald 3.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01, 5.44; P = 0.05); (b) timeline cyclical (B = -0.89, Wald 4.95, 95% CI 0.19, 0.90; P < 0.05) and beliefs about the necessity of medicines (B = 0.75, Wald 4.14, 95% CI 1.03, 4.38; P < 0.05). Mediation analysis showed that beliefs about the necessity of medicines significantly mediated the relationship between trust and medication adherence when adjusted for age (B = 0.48, 95% CI 0.06, 1.08; P < 0.01). A further mediation analysis showed that patient-doctor depth of relationship (B = 0.05, 95% CI 0.01, 0.09; P < 0.001), shared decision-making (B = 0.07, 95% CI 0.01, 0.13; P < 0.001) and patient-doctor quality of relationship (B = 0.08, 95% CI 0.01, 0.16; P < 0.001) significantly mediated the relationship between illness coherence and interpersonal trust in a physician. CONCLUSION: The findings highlighted two key elements: (a) the importance of trust in relation to medication adherence; and (b) a good understanding of patients' illness is linked to a better relationship with their doctor and greater participation in shared decision-making which is associated with increased trust. Tailored psycho-educational interventions could contribute to improving the patient-doctor relationship quality, trust and increased shared decision-making, which, in turn, might improve medication adherence in patients with lupus nephritis.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations are not uncommon in Indian lupus patients and negatively affect quality of life.

Objectives The objectives of this paper are to look at the prevalence of neuropsychiatric manifestations and assess their impact on quality of life in North Indian lupus patients. Methods The study included consecutive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were older than 18 years and met the SLICC 2012 criteria. A diagnosis of a neuropsychiatric syndrome was made as per ACR 1999 definitions. Manifestations occurring at any point in time after the diagnosis of SLE were considered if a reliable history and medical records were available. Quality of life was assessed by EuroQol-5D questionnaire. Means were compared by student t test for normally distributed data. Comparison of quality of life between groups was performed by the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results This study included 101 patients of SLE with mean (±SD) age of 32.3 ± 10.0 years and a majority ( n = 92) were females. Mean (±SD) age of diagnosis of SLE was 27.8 ± 9.2 years and disease duration (after diagnosis) was 4.6 ± 4.5 years. Thirty-three patients had neuropsychiatric manifestations with a total of 42 events. The most common manifestation was headache (10%) followed by anxiety disorder (5%) and peripheral neuropathy (9%). Other NPSLE syndromes observed in the study are seizure (4%), cognitive dysfunction (4%), depression (4%), acute confusional state (2%), autonomic neuropathy (2%), movement disorder (1%), and mononeuritis multiplex (1%). On comparing the groups of NPSLE, nephritis, and neither, there was a significant difference in mobility, self-care, pain, and worry. On post hoc test, there was a significant difference between the NPSLE and neither group. Conclusion Neuropsychiatric manifestations significantly affect quality of life in North Indian SLE patients.

Disease-specific quality of life in patients with lupus nephritis.

Background Patient-reported outcomes in lupus nephritis (LN) are not well studied. Studies with disease-targeted PRO tool in LN do not exist. Herein, we describe quality of life (QOL: HRQOL & non-HRQOL) among LN patients using LupusPRO. Methods International, cross-sectional data from 1259 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and LupusPRO were compared, stratified by (a) presence of LN (ACR classification criteria (ACR-LN)) at any time and, (b) active LN (on SLEDAI) at study visit. Damage was assessed by SLICC/ACR-SDI. Multivariate regression analyses for QOL against ACR-LN (active LN) after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity and country of recruitment were performed. Results Mean (SD) age was 41.7 (13.5) yrs, 93% were women. Five hundred and thirty-nine of 1259 SLE patients had ACR-LN. ACR-LN group was younger, were more often on immunosuppressive medications, had worse QOL on lupus medications and procreation than non-ACR-LN patients. HRQOL and non-HRQOL scores were similar in both groups. One hundred and twenty-nine of 539 ACR-LN patients had active LN. Active LN group was younger, had greater disease activity and had worse HRQOL and non-HRQOL compared to patients without active LN. Specific domains adversely affected were lupus symptoms, lupus medications, procreation, emotional health, body image and desires-goals domains. Patients with ACR-LN and active LN fared significantly worse in lupus medications and procreation HRQOL domains, even after adjusting for age, ethnicity, gender and country of recruitment. Conclusions Lupus nephritis patients have poor QOL. Patients with active LN have worse HRQOL and non-HRQOL. Most domains affected are not included in the generic QOL tools used in SLE. LN patients must receive discussion on lupus medications and procreation issues. Patients with active LN need comprehensive assessments and addressal of QOL, along with treatment for active LN.

Mycophenolate mofetil and deflazacort combination in neuropsychiatric lupus: a decade of experience from a tertiary care teaching hospital in southern India.

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is an effective therapeutic agent with high safety profile in the management of lupus nephritis. This retrospective study was conducted to assess the efficacy and side effect profile of MMF as induction as well as maintenance therapeutic agent along with tapering steroids in neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE). Hospital electronic medical records of patients with SLE diagnosed by ACR 1990 and/or SLICC 2012 criteria between January 2005 and May 2015 were retrieved. Among them, patients fulfilling ACR 1999 criteria for NPSLE were identified. Data of NPSLE patients treated with MMF as upfront second line immunosuppressive agent, both for induction and maintenance, were analyzed. Of the 140 patients with NPSLE, 88 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Mean age of the cohort was 25.51 ± 7.82 years with female to male ratio of 84:4. Median duration of follow-up was 33 months (3-129 months). Seizure was the most common NPSLE manifestation (n = 37, 42.05%). Of the 88 patients, 18 had NPSLE solely due to secondary antiphospholipid syndrome. Of the remaining 70 patients, 61 (87.1%) had improved, 7 remained unchanged with no worsening and 3 patients had worsening or developed new symptoms during follow up after 3 months from baseline. At last follow-up, 55 out of 57 patients (97.1%) with detailed data had improved, while 2 patients had relapsed. Side effects were significantly more common in patients on prednisolone as compared to those on deflazacort. In patients with NPSLE, MMF along with tapering steroids is an efficacious combo in inducing remission and preventing relapse of disease.

Individualized patient decision-aid for immunosuppressive drugs in women with lupus nephritis: study protocol of a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Systemic Lupus erythematosus (SLE), also commonly referred to as lupus, is a rare, but sometimes, fatal disease, that primarily affects young women. Lupus nephritis, a common manifestation of lupus, is more common and more devastating in patients of minority race/ethnicity. Patients have negative views of immunosuppressive drugs for lupus nephritis due to a concern about side effects and under-appreciation of its benefit. We designed a study to assess the effectiveness of individualized, computerized patient decision-aid for immunosuppressive drugs for lupus nephritis compared to a standard pamphlet for patient decision-making. METHODS: Adult women with lupus nephritis, with a current lupus nephritis flare or at risk of a future lupus nephritis flare will be randomized to individualized, computerized patient decision-aid for immunosuppressive drugs vs. standard pamphlet with information about lupus and its treatment including immunosuppressive drugs and outcomes. Patients will complete outcome assessments immediately after the intervention has been administered. Patients will be followed at 3-months with a brief survey, either in person or on the phone, and at 6-months with medical record review for exploratory outcomes. Co-primary outcomes are decisional conflict and informed choice regarding immunosuppressive drugs (combines values, knowledge and choice). Secondary outcomes include: (1) assessment of patient-physician communication by assessing audio-taped physician-patient communication after intervention administration; (2) concordance between patient's desired and actual role in immunosuppressive drugs decision-making using the control preference scale (CPS); and (3) patient perception of physician interaction using the interpersonal process of care- short form (IPC-SF). DISCUSSION: This is one of the first studies to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention targeting minorities with lupus nephritis. This patient-centered lupus nephritis decision-aid will be available in the public domain in English and Spanish. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02319525 ; registered on November 5, 2014.

CSF-1R inhibition attenuates renal and neuropsychiatric disease in murine lupus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease that can affect multiple end organs. Kidney and brain are two of the organs most commonly involved in SLE. Past studies have suggested the importance of macrophages in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN). Furthermore, as the immune effectors of the brain, microglia have been implicated in pathways leading to neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE). We depleted macrophages and microglia using GW2580, a small colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) kinase inhibitor, in MRL-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) mice, a classic murine lupus model that displays features of both LN and NPSLE. Treatment was initiated before the onset of disease, and mice were followed for the development of LN and neurobehavioral dysfunction throughout the study. Treatment with GW2580 significantly ameliorated kidney disease, as evidenced by decreased proteinuria, BUN, and improved renal histopathology, despite equivalent levels of IgG and C3 deposition in the kidneys of treated and control mice. We were able to confirm macrophage depletion within the kidney via IBA-1 staining. Furthermore, we observed specific improvement in the depression-like behavioral deficit of MRL/lpr mice with GW2580 treatment. Circulating antibody and autoantibody levels were, however, not affected. These results provide additional support for the role of macrophages as a potentially valuable therapeutic target in SLE. Inhibiting CSF-1 receptor signaling would be more targeted than current immunosuppressive therapies, and may hold promise for the treatment of renal and neuropsychiatric end organ disease manifestations.

Barriers to Medication Decision Making in Women with Lupus Nephritis: A Formative Study using Nominal Group Technique.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the perspectives of women with lupus nephritis on barriers to medication decision making. METHODS: We used the nominal group technique (NGT), a structured process to elicit ideas from participants, for a formative assessment. Eight NGT meetings were conducted in English and moderated by an expert NGT researcher at 2 medical centers. Participants responded to the question: "What sorts of things make it hard for people to decide to take the medicines that doctors prescribe for treating their lupus kidney disease?" Patients nominated, discussed, and prioritized barriers to decisional processes involving medications for treating lupus nephritis. RESULTS: Fifty-one women with lupus nephritis with a mean age of 40.6 ± 13.3 years and disease duration of 11.8 ± 8.3 years participated in 8 NGT meetings: 26 African Americans (4 panels), 13 Hispanics (2 panels), and 12 whites (2 panels). Of the participants, 36.5% had obtained at least a college degree and 55.8% needed some help in reading health materials. Of the 248 responses generated (range 19-37 responses/panel), 100 responses (40%) were perceived by patients as having relatively greater importance than other barriers in their own decision-making processes. The most salient perceived barriers, as indicated by percent-weighted votes assigned, were known/anticipated side effects (15.6%), medication expense/ability to afford medications (8.2%), and the fear that the medication could cause other diseases (7.8%). CONCLUSION: Women with lupus nephritis identified specific barriers to decisions related to medications. Information relevant to known/anticipated medication side effects and medication cost will form the basis of a patient guide for women with systemic lupus erythematosus, currently under development.

Current management of lupus nephritis.

Despite decades of clinical research aimed at finding the most appropriate immunosuppressive regime, lupus nephritis (LN) remains one of the major disease manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with a great impact on survival and quality of life. We start this review by defining the disease burden, the real-world challenges and the poor prognostic factors. We then discuss the current anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic and biologic therapies, with special emphasis on the need for optimal global care.

Illness perceptions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and proliferative lupus nephritis.

This study investigated the illness perceptions of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and whether perceptions are influenced by type of treatment for proliferative lupus nephritis. In addition, the illness perceptions of SLE patients were compared with those of patients with other chronic illnesses. Thirty-two patients who had experienced at least one episode of proliferative lupus nephritis were included. Patients were treated with either a high or low-dose cyclophosphamide (CYC) regimen (National Institutes of Health [NIH] vs. Euro-Lupus protocol). Illness perceptions were measured with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) and a drawing assignment. The low-dose CYC group perceived their treatment as more helpful than the high-dose CYC group. In comparison with patients with asthma, SLE patients showed more negative illness perceptions on five of the eight illness perception domains. Drawings of the kidney provided additional information about perceptions of treatment effectiveness, kidney function and patients' understanding of their illness. Drawing characteristics showed associations with perceptions of consequences, identity, concern and personal control. These findings suggest that the type of treatment SLE patients with proliferative lupus nephritis receive may influence perceptions of treatment effectiveness. In addition, patients' drawings reveal perceptions of damage caused by lupus nephritis to the kidneys and the extent of relief provided by treatment. The finding that SLE is experienced as a more severe illness than other chronic illnesses supports the need to more frequently assess and aim to improve psychological functioning in SLE patients.

Neuropsychiatric lupus in patients with lupus glomerulonephritis.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms are recognized to occur in a significant percentage of systemic lupus erythematosus patients and to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in lupus. The aim of the present study is to investigate neuropsychiatric symptoms in the patients with lupus nephritis without chronic renal failure. We studied 74 patients (4 male, 70 female) with SLE without chronic renal failure. Disease activity was assessed by the European Consensus Lupus activity Measurement (ECLAM). Renal biopsies disclosed type V lesions in 23 patients, type IV--in 34, type III--in 3, type II--in 11, type I--in 3 patients. Two control groups are used--with rheumatoid arthritis (96 patients) and 63 healthy subjects. The most frequent clinical manifestations are cognitive dysfunction (52.94%), headache (29.41%), psychoses (17.65%), epileptic seizures (20.59%) etc., and the most common cognitive deficit is related to impairment of the memory. The tests for cognitive disorders and nuclear magnetic resonance are the methods of investigation, by which the nervous system injuries are most early detected in the course of the disease. The presented study describes the correlations between the immunologic deviations (antiribosomal P-antibodies, aPL, aSm, aC1q), MMP-9, AT III and the NP injuries.

Fluctuation in self-perceived stress and increased risk of flare in patients with lupus nephritis carrying the serotonin receptor 1A -1019 G allele.

OBJECTIVE: Stress is believed to be a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flare. Two serotonin-related gene polymorphisms, the serotonin receptor 1A (5-HT1A) polymorphism at -1019C>G and the serotonin transporter LS polymorphism, have been reported to affect stress-related behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between self-perceived stress (SPS), variability in SPS, and the 2 serotonin-related gene polymorphisms as risk factors for SLE flare. METHODS: Seventy-seven SLE patients (50 with lupus nephritis) were evaluated every 2 months (mean +/- SD total followup 18.5 +/- 8.5 months), and patients recorded their daily SPS levels (0-10 scale). Values for mean SPS and coefficient of variation (CV) for SPS were calculated from the 60-day block of daily measurements between study visits. Serotonin-related gene polymorphism genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based methods. RESULTS: Of the 77 patients, 53 experienced 80 flares of SLE (32 renal flares) based on prespecified criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed that whereas neither the serotonin-related gene polymorphisms nor the mean SPS was predictive of an SLE flare, an increased CV for SPS was predictive (P = 0.0031). Interaction between the CV for SPS and the 5-HT1A -1019C>G polymorphism was also found to be a predictor of SLE flare (P = 0.0039). Subset analysis revealed that only in lupus nephritis patients were increasing CVs for SPS (P = 0.0002) and the interaction between CVs for SPS and 5-HT1A (P < 0.0001) predictive of a flare. Odds ratio curves demonstrated that the predictive effect of increasing CVs for SPS required the presence of the 5-HT1A -1019 G allele, but appeared to be independent of the G allele number. CONCLUSION: Fluctuation in the level of SPS is a risk factor for the onset of flare in SLE patients with major renal manifestations when it occurs on the background of a stress-related susceptibility gene (the 5-HT1A -1019 G allele).

Quality of life comparison between corticosteroid- and-mycofenolate mofetil and corticosteroid- and-oral cyclophosphamide in the treatment of severe lupus nephritis.

There is accumulating evidence that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), when combined with corticosteroid, is an effective induction treatment for severe proliferative lupus nephritis and is associated with fewer adverse effects compared to cyclophosphamide (CTX), but the quality of life (QOL) associated with these regimens as perceived by the patient has not been compared. This study included patients who had experienced both treatment regimens, for distinct episodes of diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis. QOL parameters during the first six months of each treatment were assessed through SF36 and WHOQOL questionnaires. Twelve patients and 24 episodes of severe lupus nephritis were studied. CTX-treated and MMF-treated episodes showed comparable baseline characteristics and response rate, with complete remission occurring in 83.3%. MMF treatment was associated with higher numerical scores for all domains across both QOL instruments than CTX. MMF treatment was associated with significantly less fatigue, less impediment of physical and social functioning, and better psychological well being compared to CTX. When each patient served as her/his own control, most patients ascribed higher QOL domain scores to the MMF-treated episode. Seventy-five percent of patients found MMF treatment more acceptable and preferred when compared with CTX, and the complications that most concerned them included Cushingoid features, alopecia, menstrual disturbance and infections. These data showed that MMF-based induction immunosuppression for severe lupus nephritis was associated with better QOL than CTX as perceived by patients, which was most likely attributed to the reduced side-effects during MMF treatment.

Risk-attitude and patient treatment preferences.

Women's treatment preferences for lupus nephritis vary widely even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and disease severity. Attitude toward risk may partially explain interpatient variability in treatment preference. The objective of this study was to examine the association between 'risk-attitude' and patient treatment preferences in lupus nephritis. Sixty-five premenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus were interviewed. Patient preferences for cyclophosphamide versus azathioprine for the treatment of lupus nephritis were ascertained using an Adaptive Conjoint Analysis questionnaire. Risk-attitude was ascertained by asking patients to choose between a pair of lotteries having the same expected value but differing in spread (the difference between the worst and best outcomes). Respondents preferring the wider spread were classified as relatively more risk-seeking and those preferring the narrower spread were classified as relatively more risk-averse. Twenty-eight percent of respondents were classified as relatively more risk-seeking. Risk-seeking women were more likely to prefer cyclophosphamide for the treatment of lupus nephritis compared with risk-averse women [least square mean (+/- SD) preference for cyclophosphamide 63 +/- 3 among risk-seeking women versus 55 +/- 2 among risk-averse women (P < 0.03)]. The association between risk attitude and treatment preference persisted asthe probabilities of adverse events were varied to reflect the range of risks reported in the literature. Our results suggest that patients' relative risk-attitudes, as measured by a lottery task, are related to their treatment preferences. Differences in risk-attitude may help explain the inter-patient variability in treatment preferences.

Patient preferences for treatment of lupus nephritis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the amount of improvement in renal survival that lupus patients require before choosing cyclophosphamide over azathioprine for the treatment of lupus nephritis. METHODS: Patients were presented with descriptions of cyclophosphamide and azathioprine and asked to indicate their preferred choice if each conferred an equal probability of renal survival. Strength of preference was assessed by systematically increasing the probability of renal survival of the more toxic treatment until the respondent's choice switched. RESULTS: Ninety-three well-educated women (mean age +/- SD 40 +/- 7 years) participated in the study. Ninety-eight percent (91/93) of the participants chose azathioprine over cyclophosphamide when both drugs conferred an equal probability of renal survival. Although most subjects switched preferences to cyclophosphamide for better renal survival, 31% (28/91) were unwilling to switch from azathioprine to cyclophosphamide for improved short-term renal survival, and 15% (14/91) were unwilling to switch from azathioprine to cyclophosphamide for improved long-term renal survival. CONCLUSION: Although the majority of patients switched preferences to cyclophosphamide for better renal survival, a substantial minority was unwilling to accept the toxicity associated with cyclophosphamide, even if it was much better than azathioprine at preventing renal failure.

Liver transplantation in a patient at psychosocial risk.

Psychosocial assessment of transplant candidates is a challenging task. Securing adequate information is made more difficult when patients present with fulminant hepatic failure. When the patient cannot be interviewed and the family is reluctant to provide vital information, a comprehensive pretransplant psychosocial evaluation is virtually impossible. However, even the most difficult cases have the potential for a positive result when a good psychosocial profile of the patient is obtained after transplantation, a team treatment plan is developed and carried out which addresses current and anticipated problems, and the patient obtains mental health treatment.

A comparison of the quality of life of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus with and without endstage renal disease.

OBJECTIVE: To compare health related quality of life between patients with lupus nephritis who progressed to endstage renal disease (ESRD) and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with preserved renal function. METHODS: Patients with SLE undergoing maintenance renal dialysis and SLE patients with preserved renal function completed the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and social support questionnaires and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. SLE disease activity and organ damage were measured by the SLE Disease Activity Index and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology damage index. RESULTS: We studied 104 patients with SLE: 22 undergoing maintenance renal dialysis and 82 with preserved renal function. Their scores in all 8 of the SF-36 scales were reduced compared to national norms. Patients with ESRD had significantly higher mental health scores (mean +/- standard error 71.3 +/-4.8 vs. 60.7+/-2.5; p = 0.05), but there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the remaining SF-36 scales. Multivariate models adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics and for symptoms of depression revealed that being on dialysis was associated with higher mental health scores (regression coefficient = 12.97, 95% confidence interval 2.72 to 23.22), but lower physical function [-11.28 (-22.43 to -0.12)] and general health [-10.94 (-21.31 to -0.57)]. CONCLUSION: Patients with lupus nephritis who progress to endstage renal disease have improved mental well being but reduced physical function and general health. Strategies to improve the quality of life of patients with SLE are needed.

[Treatment of bone disorders in renal diseases]. / Lechenie patologii kostnoi sistemy pri zabolevaniiakh pochek.

AIM: To study possible correction of bone disorders (osteopenia, Ca/P-imbalance, bone pain, limited volume of indolent movements) which are still a serious complication associated with renal diseases and pathogenic therapy (steroids). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The bone disorders were treated in 10 uremic hemodialyzed patients (8 men, 2 women; group 1) with vitamin D3 (calcitriol made in Russia) + rhEPO (recormon; Boehringer Mannheim), in 15 patients (15 women, 0 men) with lupus-nephritis (group 2) with vitamin D3 (n = 5, group 2a) or miscalcic (Sandoz) (n = 10, group 2b), in 2 patients (2 men, 0 women) with glomerulonephritis (group 3) with vitamin D3 + miacalcic. Additionally all the patients received Ca salts. In groups 2 and 3 renal function was normal. The duration of the treatment was 3-6 months. RESULTS: In all the groups we obtained an analgetic effect (attenuation of bone pain and more indolent movements), improvement of life quality, diminished need in analgetics, elevation of serum Ca level (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Treatment of renal patients with bone affection with vitamin D3 and miacalcic has an analgetic effect, improves life quality.

The war within: a personal account of coping with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Coping with a serious illness is a hardship both for patients and their loved ones. In this article, insight into the seriously ill patient is provided through the chronicle of a sufferer of systemic lupus erythematosus. It is presented here for the benefit of social workers and health care professionals who may aid such patients.