Membranous nephropathy treatable with rituximab

Rituximab may prove its real worth when it comes to treating a kidney disorder, membranous nephropathy, as per recent findings appearing in the April 2009 print issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

It is worthwhile to note that the presently used treatment options for this disorder include steroids, chemotherapeutic agents, and calcineurin inhibitors and all of them have some considerable side effects.

From News-Medical.Net:

The available data suggest that current rituximab dosing achieves a 15% to 20% rate of complete remission and a 35% to 40% rate of partial remission: rates similar to the response rates of current treatments. Importantly, rituximab appears to be well-tolerated with minimal short-term side effects.

Rituximab may have potential for treating membranous nephropathy, but additional studies – in particular, randomized controlled clinical trials – are needed to prove the drug’s value. “Our conclusion is that, at present, rituximab should only be used in research settings,” said Dr. Bomback.

The authors reported no financial disclosures.

Andrew Bomback, MD (University of North Carolina Kidney Center), and his colleagues, were of the view that this study was able to suggest that rituximab dosing helps patients achieve a 15-20 percent rate of complete remission and 35-40 percent of partial remission.

It is believed by some members of the medical fraternity that this study on membranous nephropathy will help them provide great relief to their patients.

Tags: kidney disorder, membranous nephropathy, rituximab, Steroids

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