Lupus Nephritis is a serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus
(SLE). Nearly all patients with SLE have renal injury in varying degrees.
Therefore, even if they do not have obvious clinical symptoms, they should also not
neglect the screening. Early inspection and treatment are significantly important
to improve renal outcome.
Lupus Nephritis is
a common disease among the male between 20~40 years old. In the early stage of the
disease, it presents various clinical symptoms. In some cases, the patients have
injury only in one organ. However, sometimes once the disease starts, the patients
will have injury in multiple organs. Generally speaking, the patients have
butterfly-shaped red erythema on skin and papule mainly on their face and some
patients only have joint pain. The common symptoms of Lupus Nephritis are as
follows:
1. Fever: Most of the patients with Lupus Nephritis have high fever, but a
minority of them has low fever.
2. Skin mucosa injury: In the early period of Lupus Nephritis, the patients are
sensitive to light. When exposed to sun, their face will turn red very soon.
Typically, the patients have butterfly-shaped erythema on their cheeks and both
sides of the nose’ bridge. Moreover, there may be polymorphous or discal red
erythema, edema and subcutaneous hematoma on other body parts. Therefore, it is
often mistaken for skin disease by some patients.
3. Multiple organs damage: The patients with Lupus Nephritis may have multiple
damage, like heart damage, hepatomegaly, pleuritis and so on. The patients with
heart damage will have tachycardia, arrhythmia, and myocarditis and so on. For the
patients with hepatomegaly, they often have mild jaundice. Joint pain like
rheumatoid arthritis is also a common symptom for the patients with Lupus
Nephritis.
4. Symptoms of Nephritis: Generally, the kidney injury occurs very late and most
appears after 6 months to 2 years after the onset of Nephritis. However, in some
cases, once it starts, edema, proteinuria is the first symptoms of Nephritis.
For the patients with lupus, if they have the above symptoms, they should go to
see a nephrologist at once. Even if the test results prove the indexes are normal,
they still should go for check regularly in 2 years after lupus.
How immunotherapy to treat Lupus Nephritis?
Immunotherapy, also known as biotherapy is a promising new treatment for Lupus
Nephritis. It can stimulate the body to rebuild immune system to fight disease by
its own body.
Immunotherapy includes clearing up the abnormal antibodies in blood and
rebuilding normal immune system in body. Immunotherapy is composed of a series of
treatment methods.
Moreover, to reveres the damaged renal function, it is essential to restore the
impaired glomeruli. Immunotherapy plays a vital role in restoring kidneys.
Immunotherapy can differentiate into new renal functional cells to form new renal
tissues. Moreover, Immunotherapy can stimulate your body to produce normal immune
cells to rebuild your immune system. Once the immune abnormality is corrected, it
will prevent the relapse of Lupus Nephritis completely.