Comparison of antiproteinuric effects of two different combination therapies in children with IgA nephropathy

Because moderate or severe proteinuria is a representative factor indicative of longterm poor prognosis in IgA nephrology, an anti-proteinuric treatment which can be administered longterm with few side effects is necessary. We report here a comparison of antiproteinuric effects in two patient groups treated with different combination therapies.

Group A comprised 12 patients with IgA nephropathy, who had 24-h proteinuria of 0.5 gm(2) or more, moderately severe renal histology, and normal renal function, and were treated with a combination of drugs, i.e., prednisolone, an immunosuppressant (mizoribine), an anti-platelet drug (dipyridamole), and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. Group B consisted of 18 patients who had baseline characteristics similar to those of the patients in group A and were treated with our previous protocol (a combination of prednisolone, cyclophosphamide, and dipyridamole). Twenty-four-hour proteinuria and creatinine clearance were measured every 6 months. The primary endpoint was reduction of 24-h proteinuria by less than 25% compared with the baseline value.

The proportion of patients that exhibited the primary endpoint, as assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method, was found to be significantly higher in group A than in group B (logrank test; P = 0.024). None of the patients in the two groups experienced serious adverse effects.

The results suggested that the use of drugs in combination with cyclophosphamide was beneficial for patients with moderately severe IgA nephropathy. Because moderate or severe proteinuria is a representative factor indicative of longterm poor prognosis in IgA nephropathy, an anti-proteinuric treatment which can be administered longterm with few side effects is necessary. We report here a comparison of antiproteinuric effects in two patient groups treated with different combination therapies.