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Levamisole Therapy as a Second-line Immunosuppressive Agent in Corticosteroid-sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome in

Alia Abulrahim Al-Ibrahim1, Salah Mohammad Al-Kharraz, Dalal Meshari Al-Sadoon

  • 1Suliemania Children′s Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation : an Official Publication of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Saudi Arabia
|January 23, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Levamisole combined with corticosteroids effectively reduced relapses in children with frequent relapsing or steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome. This combination therapy proved safe and manageable, offering sustained remission in many patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nephrology
  • Immunomodulatory Therapies

Background:

  • Nephrotic syndrome in children often involves frequent relapses or steroid dependence.
  • Conventional corticosteroid therapy can lead to significant side effects and treatment resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy and safety of levamisole combined with corticosteroid therapy in pediatric nephrotic syndrome.
  • To compare levamisole's effectiveness with cyclophosphamide in non-responsive cases.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of 24 children with frequent relapsing (FR) or steroid-dependent (SD) nephrotic syndrome.
  • Analysis of relapse rates, remission duration, and side effects during combined levamisole-corticosteroid therapy and subsequent cyclophosphamide treatment.

Main Results:

  • Combined therapy reduced relapse rates from 4 to 1.3 per year in 71% of patients.
  • Levamisole was more effective than cyclophosphamide in patients over 2 years of age at disease onset.
  • Side effects for both levamisole and cyclophosphamide were transient and manageable.

Conclusions:

  • Levamisole is a safe and effective adjunctive therapy to corticosteroids for children with nephrotic syndrome.
  • Further research is warranted to fully elucidate levamisole's role in managing pediatric nephrotic syndrome.

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