Treatment of Class IV Lupus Nephritis with Mycophenolate Mofetil Monotherapy

Takashi Nawata1, Makoto Kubo1, Shohei Fujii1

  • 1Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Division of Cardiology and Clinical Immunology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.

Lupus nephritis (LN) occurs in up to 60% of systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Combination therapy involving a corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been a standard therapy for LN. However, clinicians generally prefer to minimize steroid use in LN treatment. We herein report the case of a Japanese man with LN whose severe chronic heart failure prevented us from using steroid therapy. Instead, his LN was successfully treated with MMF monotherapy. Based on our experience with this case, we suggest that MMF monotherapy may represent a feasible LN treatment option in patients who cannot tolerate steroid therapy.

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