Lupus Nephritis

Severe inflammation of the kidney can indicate the serious, negative prognosis of lupus nephritis when present in conjunction with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease that can affect any part of the body, most often harming the heart, joints, skin, lungs, blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and nervous system. This book pulls together in one comprehensive reference the current knowledge regarding the inherited and immunologic abnormalities that have been identified in SLE, with specific reference to the development of renal disease and the way in which these factors may impact upon the chronic care of these patients. Since publication of the first edition in 1999, the discipline of medicine has experienced some revolutionary changes in the way drugs are used to treat to immune system diseases. On the basis of careful analysis of physical make-up, the immune system, and microscopic features of the human body, it has become clear that multiple components of the immune system are responsible for renal injury and that any given patient can experience a combination of these mechanisms. With this in mind, specific therapies can be tested, and drugs that interrupt the immune response in highly specific ways are being scrutinized for their value in lupus nephritis. This new edition reflects the updated methods of classification and advances in treatment options for SLE, and covers recent clinical trials to help treat patients using the most up-to-date knowledge available. It takes a practical approach throughout, and will be of interest to those working with patients with lupus nephritis, and those who manage their everyday care. Reflects recent advances in the management of patients, including clinical characteristics, the morphologic abnormalities which occur in the kidney of patients with glomerulonephritis, and treatment approaches for these patients Includes the most recent clinical trial data in order to provide a full understanding of the potential for successful therapy. Contains numerous photographs illustrating the breadth of morphologic abnormalities found in lupus nephritis, including an 8-page colour plate section   Edmund J. Lewis , Muehrcke Family Professor of Nephrology, and Director, Section of Nephrology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, US, Melvin M. Schwartz , Professor of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, US, Stephen M. Korbet , The Lester and Muriel Anixter Professor of Nephrology and Division Chief, Nephrology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, US, and Tak Mao Chan , Yu Professor in Nephrology and Personal Chair, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong Contributors: Gerald B. Appel, Department of Nephrology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA Howard A. Austin III, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA James E. Balowa, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Lihua Bao, The Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, USA Kate Bramham, Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospitals, King's College London, UK Daniel Tak Mao Chan, Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Mary Anne Dooley, Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA Mary H. Foster, Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, USA Sarah Germain, Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospitals, King's College London, UK Richard J. Glassock, The David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA Stephen R. Holdsworth, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases, Department of Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Australia Gabor G. Illei, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA David A. Isenberg, Centre for Rheumatology, UCL Division of Medicine, London, UK Stephen Korbet, Section of Nephrology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, USA Edmund J. Lewis, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA Jessica J. Manson, Centre for Rheumatology, UCL Division of Medicine, London, UK Catherine Nelson-Piercy, Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospitals, King's College London, UK Richard J. Quigg, The Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, USA Anisur Rahman, Centre for Rheumatology, UCL Division of Medicine, London, UK Melvin Schwartz, Department of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, USA Ben Sprangers, Department of Nephrology, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, USA and Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Peter G. Tipping, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases, Department of Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Australia CONTENTS 1: Clinical manifestations of systemic lupus with renal involvement 2: Autoantibodies and lupus nephritis 3: T & B cells and the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis 4: Complement abnormalities in lupus nephritis 5: Pathways of cellular adaptive immunity in autoimmune crescentic glomerulonephritis and lupus nephritis 6: Pathology, pathogenesis and clinical features of severe lupus nephritis 7: Membranous lupus glomerulonephritis 8: Lupus podocytopathy 9: Renal vascular involvement in SLE 10: Mycophenolate mofetil as treatment in lupus nephritis 11: Pregnancy and lupus nephritis 12: Therapeutic recommendations