In findings that recently appeared in an issue of Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), it was indicated that Rituximab proves to be an effective option for treating kidney disorders (membranous nephropathy).
Till these findings were revealed to the medical world, treatment methodologies used to revolve around steroids, chemotherapeutic agents, and calcineurin inhibitors, all of which are known to have one or other side-effect.
From News-Medical.Net:
To investigate rituximab’s potential, Andrew Bomback, MD (University of North Carolina Kidney Center), and his colleagues conducted the first systematic review of rituximab use in patients with membranous nephropathy. They collected and analyzed all of the data available on rituximab therapy in this patient population. They found 21 articles to date, all of which were either case reports or case series without controls, meaning that patients taking rituximab were studied for a certain length of time but were not compared with patients not taking the drug.
The available data suggest that current rituximab dosing achieves a 15% to 20% rate of complete remission and a 35% to 40% rate of partial remission: rates similar to the response rates of current treatments. Importantly, rituximab appears to be well-tolerated with minimal short-term side effects.
Rituximab may have potential for treating membranous nephropathy, but additional studies - in particular, randomized controlled clinical trials - are needed to prove the drug’s value. “Our conclusion is that, at present, rituximab should only be used in research settings,” said Dr. Bomback.
The authors reported no financial disclosures.
Andrew Bomback, MD (University of North Carolina Kidney Center), and his colleagues, pointed out that rituximab has the potential in itself to act as an effective treatment option for membranous nephropathy but additional studies are required to prove this drug’s value.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
