Application of herbal traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of lupus nephritis

Abstract

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a secondary renal disease caused by systemic lupus erythematosus affecting the kidneys. It is one of the main causes of end-stage renal disease and a serious risk factor for early mortality and disability of systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Existing LN treatment is mainly based on hormones, cytotoxic drugs, and biological agents. Nevertheless, the prognosis of LN patients remains poor because of frequent recurrence and exacerbation of adverse drug reactions. Hence, LN is still the most important cause of end-stage renal disease. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted increasing attention because of encouraging evidence that it alleviates LN and the well-described mechanisms underlying renal injury. TCM has therapeutic benefits for treating LN patients. This review article elucidates TCM preparations, TCM monomers, and herbal or natural extraction for LN treatment to provide effective supplementary evidence for promoting the development of TCM treatment for LN and reference for future research and clinical practice.

Zhen-Wu-Tang decoction ameliorates lupus nephritis by diminishing renal tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells via suppressing IL15/STAT3 pathway

“…Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is widely used as complementary or alternative approaches for the treatment of LN [27]. Despite the advantages of rapid effects of hormones or cytotoxic drugs over TCM, it has been demonstrated that TCM improves outcomes of LN [28][29][30].…”

Research Progress of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Lupus Nephritis

“…Treatment should strengthen the spleen and benefit the kidney, the prescription is to replenish the middle and benefit the qi soup or heterogeneous gongsan plus cuscuta, golden cherry seeds, bone marrow, or use the five son diffraction zong pill plus dangshen ginseng, astragalus; if the spleen and kidney yang deficiency, the evidence of coldness and limb cold, edema is serious, the treatment should be warm and replenish the spleen and kidneys, the prescription is to use the real spleen drink or real wu soup with subtractions. Li Wei [8] and others believe that the common types of clinical symptoms of LN are: (1) Heat and toxicity blazing syndrome: high fever that does not go away, thirst and coldness, agitation and restlessness, or even fainting and delirium, erythema on the face and skin, bright red, epistaxis and urination, or red, swollen and hot pain in joints, with a reddish-red tongue or purplish-dark tongue, yellow moss, and a rapid pulse or number of strings. The treatment should be clearing heat and removing toxins, cooling blood and dispersing blood stasis, and the formula is to add subtraction of Clear Plague and Toxin Drink.…”

Network pharmacology and molecular docking to elucidate the common mechanism of hydroxychloroquine treatment in lupus nephritis and IgA nephropathy

“…2 Besides, immune complex deposition in the kidney causes inflammatory nephropathy which has a protracted course and is prone to recurrence, and it may cause severe renal damage if improperly handled. 3 KDIGO guidelines and several medical organizations (including the European League Against Rheumatism, as well as the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association) guide that current treatment for LN is mainly based on integrated use of antimalarial drugs (mainly HCQ), glucocorticoids, and immunosuppressive drugs. 4,5 Several large clinical studies have suggested that HCQ can play a protective role against LN, including enhanced treatment response, decreased renal attack rate, and decreased progression rate of renal failure in LN patients.…”