Comparison between oral Mycophenolate Mofetil and intravenous Cyclophosphamide for the treatment of the lupus nephritis patients

Abstract

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious type of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that can cause renal failure and death. The goal of this research was to look at the efficacy and safety of intravenous cyclophosphamide (ivCYC) and oral mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for lupus nephritis induction and maintenance therapy. Thirty-eight patients with proliferative lupus nephritis treated with ivCYC (n = 19) or oral MMF (n = 19) were included in this prospective, randomized, comparative study. The standard of therapy for all patients is oral methylprednisolone (1 mg/kg/day), in addition to either oral MMF (2 g/kg/day) for six months or iv-CYC 500 mg every 14 days for six months. Hemoglobin (Hb), serum albumin (sAlb), serum creatinine_(sCR), albumin to creatinine ratio (Alb/Cr ratio) , and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)were measured before and after therapy for participants in both groups. The 19 patients who received MMF had an average age of 31.6± 5.93 years. The mean age of the 19 patients who received ivCYC pulses was 24.95± 3.57 years. Both groups showed a significant difference (P <0.05) before and after laboratory analysis. In comparison, there was no significant variance (P> 0.05) between patients treated with ivCYC and those treated with MMF. By using both therapies, both groups demonstrate considerable improvement. Oral MMF was shown to be equally effective as iv CYC in the long-term therapy of lupus nephritis, with no significant changes in the rate of laboratory testing between the two regimens.