NIJMEGEN, Netherlands, May 15 (UPI) -- The kidney disease lupus nephritis varies and treatment side effects differ, so doctors should tell patients treatment pros and cons, says a Dutch study.
Dutch doctoral researcher Cecile Grootscholten, of Radboud University Nijmegen, treated two groups of patients with lupus nephritis -- inflammation of the kidney caused by lupus -- for two years with either drips containing cyclophosphamide, treatment No. 1, or a combination of drips containing prednisone and oral azathioprine, treatment No. 2.
After two years all of the patients were further treated with a low dose of oral prednisone and azathioprine.
Grootscholten observed that the chance of the disease recurring in the kidneys was greater in the group of patients treated with treatment No. 2. Shingles also occurred more frequently in this group.
But Grootscholten could not demonstrate a difference between treatment No. 1 and treatment No. 2 in terms of long-term kidney function. In the end, equal numbers of patients needed dialysis.
There were no differences in terms of quality of life or complaints between treatments No. 1 and 2, but treatment No. 1 is known to increase the risk of infertility and early menopause.
