View clinical trials related to Membranous Glomerulonephritis.
Filter by:Background: - Membranous nephropathy is associated with damage to the walls of the glomeruli, the small blood vessels in the kidneys that filter waste products from the blood. This damage causes leakage of blood proteins into the urine and is associated with low blood protein levels, high blood cholesterol values, and swelling of the legs. These problems can decrease or go away without treatment in about 25 percent of patients, but if they persist, some patients may experience impaired (or loss of) kidney function, blood vessel and heart disease, and a risk of forming blood clots in veins. - Kidney biopsies that show that antibodies have been deposited along the glomeruli suggest that specialized cells of the immune system, called B and T cells, are causing damage to the kidneys through their increased activity. To suppress the action of B and T cells and to decrease the harmful deposits in the kidneys, drug treatments are required. - Patients with membranous nephropathy are often treated with immunosuppressive drugs such as cyclosporine or cytoxan plus steroids that attempt to reduce or suppress the activity of the immune system, decrease antibody production, and reduce antibody deposits in the kidney. However, not everyone responds to these medications and the kidney disease can return in some patients when the drugs are stopped. Also, there are side effects associated with long term usage of these medications. Rituximab, a different immunosuppressant, has also been used for this purpose. Although cyclosporine and Rituximab have been used separately, they have not been tried in combination as a possible treatment for membranous nephropathy. Objectives: - To determine the safety and effectiveness of combining rituximab and cyclosporine to treat membranous nephropathy. Eligibility: - Individuals 18 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with membranous nephropathy based on a kidney biopsy done within the preceding 24 months, and who have had excess levels of protein in the urine for at least 6 months based on urine and blood tests. Design: - Potential participants will be screened with an initial clinic evaluation and full medical history. - Before the treatment, there will be a run-in period that will last up to 2 months. During this time, participants will be placed on a blood pressure lowering medication and will not take any other immunosuppressant medications. - Participants will visit the NIH clinical center for a baseline evaluation, four intravenous infusions of rituximab, and also at 1- to 6-month intervals throughout the study. - Active treatment period will involve a 6-month course of cyclosporine and a total of four doses of rituximab. Participants will take cyclosporine tablets twice daily, and have two infusions of rituximab given 2 weeks apart, After 6 months, the cyclosporine dose will slowly be decreased over several weeks and then completely discontinued. Participants will then receive another course (two doses 2 weeks apart) of rituximab, depending on results of blood work. - Participants will have frequent blood and urine tests performed to monitor the results of treatment and reduce the chance of side effects.
This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new immunosuppressive drug, sirolimus, in reducing the amount of protein in the urine in patients with membranous nephropathy. This condition involves damage to the walls of tiny blood vessel filters in the kidneys called glomeruli, which allows blood proteins to leak into the urine. Patients have low blood protein levels and high blood cholesterol. Some patients may have leg swelling, impaired kidney function, blood vessel and heart disease, and a risk of emboli (blood clots that travel to the lungs). Drugs currently used to treat membranous nephropathy vary in their effectiveness among patients and can cause severe side effects. The Food and Drug Administration has approved sirolimus for suppressing the immune system of patients who have had a kidney transplant to reduce the risk of organ rejection. The drug does not have certain side effects that have caused problems for patients treated with other immunosuppressants, such as: prednisone (weight gain, round face, diabetes, weak and fractured bones, and cataracts); cyclophosphamide (fertility problems, bladder injury and bladder cancer, and other cancers); chlorambucil (fertility problems, seizures, acute leukemia, and other cancers); and cyclosporine (kidney toxicity, increased facial hair, and seizures). Patients 13 years of age or older with idiopathic membranous nephropathy or lupus membranous nephropathy may be eligible for this study. Candidates must have completed at least one month of treatment with a stable dose of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). They will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood tests, skin test for exposure to tuberculosis, and an examination for infection, cancers, and other conditions that can cause membranous nephropathy. Participants will take sirolimus once a day for 1 year, except for the first day of treatment, when they will take three doses to quickly bring their blood levels of the drug up to a therapeutic level. They will undergo evaluations at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, at baseline (before starting treatment) and again at 1- to 4-month intervals during the study. In addition, they will have blood tests every week for the first month and every 2 weeks for the second month; then blood and urine tests once a month for the next 10 months of treatment and then every 4 months for a 12-month period after treatment stops. These tests will evaluate drug side effects and the response to therapy, and will determine if the therapeutic benefits persist long-term when treatment stops. Patients will also be asked to have optional kidney function tests during the baseline evaluation and at the end of the follow-up period to measure kidney filtration and blood flow rates. Those who participate will be given fluids and other substances by vein to accurately measure kidney function. They will then have blood and urine samples collected about four times over a 1-hour period after drinking fluids to increase urine output. Patients who experience a substantial increase in proteinuria or substantial decrease in kidney function during the course of treatment will stop taking sirolimus and be taken off the study.