Lupus nephritis
Overview
Lupus nephritis is a rare kidney disorder that is a complication of systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), commonly known as lupus. The symptoms of lupus nephritis include blood in the urine, a foamy appearance to the urine, high blood pressure, and swelling in any part of the body. This condition typically occurs in people aged 20 to 40 years. Treatment may involve medications to suppress the immune system, dialysis, or a kidney transplant.
Symptoms
The symptoms of lupus nephritis may include foamy urine and edema—swelling that occurs when your body has too much fluid, usually in the legs, feet, or ankles, and less often in the hands or face. You may also develop high blood pressure.
Kidney problems often start at the same time or shortly after lupus symptoms NIappear and can include
- joint pain or swelling
- muscle pain
- fever with no known cause
- a red rash, often on the face, across the nose and cheeks, sometimes called a butterfly rash because of its shape
Treatment
Health care professionals treat lupus nephritis with medicines that suppress your immune system so it stops attacking and damaging your kidneys. Goals of treatment are to
- reduce inflammation in your kidneys
- decrease immune system activity
- block your body’s immune cells from attacking the kidneys directly or making antibodies that attack the kidneys
Your health care professional may prescribe a corticosteroid, usually prednisone, and a medicine to suppress your immune system, such as cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate mofetil, and hydroxychloroquine, a medicine for people who have SLE.
Lupus nephritis can cause high blood pressure in some people. You may need more than one kind of medicine to control your blood pressure. Blood pressure medicines include:
- ACE inhibitors and ARBs, with drug names that end in –pril or –sartan.
- diuretics
- beta blockers
- calcium channel blockers
ACE inhibitors and ARBs may help protect your kidneys, and diuretics help your kidneys remove fluid from your body.