In honor of World Lupus Day (May 10th) and Lupus Awareness Month, the Balancing Act presents an exciting development in the fight against lupus nephritis, a serious complication of lupus. We’re joined by rheumatologist, advocate, and lupus nephritis expert Dr. Donald Thomas, author of the Lupus Encyclopedia, who shares about his experiences diagnosing and treating lupus nephritis. Also, breaking news about a new approved lupus nephritis treatment. We’re also joined by lupus nephritis warrior, Judith who will share her personal journey of living with lupus nephritis, a disease that impacts about 1 in 2 people living with lupus.
Systemic lupus erythmitosis sle or lupus is a chronic complex and often disabling autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the body’s own cells tissues and organs it affects as many as three hundred thousand people in the united states and an astounding ninety percent of those diagnosed are women if you have lupus you’re always at risk
For developing a serious complication of lupus impacting the kidneys called lupus nephritis i was diagnosed with lupus at the age of 16 during my teenage years i went from running track being an active normal teenager dancing and beauty pageants to not being able to walk up the stairs at school lupus came along and just changed all of that it stripped me
Of everything that i knew my doctors at the time decided that i should be home schooled because my immune system was quite low i was on very high dose of steroids it wasn’t easy in college as well i i noticed that my urine was quite cloudy and that i would have swollen ankles and and feet quite often but at that time i was on a cocktail of drugs and i didn’t
Think anything of it in the early stages of lupus nephritis there may be very few signs that anything is wrong in fact some people have no specific symptoms symptoms of lupus nephritis may include foamy bubbly or frothy urine swelling that occurs when your body has too much fluid usually in the legs feet or ankles weight gain and fatigue it was my sophomore
Year of college where it got to a point where i had a hard time breathing i ended up in the hospital they were telling me that my kidneys were shutting down and it was it was quite a scary time in my life they put me back on the steroids heavy doses and they let me go a year after it’s when my primary doctor decided to have me see a nephrologist and he said i
Needed a biopsy dr donald thomas has been a leading advocate and medical expert in lupus and lupus nephritis treatment and education for over 25 years i follow my systemic lupus patients every three months religiously because about one out of every two of our systemic lupus patients will have a problem where the lupus attacks the kidneys a condition called
Lupus nephritis and the best way to pick that up is by getting a urine sample and seeing an elevated amount of protein in the urine the elevated protein in the urine is the most important laboratory test so when i see an elevated amount of protein in the urine i’ll send my patient to a specialist who does kidney biopsies getting the kidney biopsy is the gold
Standard for diagnosing lupus nephritis the quicker we can diagnose it and the faster we can treat it the greater chances we have in preventing kidney failure lupus nephritis is more common in younger women there is also a higher incidence of lupus nephritis among specific racial ethnic groups after the biopsy the doctor gave me a diagnosis of lupus nephritis
I was 25. it was a scary moment for me i wish that at the time when i was having the constant frequent urination and the swelling of my feet and ankles that they would have told me then that you know there was inflammation in my kidneys one of the main reasons i advocate for lupus nephritis is because you know we need our kidneys to live nobody wants to have
To go through a kidney transplant we do need a care for this and if we don’t have a cure at least we need better medications we finally have an fda approved oral therapy in my toolbox that i can reach for to treat my patients with lupus nephritis and that’s lupinus lupinus is a prescription medicine used with other medicines to treat adults with active lupus
Nephritis lupina should not be taken with a medicine called cyclophosphamide make sure to talk with your healthcare provider if you’re not sure if you take this medicine loop kinase is the first and only fda approved oral medication for the treatment of adults with active lupus nephritis it has been proven in research studies to help control lupus nephritis and
Protect the kidneys from further damage without high-dose steroids lupinus can cause serious side effects including increased risk of some kinds of cancers and infections talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of loop kinase and if it may be right for you the complete safety information will be shared later at the end of this segment loop kindness
Has helped transform the way we treat lupus nephritis in research studies people who took lupinus as part of their treatment plan were about twice as likely to have their lupus nephritis under control at one year of treatment compared to those who only took mycophenolate mopityl and steroids lupinus helped to stop the attack of lupus nephritis while using lower
Doses of steroids than doctors normally would lupine has helped to reduce the protein in the urine or what we call protein urea which is a key sign of disease activity roughly twice as fast than mycophenolate and steroids alone did people who take lupinus had a 50 reduction in their protein urea after an average of just one month lukinus was tested in research
Studies that involved more than 350 people across different races and ethnicities arena the company that makes lupinas created arenia alliance a personalized support program to help better understand lupus nephritis assist people taking loop kindness in navigating insurance and funding options and support them to help stay on track during the loop kindness
Treatment journey for more information about loop kindness and lupus nephritis visit loopkindness.com and you can always go to our website thebalancingact.com important safety information loop kinase can cause serious side effects including increased risk of cancer people who take lube kinase have an increased risk of getting some kinds of cancer including
Skin and lymph gland cancer lymphoma limit and avoid exposure to sunlight and uv light such as tanning machines wear protective clothing and use a sunscreen increased risk of infection loop kindness is a medicine that affects your immune system lupinas can lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections serious infections can happen in people taking
Leukines that can lead to hospitalizations and can cause death call your health care provider right away if you have symptoms of an infection such as fever sweats or chills cough or flu-like symptoms muscle aches or warm red or painful areas on your skin do not take loop kindness with medicines known as strong cyp 3a4 inhibitors such as ketoconazole etraconazole
Clarithromycin or if you’re allergic to any of the ingredients in lupinus you should not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking lupinus before you use lupinus tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions including if you plan to receive any vaccines you should not receive any live vaccines during treatment with loop kindness other
Vaccines may not work as well during treatment with loop kindness have or have had liver kidney or heart problems have high blood pressure are pregnant or plan to become pregnant or are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed when taking lupinus when taking lupinus in combination with mysophenolate mophitol read the medication guide for mysophenolate mophitol for
Important pregnancy information these medicines can harm your unborn or breastfed baby tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take including prescription and over-the-counter medicines vitamins and herbal supplements loop kindness may affect the way other medicines work and other medicines may affect how loop kindness works lukinus may cause
Serious side effects including kidney problems kidney problems are common side effects of loop kindness and may be serious your healthcare provider may do certain tests to check your kidney function while you take lupinus high blood pressure high blood pressure is a common side effect of lupinus and may be serious your healthcare provider will monitor your blood
Pressure while you take lube kinase and may ask you to check your blood pressure at home nervous system problems nervous system problems are a common side effect of loop kindness and may be serious call your health care provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away if you have any of these symptoms while taking leukines confusion changes in
Alertness muscle tremors numbness and tingling headache seizures vision changes high levels of potassium in your blood your health care provider may do certain tests to check your potassium levels while you take lupinus a serious heart rhythm problem qt prolongation severe low red blood cell count anemia your health care provider may check your labs while using
Lupinus the most common side effects of loop kindness are diarrhea headache cough urinary tract infection stomach pain heartburn and loss of hair alopecia these are not all the possible side effects of loop kinase for more information ask your health care provider you may report side effects to fda at 1-800-fda 1088. you may also report side effects to fda.gov
Medwatch please see prescribing information including boxed warning and medication guide for loop kinase
Transcribed from video
Discover A New Treatment in the Fight Against Lupus Nephritis By The Balancing Act
