Early

Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Dec;50(12):3934-40. Early response to immunosuppressive therapy predicts good renal outcome in lupus nephritis: lessons from long-term followup of patients in the Euro-Lupus Nephritis Trial. Houssiau FA, Vasconcelos C, D'Cruz D, Sebastiani GD, de Ramon Garrido E, Danieli MG, Abramovicz D, Blockmans D, Mathieu A, Direskeneli H, Galeazzi M, Gül A, Levy Y, Petera P, Popovic R, Petrovic R, Sinico RA, Cattaneo R, Font J, Depresseux G, Cosyns JP, Cervera R. Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. [email protected] Abstract OBJECTIVE: In the Euro-Lupus Nephritis Trial (ELNT), 90 patients with lupus nephritis were randomly assigned to a high-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide (IV CYC) regimen (6 monthly pulses and 2 quarterly pulses with escalating doses) or a low-dose IV CYC regimen (6 pulses of 500 mg given at intervals of 2 weeks), each of which was followed by azathioprine (AZA). After a median followup of 41 months, a difference in efficacy between the 2 regimens was not observed. The present analysis was undertaken to extend the followup and to identify prognostic factors. METHODS: Renal function was prospectively assessed quarterly in all 90 patients except 5 who were lost to followup. Survival curves were derived using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: After a median followup of 73 months, there was no significant difference in the cumulative probability of end-stage renal disease or doubling of the serum creatinine level in patients who received the low-dose IV CYC regimen versus those who received the high-dose regimen. At long-term followup, 18 patients (8 receiving low-dose and 10 receiving high-dose treatment) had developed permanent renal impairment and were classified as having poor long-term renal outcome. We demonstrated by multivariate analysis that early response to therapy at 6 months (defined as a decrease in serum creatinine level and proteinuria <1 g/24 hours) was the best predictor of good long-term renal outcome. CONCLUSION: Long-term followup of patients from the ELNT confirms that, in lupus nephritis, a remission-inducing regimen of low-dose IV CYC followed by AZA achieves clinical results comparable with those obtained with a high-dose regimen. Early response to therapy is predictive of good long-term renal outcome. PMID: 15593207 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Long-term follow-up of the MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial, comparing azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil as maintenance therapy of lupus nephritis

OBJECTIVE: To report the 10-year follow-up of the MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial comparing azathioprine (AZA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as maintenance therapy of proliferative lupus nephritis, and to test different definitions of early response as predictors of long-term renal outcome. METHODS: In 2014, data on survival, kidney function, 24 h proteinuria, renal flares and other outcomes were collected for the 105 patients randomised between 2002 and 2006, except in 13 lost to follow-up. RESULTS: Death (2 and 3 in the AZA and MMF groups, respectively) and end-stage renal disease (1 and 3, respectively) were rare events. Time to renal flare (22 and 19 flares in AZA and MMF groups, respectively) did not differ between AZA and MMF patients. Patients with good long-term renal outcome had a much more stringent early decrease of 24 h proteinuria compared with patients with poor outcome. The positive predictive value of a 24 h proteinuria <0.5 g/day at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months for a good long-term renal outcome was excellent (between 89% and 92%). Inclusion of renal function and urinalysis in the early response criteria did not impact the value of early proteinuria decrease as long-term prognostic marker. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term follow-up data of the MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial do not indicate that MMF is superior to AZA as maintenance therapy in a Caucasian population suffering from proliferative lupus nephritis. Moreover, we confirm the excellent positive predictive value of an early proteinuria decrease for long-term renal outcome

Considérations sur les critères de régression d'une hydorcéphalie communicante de l'adulte

peer reviewedThe authors report a case of communicating hydrocephalus in the adult following the rupture of an internal carotid aneurysm on its supraclinoid portion. The clinical picture was characterized by akinetic mutism associated with intracranial hypertension, without clinical or ophtalmological signs but clearly demonstrated by continuous recordings of the intraventricular pressure. The interest of the intraventricular pressure recordfing of isotope cisternography and of fractioned pneumo-encephalography after ventriculocardicac drainage is stressed. The normalization of intracranial pressure, and that of the ventricular volume (estimated by isotope cisternography and penumo encephalography) are good indications concerning the correct functionning of the derivation

L'intérêt de la cisternographie isotopique dans l'hydrocéphalie communicante de l'adulte

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Renal control of the peripheral uptake of exogenous gastrin in the dog

peer reviewedThe extraction of plasma gastrim during intravenous infusion of exogenous hormone has been measured in the head, gastrointestinal tract, or kidney of dogs sbmitted to sham srugery, evisceration, or binephrectomy without or with subsequent kidney transplantation. A significant gastrin extraction xas demontrated not only in the kidney, but also in the head and in the gastrointestinal tract; moreover, plasma gastrin extraction in the head and the bowel was considerably reduced by binephrectomy and was brought back to control values after subsequent kidney transplantation. A non specific effect of surgery and a variation in peripheral blood flow seem to be excluded. Thuis a control by the kidney the peripheral removal of blood gastrin is evidenced, the mechanism of wich remains hypthetica

Determination of regional cerebral glucose transport and utilization rates in man with 11C-glucose: preliminary results

peer reviewedThis paper describes the methodology and the first results of a method of measurement of the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose, using 11C-Glucose and regional detection by probes. The present method has the advantages of being rapidly repeatable and of yielding a determination of the rates of transfer of glucose across the blood-brain barrie

F-18-fluoride PET for monitoring therapeutic response in Paget's disease of bone

A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate PET with F-18-fluoride for monitoring the response to bisphosphonates in Paget's disease of bones. Methods: Fourteen patients with a monostotic (n = 9) or a polyostotic form (n = 5) of Paget's disease were scanned at baseline and at 1 and 6 mo after the beginning of treatment. Dynamic acquisition and arterial blood sampling were used to calculate the influx constant Ki (by both the Patlak [Ki-PAT] method and the nonlinear regression [Ki-NLR] method). Kinetic modeling was compared with maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and biochemical markers of bone remodeling. Results: Baseline uptake of 18F-fluoride by pagetic bones was significantly higher than in normal bones (P < 0.05). One month after the start of treatment, SUVmax, Ki-PAT, Ki-NLR, and K-1 (the unidirectional clearance of fluoride from plasma to the whole of the bone tissue) decreased significantly by 27.8%, 27.9%, 27.5%, and 23.6%, respectively. Biochemical markers were already normalized in 6 of 9 patients with monostotic disease, although all had high F-18-fluoride uptake values. Six months after the start of treatment, F-18-fluoride uptake further diminished by 22.3%-25.6%. Biochemical markers were normal in all but 2 patients, although 10 of 14 patients still showed high F-18-fluoride uptake. One patient did not respond to treatment and maintained high uptake of F-18-fluoride throughout the study. SUVmax correlated with both Ki-PAT and Ki-NLR at baseline, 1 mo, and 6 mo (P < 0.05). Moreover, the change of SUVmax between baseline and 1 mo, as well as between baseline and 6 mo, also correlated with the change of Ki-PAT and Ki-NLR (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results show that F-18-fluoride PET can be used to noninvasively and accurately monitor the efficacy of treatment with bisphosphonates in Paget's disease of bones. SUVmax correlates with Ki-PAT and Ki-NLR and, interestingly, varies in the same manner as kinetic indices. Therefore, the use of SUVmax could avoid the need for dynamic acquisition and arterial blood sampling and would facilitate the use of whole-body PET in a clinical setting

Measurement by 11C-Glucose of the cerebral glucose diffusion and the consommation in man

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