Experts say progress is being made on a variety of fronts in lupus nephritis. New data, for instance, shows that repeat biopsy beyond that used for diagnosis can help guide treatment and greatly reduce the flare rate. New treatments – including belimumab and the calcineurin inhibitors tacrolimus and voclosporin — have yielded improved response rates in LN patients. Better biomarkers to predict response and guide treatment are still needed, despite efforts to identify them, the experts said.
This session—moderated by Vinicius Domingues, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Florida State University—featured presentations by Brad Rovin, MD, professor of medicine at Ohio State University; Chaim Putterman, MD, professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Joan Merrill, MD, director of the clinical projects in arthritis and clinical immunology program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
