Ravani et al. report that rituximab is a safe and effective steroid-sparing and calcineurin-inhibitor-sparing agent in 46 children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome over a median follow-up of 3 years. What is the risk-to-benefit profile of rituximab compared to that of the other available drugs for treating this disease?
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Ravani, P. et al. Rituximab is a safe and effective long-term treatment for children with steroid and calcineurin inhibitor-dependent idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Kidney Int. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ki.2013.211.
Sinha, A. & Bagga, A. Rituximab therapy in nephrotic syndrome: implications for patients' management. Nat. Rev. Nephrol. 9, 154–169 (2013).
Sfikakis, P. P. et al. Increased expression of the FoxP3 functional marker of regulatory T cells following B cell depletion with rituximab in patients with lupus nephritis. Clin. Immunol. 123, 66–73 (2007).
Fornoni, A. et al. Rituximab targets podocytes in recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Sci. Transl. Med. 3, 85ra46 (2011).
Lombel, R. M., Gipson, D. S. & Hodson, E. M. Treatment of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome: new guidelines from KDIGO. Pediatr. Nephrol. 28, 415–426 (2013).
Ito, S. et al. Maintenance therapy with mycophenolate mofetil after rituximab in pediatric patients with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr. Nephrol. 26, 1823–1828 (2011).
Fujinaga, S. et al. Cyclosporine versus mycophenolate mofetil for maintenance of remission of steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome after a single infusion of rituximab. Eur. J. Pediatr. 172, 513–518 (2013).
Delbe-Bertin, L., Aoun, B., Tudorache, E., Lapillone, H. & Ulinski, T. Does rituximab induce hypogammaglobulinemia in patients with pediatric idiopathic nephrotic syndrome? Pediatr. Nephrol. 28, 447–451 (2013).
Chaumais, M. C. et al. Fatal pulmonary fibrosis after rituximab administration. Pediatr. Nephrol. 24, 1753–1755 (2009).
Sellier-Leclerc, A. L., Belli, E., Guérin, V., Dorfmüller, P. & Deschênes, G. Fulminant viral myocarditis after rituximab therapy in pediatric nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr. Nephrol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00467-013-2485-9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boyer, O., Niaudet, P. Rituximab in childhood steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome. Nat Rev Nephrol 9, 562–563 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.153
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.153
