Lupus nephritis, affecting nearly half of lupus patients, can cause severe kidney damage. Traditionally, high-dose glucocorticoids (~1 mg per kg prednisone) have been used despite significant side effects. In this episode, host Anna Wolska speaks with Dr. Amit Saxena, a rheumatologist and Associate Professor at NYU Langone Health, about his recent research on the use of glucocorticoids in treating kidney disease in lupus. His study pooled standard-of-care arms from several major clinical trials to compare the efficacy and safety of lower versus higher oral glucocorticoid doses—administered after an initial IV steroid pulse—in treating lupus nephritis.

Read the article published in LSM - https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2024-001351

Join Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America as she talks with Dr. Jim Oates about his recently published study in Lupus Science & Medicine on validating claims-based algorithms in Medicare data to identify SLE and lupus nephritis. Dr. Oates explains how ICD-10 coding and geospatial analysis (via the Lupus Index) can help pinpoint disparities, guide clinical trial recruitment, and reveal how location affects patient outcomes. The conversation covers the varying sensitivity and specificity of different coding algorithms, potential racial differences, and how overlaying socioeconomic and environmental data can shed light on lupus prevalence and improve healthcare resource allocation.

Read the article published in LSM - https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2024-001329

Early reduction in proteinuria is a key predictor of improved long-term kidney health in lupus nephritis (LN). In this episode, Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America speaks with Drs. Maria Dall'Era and Anca Askanase about a new propensity analysis comparing voclosporin-based triple immunosuppressive therapy to traditional high-dose glucocorticoid regimens. They discuss findings from the AURA-LV and AURORA 1 studies, highlighting the safety benefits and earlier proteinuria reduction seen with voclosporin. Tune in to explore how these insights may shape LN treatment guidelines and improve patient outcomes.

Read the paper published in LSM: https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2024-001319