INTRODUCTION In systemic sclerosis (SSc) little evidence for the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive therapy exists. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which SSc patients are treated with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents. METHODS Data on duration and dosage of corticosteroids and on the type of immunosuppressive agent were analyzed from...

Recent studies have demonstrated that mutations in 4 podocyte genes, NPHS1, NPHS2, CD2AP, and WT1, are associated with the pathogenesis of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). Systematic investigation of all 4 genes for sporadic SRNS in China has not been performed. We examined 10 Chinese children with sporadic SRNS who showed no response to immunosuppressive agents and 20 SRNS controls...

Mycestericins A, B, C, D and E were isolated from the culture broth of Mycelia sterilia ATCC 20349 along with thermozymocidin (= myriocin). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies and chemical evidence. The acetate of mycestericin C was identical with the acetate of 6,7-dihydromyriocin. Mycestericins suppressed the proliferation of lymphocytes in the mouse allogen...

Immunosuppressive agents are commonly used in the nephrologist's practice in the treatment of autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases and transplantation, and they are investigational in the treatment of AKI and ESRD. Drug development has been rapid over the past decades as mechanisms of the immune response have been better defined both by serendipity (the discovery of agents with immunosuppres...

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN) is one of the most common causes of the nephrotic syndrome in adults. The clinical course of patients with iMN is quite variable. Untreated, ∼40–50% of patients with iMN and nephrotic proteinuria will develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD) [1]. According to data of registries in the USA, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand, MN was the cause of ESRD in 0...

We report a patient who developed sebaceous carcinoma on the neck during therapy with immunosuppressive agents (cyclosporine, corticosteroid, methotrexate) for refractory psoriasis vulgaris, which showed rapid enlargement, leading to a fatal outcome. Multiple-organ metastases were detected. Weekly carboplatin + paclitaxel therapy resulted in the disappearance of tumor cells, but the patient die...