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Mycophenolate mofetil for the treatment of juvenile onset SLE: a multicenter study

Department of Biomedicine, Division of Rheumatology, Transition Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy falcini{at}unifi.it

S Capannini

Department of Biomedicine, Division of Rheumatology, Transition Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

G Martini

Department of Paediatrics, Rheumatology Unit, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

F La Torre

Department of Paediatrics, Rheumatology Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

A Vitale

Department of Paediatrics, Rheumatology Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

F Mangiantini

A Meyer Children’s Hospital, Rheumatology Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

F Nacci

Department of Biomedicine, Division of Rheumatology, Transition Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

MM Cerinic

Department of Biomedicine, Division of Rheumatology, Transition Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

R Cimaz

A Meyer Children’s Hospital, Rheumatology Unit, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

F Zulian

Department of Paediatrics, Rheumatology Unit, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has proved to be an efficacious and safe therapy in adult lupus nephritis. Recently, this drug has been suggested as a possible new alternative treatment also for juvenile-onset SLE (juvenile-SLE). A multicenter study has been performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MMF in controlling the disease activity in children and adolescents with juvenile-SLE. Our results show that MMF was effective in reducing the disease activity or as a steroid-sparing agent in 14 of 26 patients (54%), stabilised the disease in 8 (31%) and was ineffective in 4 (15%). In particular, in patients without renal involvement, a good response was registered in 9 of 13 patients (69%). Among those patients with renal involvement, MMF was effective in 5 of 13 patients (38%), partially effective in 4 (31%) and ineffective in 4 (31%). No severe side effects have been observed; only two patients stopped the drug because of severe diarrhoea and abdominal pain. With the limits of a retrospective study, MMF seems to be effective and safe for the treatment of juvenile-SLE, especially in patients with no renal involvement.

Key Words: juvenile SLE • lupus nephritis • mycophenolate mofetil

Lupus, Vol. 18, No. 2, 139-143 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0961203308094999


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