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Q:
My husband was recently found to have membranous nephrotic syndrome after the biopsy. 3 years ago his kidneys begun to have some problem but the doctor did not figure out the cause. Now the membranous disease is confirmed. He is now having swelling, high blood pressure and high creatinine levels and the doctor tell him to have prednisolone. Does prednisolone help him and is there other treatments available for him.
A:
Membranous nephropathy is one type of nephrotic syndrome and it is more common among those that are above their 40s. It is renal damages caused by the deposition of massive immune complexes in the glomerular capillaries and most patients have the symptoms of nephrotic syndrome as you mentioned swelling, high blood pressure, high creatinine, etc. Other symptoms such as protein in urine, blood in urine, hypoproteinemia, etc.
Corticosterioids such as prednisolone or prednisone are often used to reduce swelling and protein in urine for membranous nephrotic syndrome patients and the steroid drugs have quick and obvious relief of these symptoms, but the relief can not last for long time. Usually protein in urine, swelling will once again appear or become even worse when the drug is stopped or if the dosage is reduced.
Since the root problem is the immune disorder and renal damages caused by deposition of immune complexes, immunotherapy can help treat the disease from the very root so as to help patients achieve real improvements of their illness conditions and the relapse rate can be much lowered.
Immunotherapy is actually the combination of Chinese medicine and Western medicine. It can help both relieve the symptoms such as proteinuria, swelling, high blood pressure, but also can help repair damaged renal tissues and improve renal functions. What is more important, immunotherapy can help remove these immune complexes, prevent formation of more immune complex, regulate immune disorders and enhance the patient’s immune system conditions.
