Symptoms And Treatment of Lupus Nephritis

What are the symptoms and treatment of Lupus Nephritis? Lupus Nephritis is kidney inflammation which occurs due to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and it is the major cause of death among people with Lupus. Because of this, it is of great significance for Lupus patients to learn about the symptoms and treatment of Lupus Nephritis

Symptoms of Lupus Nephritis

SLE is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces antibodies or protein to identify and fight against foreign objects like bacteria and viruses which are called antigen. In Lupus Nephritis, antibody combines with antigen, forming immune complexes which deposit in kidney and cause damages on kidney tissues. When kidneys are damaged and fail to work properly, the following symptoms will occur:

1. Hematuria or blood urine

2. Elevated blood pressure

3. Foamy urine (bubbly urine) or proteinuria

4. Swelling in different parts of body

5. Weight again

When Lupus Nephritis develops to advanced stage, patients will experience more symptoms like nausea, vomit, fatigue, shortness of breath, anemia and itching skin and so on. Effective treatment is needed to deal with these symptoms, as they can worsen kidney condition and accelerate Lupus Nephritis to kidney failure stage.

Treatment of Lupus Nephritis

There are different types of Lupus Nephritis, ranging from I through V. The treatment of Lupus Nephritis is based on the type of Lupus Nephritis which is determined by the biopsy and usually medicines like corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs are necessary.

Immunotherapy as of now is the most effective treatment for Lupus Nephritis. In this therapy, corticosteroids and immunosuppressive medicines are used temporarily. When patient’s illness condition gets stable, Chinese medicines are used to adjust immune system and increase immunity. By combining Chinese medicines and western medicines, kidney function can be improved greatly and also symptoms can be alleviated effectively.