A Controlled Trial of Plasmapheresis Therapy in Severe Lupus Nephritis

THE mortality rate in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and severe glomerulonephritis (lupus nephritis) is high. 1 2 3 In 1976 plasmapheresis was proposed as a new approach to interrupting the pathogenetic events in systemic lupus erythematosus. 4 The initial use of plasmapheresis in systemic lupus erythematosus resulted in several reports of improvement, 4 5 6 7 8 but the studies were uncontrolled. We report the results of a controlled clinical trial of plasmapheresis in the treatment of patients with severe lupus nephritis. Methods The Lupus Nephritis Collaborative Study was organized to assess the efficacy and safety of plasmapheresis for the treatment of patients with severe lupus nephritis. Study . . .