Sunday, June 16, 2013

End stage Renal Disease due to Lupus Nephritis

Lupus nephritis is an inflammation of the kidney caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disease of the immune system. Apart from the kidneys, SLE can also damage the skin, joints, nervous system and virtually any organ or system in the body.
With time passing by, if patients can not receive effective treatment, it will develop into end stage of renal disease, which can also be called uremia. In this stage, there are not only healthy and damaged intrinsic cells but also necrotic cells in the kidney. On the basis of its pathological mechanism, we researched out immunotherapy, which can be divided into 6 steps: immune diagnosis, immune clearance, immune inhibition, immune tolerance, immune adjustment and immune protection.
1. immune diagnosis
After a systematic diagnosis, we can figure out where the immune complex deposits exactly, the amount of immune complex and the exact type of immune response so that doctors can get more scientific diagnosis and arrange better treatment.
2. immune clearance
In immune clearance step, patients with SLE should clear away the immune complex in the blood, which can supply a cleaner inner environment for the treatment of kidney disease. For patients with SLE, the most proper blood purification method is the plasma exchange. Pay attention that the immune complex we clean is the one in the blood not the one on the kidney.
3. immune inhibition
The third one is immune inhibition. There is immune complex which deposit onto kidney, which leads to immune response. Medicine is used, which can stop the excessive immune response, thus stopping the inflammation response at a rapid speed.
4. immune tolerance
After immune inhibition, the immune response can be stopped. And the damage to the kidney can be blocked. However, the immune complex still deposit onto the kidney, which leads to a new series of immune response.
5. immune adjustment
In this step, Chinese medicines are applied, which can improve the blood circulation, including micro-blood circulation and dissolve the blood stasis. In this case, the immune complex can be discharged out, and the immune system can be repaired. Note that in this step, the immune complex we clean is the one on the kidney not the one in the blood. Blood purification such as dialysis and plasma exchange can not achieve this.
6. immune protection
In this stage, we use medicine which can nourish Qi and blood to rebuild the intrinsic immune system. In addition, biochemical cell therapy is also used in clinic such as the transplant of stem cell, which can also help achieve this effect.
After these steps, end stage of renal disease caused by lupus nephritis can relieve and the symptoms will disappear gradually.

No comments:

Post a Comment