Novel therapy for anti-glomerular basement membrane disease with IgA nephropathy: A case report

Exp Ther Med. 2016 May;11(5):1889-1892. doi: 10.3892/etm.2016.3149. Epub 2016 Mar 11.

Abstract

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease is characterized by circulating anti-GBM antibodies and deposition of these antibodies in the renal GBM. Renal involvement in anti-GBM is more severe when compared with other types of immune-mediated glomerulonephritis, and the majority of patients manifest progressive renal failure, leading to end-stage renal disease. In a limited number of cases, anti-GBM disease has been shown to be accompanied with other immune-mediated glomerulonephritis. The present study reported the case of a 50-year-old female patient presenting with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, who was diagnosed with anti-GBM disease with IgA nephropathy. The patient achieved a relatively good therapeutic outcome with administration of corticosteroids plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), which may prove to be a novel treatment option for this rare disease; however, the exact underlying mechanism requires further in-depth investigation.

Keywords: anti-glomerular basement membrane disease; immunoglobulin A nephropathy; mycophenolate mofetil.