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Biomedical subjects

L S Krassner

Publications and source records attributed to L S Krassner.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome of childhood: a long-term study of clinical course, histopathology, efficacy of cyclophosphamide therapy, and effects on growth.

The long-term clinical course of 60 children with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome, observed for a minimum of 10 years from onset, was studied (mean 14.5 +/- 0.5 years). Four children had only a single episode, seven children experienced only one to three relapses early in their course, and the remaining 49 patients (82%) experienced frequently relapsing steroid-dependent disease. Nearly half of these (47%) continued to relapse into their late teens and early twenties. All 20 children treated with cyclophosphamide because of steroid-induced side effects developed complete remissions of the nephrotic syndrome. These were sustained in 70% for 9.1 +/- 0.6 years, with a reduction of disease severity in the remaining 30%. In contrast, only 48% of patients treated with prednisone alone were in remission at last follow-up (P = .06). Ten of the children treated with cyclophosphamide had the minimal change lesion prior to therapy; 90% of these had permanent remissions. Only 50% of the six children with focal glomerulosclerosis and four children with mesangial proliferation have had permanent remissions. None of the patients developed renal insufficiency. Children treated with prednisone alone were -0.93 +/- 0.3 SD below the mean for height at last follow-up. Cyclophosphamide treatment was associated with an increase in height SD scores from -0.84 +/- 0.4 to -0.28 +/- 0.3. Children with severe growth impairment demonstrated dramatic catch-up growth when treated with cyclophosphamide with SD scores increasing from -2.29 +/- 0.8 to -0.43 +/- 0.6 (P less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome in children: histopathology and relapses after cyclophosphamide treatment.

Children with steroid-dependent frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome are generally assumed to have a minimal change in histology and therefore to respond favorably to treatment with cyclophosphamide. The clinical course of 38 children with steroid-sensitive frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome was analyzed. Biopsy samples were obtained from these children several years (mean 6 years) after the onset of their disease but before they were treated with cyclophosphamide. Three histologic types of lesions were found: minimal change lesion, 18 patients (47%); focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis, 11 patients (29%); and mesangial proliferation, 9 patients (24%). Each patient then received cyclophosphamide (2mg/kg of body wt per day) for 12 weeks, and each responded with a complete remission, which lasted 1.5 +/- 0.2 years. During 6 years of followup after cyclophosphamide, 17 patients experienced one or more relapses, but 21 patients remained in sustained remission. The incidence of relapse after cyclophosphamide was significantly greater (P less than 0.01) in the patients with focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (8/11, 73%) and mesangial proliferation (5/9, 56%), as compared with children with minimal change lesion (4/18, 22%). These data indicate that children with frequently relapsing steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (1) will not all develop minimal-change lesions within several years; in fact, approximately half will have either focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis or mesangial proliferation; and (2) after cyclophosphamide treatment, the incidence of relapse will be related to the histopathologic type of lesion present at the time of treatment with cyclophosphamide.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Minimal-lesion nephrotic syndrome with early resistance to steroid therapy.

The initial and long-term clinical course of six children with steroid-resistant, minimal-lesion nephrotic syndrome was evaluated. All children experienced remission after two to five weeks of combined cyclophosphamide-prednisone therapy. Following cyclophosphamide treatment, three patients have relapsed and have become steroid sensitive. The clinical outcome was quite favorable. These data suggest: (1) cyclophosphamide may induce a prompt remission in patients with minimal glomerular lesions who have early resistance to corticosteroids; (2) relapses which occur after cyclophosphamide should be treated with prednisone alone, even though the patient was previously steroid resistant; (3) the ultimate outcome is related more to the nature of the histopathologic lesion than to a lack of steroid responsiveness.

Blood Urea Nitrogen↗