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Improvement in Lupus Nephritis Following Treatment With a Chinese Herbal Preparation
Hui-Kim Yap, MBBS, MMed(Pediatrics), FRCP(Edin), MD;
Siau-Gek Ang, BSc(Hon), PhD;
Yee-Hing Lai, BSc, PhD;
Vinod Ramgolam, BSc, MSc;
Stanley C. Jordan, MD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:850-852.
Objective To study the effect of a Chinese herbal decoction (CM), which contained 21 different herbs, on clinical remission in a patient with lupus nephritis and chronic nephrotic syndrome.
Design Case report describing the clinical and laboratory markers of lupus activity in the patient before and after treatment with CM. We also studied the in vitro effect of CM and its hydrophobic extract on spontaneous IgG production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 12 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with 9 healthy control subjects.
Results Spontaneous PBMC IgG production was significantly higher in patients with SLE (mean ± SD, 20.4±10.6 x10-5 g/L) compared with controls (4.7 ± 1.9 x10-5 g/L) (P<.001). Addition of CM and its hydrophobic extract to PBMCs from patients with SLE resulted in significant suppression of spontaneous IgG production.
Conclusions The CM may contain some active pharmacological compound with immunosuppressive properties useful in the treatment of SLE. Further controlled studies are important to evaluate the efficacy of this medicine, potential toxic effects, and the possible immunosuppressive mechanisms of the active component(s).
From the Departments of Pediatrics (Drs Yap and Ramgolam) and Chemistry (Drs Ang and Lai), National University of Singapore, Singapore; and the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles–Cedar Sinai Medical Center (Dr Jordan).
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