Efficacy and safety of long‑course tacrolimus treatment for idiopathic membranous nephropathy

The aim of the present study was to observe the efficacy and safety of long-course treatment with tacrolimus combined with low-dose corticosteroids for idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). A total of 76 patients with IMN diagnosed by renal biopsy between March 2012 and January 2016 form The First People's Hospital of Changzhou (Changzhou, China) were selected and randomly divided into a short-course group and a long-course group (each, n=38). Patients in the short-course group were treated with hormone combined with tacrolimus for 12 months, whereas those in the long-course group received the same treatment for 24 months. The efficacy, safety and recurrence of the two groups of patients were observed, and serum ALB, urine protein, Scr and blood glucose were assessed once a month for 24 months by measuring blood biochemistry. A total of 11 patients exhibited adverse effects, 6 of whom were serious and as such were excluded from the study. In the short-course group, 8 of 35 patients demonstrated complete remission (CR), 17 patients exhibited partial remission (PR) and the remaining 10 patients had no remission (NR); however the disease recurred in 8 patients following treatment. In the long-course group, 16 of 35 patients exhibited CR, 14 patients demonstrated PR and the remaining 5 patients had NR. Furthermore, the disease recurred in 4 patients following treatment. Significant differences were observed in urine protein and serum ALB at 18 and 24 months following treatment between the two groups while Scr and blood glucose had no significant differences at any time point. It was concluded that long-course tacrolimus combined with low-dose hormone effectively treats idiopathic membranous nephropathy and that therapy demonstrated a relatively high remission rate, and the recurrence rate of the disease is low.