Effect of tripterygium wilfordii together with prednisone in treatment of elderly primary nephrotic syndrome

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of tripterygium wilfordii and prednisone in old patients with primary nephrotic syndrome. Methods 78 elderly primary nephrotic syndrome patients were randomly divided into two groups. 42 patients in treated-group were treated with tripterygium wilfordii and prednisone while 36 patients in control-group were treated with prednisone only. The curative effect,24 hours urinary protein, serum albumin,plasma lipid and renal function were detemined after six months. The responses of the patients were classified as complete remission(CR) ,partial remission(PR) and NO-response. Results After six months treatment, there were 24 patients got to CR,12 patients to PR,and 6 patients remained refractory to treatment group. While there were 13 patients got to CR,10 to PR,and 13 as refractory in the control group. The general effective rate in the treatment group was 85.7% ,which was markedly higher than that of the control group,which is 66. 67% (P＜0. 05). The recurrence rate in the treatment group and control group were 14. 3% and 36. 1% respectively (P＜0. 05 ). Conclusion The curative effect of tripterygium wilfordii and prednison on elderly primary nephrotic syndrome is markedly better than prednisone only. Key words: Nephrotic syndrome; Tripterygium; Prednisone; Aged