Publications by authors named "Mejia-Vilet J"

Background: Glucocorticoids are frequently employed in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and play a critical role in the induction therapy of lupus nephritis (LN), despite their many side effects, including steroid-induced diabetes (SID). Information regarding SID in SLE patients is quite scant.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine risk factors associated with the development of SID in patients with LN.

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Objective: We performed a scoping review of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) assessing pharmacological therapies for the initial management of lupus nephritis (LN), focusing on study design, included populations and outcome definitions, to assess the generalisability of their results and identify gaps in the evidence.

Methods: RCTs evaluating pharmacological interventions for the initial therapy of LN published between 2000 and 2024 were evaluated. Extracted variables included study design, selection criteria, outcome definitions, populations recruited and clinical characteristics of participants.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the use of urine epidermal growth factor (EGF) as a biomarker to predict recovery in patients with severe kidney impairment due to glomerulonephritis.
  • It involved 82 subjects, primarily with lupus nephritis and ANCA-associated vasculitis, measuring the EGF levels in their urine to determine their chances of regaining kidney function.
  • Results showed that higher levels of urine EGF correlated with better recovery rates, suggesting EGF is a reliable indicator for assessing the potential for kidney function recovery in these patients.
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Introduction/objectives: The heterodimer exostosin-1/exostosin-2 (EXO-1/2) is a novel antigen observed in membranous nephropathy associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. This study aimed to evaluate the association between EXO-1/2 positivity in kidney biopsy and kidney outcomes.

Methods: The kidney biopsy tissue from 50 class 5 lupus nephritis (LN) and 55 mixed class 3/4 + 5 LN patients was stained for EXO-1/2.

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Objectives: Integrating clinical and histological parameters into prognostic scores may enhance the prediction of progression to kidney failure in anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies-associated vasculitis (AAV). This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic performance of histological classifications and scoring systems for kidney survival in AAV.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 101 AAV patients with kidney involvement diagnosed by biopsy and followed for ≥12 months.

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Kidney involvement in patients with lupus highly increases morbidity and mortality. In recent years, several reports have emphasized the dissociation between clinical and histological findings and highlighted the role of kidney biopsy as an instrument for diagnosis and follow-up of lupus nephritis. The kidney biopsy at initial diagnosis allows an early diagnosis, assessment of activity and chronicity, and detection of nonimmune complex nephritis.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Advances in drug development have surged due to new genetic and molecular insights into these diseases, prompting KDIGO to commit to regular updates of their guidelines.
  • * The first update post-2021 guideline includes new recommendations based on two newly approved drugs for lupus nephritis, summarized for quick reference.
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In the last few years, several studies have provided new evidence for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with lupus nephritis. Evidence showing dissociation between clinical and histological findings has prompted reevaluation of the role of the kidney biopsy as a tool for diagnosis and follow-up. In therapeutics, four immunosuppressive schemes now have supporting evidence for use as initial therapy.

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Significance Statement: Reliable prediction tools are needed to personalize treatment in ANCA-associated GN. More than 1500 patients were collated in an international longitudinal study to revise the ANCA kidney risk score. The score showed satisfactory performance, mimicking the original study (Harrell's C=0.

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Objectives: To evaluate the effect of antimalarial drugs in response to therapy, incidence of LN flares, and progression of kidney disease in a large LN cohort.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 424 biopsy-proven LN patients followed for >3 years. We obtained demographic, clinical, laboratory, histopathological and treatment variables.

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Introduction/objectives: Acute kidney injury (AKI) with the requirement of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) portends a poor prognosis for kidney function in lupus nephritis (LN). This study evaluated the kidney function recovery rates, the rates of reinitiation of KRT, and factors associated with these outcomes in LN.

Method: All consecutive patients hospitalized for LN with KRT requirement between 2000 and 2020 were included.

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Article Synopsis
  • IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and minimal change disease (MCD) are the most frequently reported glomerular diseases following COVID-19 vaccinations, especially mRNA vaccines, along with others like membranous nephropathy.
  • A global registry was created to collect anonymized data on patients with glomerular diseases suspected after vaccination, focusing on vaccination details, kidney function, and treatment outcomes.
  • Results show that while IgAN and MCD have a better chance of kidney function recovery and reduced proteinuria within 4–6 months post-vaccination, causality remains unproven despite a temporal link.
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Purpose: We evaluated the renal arterial resistive index (RRI), urine monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (uMCP-1), and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) to predict acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill cancer patients.

Methods: In this prospective study, we included patients without AKI. We compared the area under the curve (AUC) of RRI, uMCP-1, and uNGAL to predict any stage of AKI and stage-3 AKI with the DeLong method, and we established cutoff points with the Youden index.

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  • This study investigates how genetic variants in the STAT4 gene impact its expression in CD4+ T cells, which are crucial for immune responses, particularly in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  • Healthy donors with the risk allele for STAT4 (R/R genotype) show persistent high levels of STAT4 and increased inflammatory responses compared to those with the non-risk allele (NR/NR) after stimulation with interleukin-12 (IL-12).
  • Results suggest that the R/R genotype is linked to worse clinical outcomes in lupus nephritis patients, indicating that targeting the IL-12/STAT4 pathway could improve treatment for these patients.
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Objectives: To assess the prevalence of leukocyte cell-derived chemotactic 2 (LECT2), its organ involvement, and its clinical association in autopsies from an ethnically biased population.

Methods: The tissues from all autopsies of individuals diagnosed with amyloidosis were reassessed and typed for amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis, amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis, transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR), and leukocyte chemotactic factor 2 amyloidosis (ALECT2) by immunohistochemistry. Organ involvement was described and correlated with its clinical associations.

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Background: Repeated renal flares in lupus nephritis (LN) have been associated with worse long-term kidney function. This study aimed to assess the impact of repeated LN flares in response to therapy, kidney and patient prognosis.

Methods: All patients from a biopsy-proven LN cohort between 2008 and 2018 were segregated into three groups according to the number of LN flares when they entered our cohort: first LN flare, second LN flare or third LN flare.

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Initial reports suggested that kidney involvement after coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection was uncommon, but this premise appears to be incorrect. Acute kidney injury can occur through various mechanisms and complicate the course of up to 25% of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in our Institution, and of over 50% of those on invasive mechanical ventilation. Mechanisms of injury include direct kidney injury and predominantly tubular, although glomerular injury has been reported, and resulting from severe hypoxic respiratory failure, secondary infection, and exposure to nephrotoxic drugs.

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Objectives: The present study aims to assess the course of uMCP-1 and its association with response to therapy and long-term kidney function in a prospective cohort of adults who received a kidney biopsy for suspicion of active lupus nephritis (LN).

Methods: Subjects were segregated into a histologically active LN group and a histologically chronic LN group. Both groups were followed for > = 36 months and urine were collected at flare, 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up.

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We have previously reported that urinary excretion of serpin-A3 (uSerpA3) is significantly elevated in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN). Here, we evaluated the course of uSerpA3 during the first year of treatment and its association with response to therapy in patients with proliferative LN. The observational longitudinal study included 60 Mexican adults with proliferative LN followed during the first year after LN flare.

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Objectives: To characterize the clinical presentation and outcomes of LN in a Hispanic cohort from Mexico.

Methods: We studied 440 subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus and biopsy-proven LN followed for >36 months. We obtained demographic, clinical, laboratory, histopathological and treatment variables.

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The immune pathways that define treatment response and non-response in lupus nephritis (LN) are unknown. To characterize these intra-kidney pathways, transcriptomic analysis was done on protocol kidney biopsies obtained at flare (initial biopsy (Bx1)) and after treatment (second biopsy (Bx2)) in 58 patients with LN. Glomeruli and tubulointerstitial compartments were isolated using laser microdissection.

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Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitides are infrequent autoimmune diseases characterized by inflammation of the walls of small vessels leading to tissue and endothelial damage. On the other hand, IgG4-related disease is a fibroinflammatory disease characterized histologically by lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates with IgG4+ plasma cells, storiform fibrosis, and obliterative phlebitis that may affect nearly every organ of the body. There are similarities in clinical, serological, radiological, and histopathological features between both diseases, and hence, they usually mimic each other complicating the differential diagnosis.

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