Summary

Eligibility
for people ages up to 80 years (full criteria)
Location
at UCLA UCSF
Dates
study started
completion around
Principal Investigator
by Paul Brakeman, MD, PhD (ucsf)Sharon Adler, MD (ucla)
Headshot of Paul Brakeman
Paul Brakeman

Description

Summary

Minimal change disease (MCD), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), and Membranous nephropathy (MN), generate an enormous individual and societal financial burden, accounting for approximately 12% of prevalent end stage renal disease (ESRD) cases (2005) at an annual cost in the US of more than $3 billion. However, the clinical classification of these diseases is widely believed to be inadequate by the scientific community. Given the poor understanding of MCD/FSGS and MN biology, it is not surprising that the available therapies are imperfect. The therapies lack a clear biological basis, and as many families have experienced, they are often not beneficial, and in fact may be significantly toxic. Given these observations, it is essential that research be conducted that address these serious obstacles to effectively caring for patients.

In response to a request for applications by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Rare Diseases (NIH, ORD) for the creation of Rare Disease Clinical Research Consortia, a number of affiliated universities joined together with The NephCure Foundation the NIDDK, the ORDR, and the University of Michigan in collaboration towards the establishment of a Nephrotic Syndrome (NS) Rare Diseases Clinical Research Consortium.

Through this consortium the investigators hope to understand the fundamental biology of these rare diseases and aim to bank long-term observational data and corresponding biological specimens for researchers to access and further enrich.

Official Title

Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network Under the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network

Details

Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome (NS) is a rare disease syndrome responsible for approximately 12% of all causes of end-stage kidney disease (ESRD) and up to 20% of ESRD in children. Treatment strategies for Focal and Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), Minimal Change Disease (MCD) and Membranous Nephropathy (MN), the major causes of NS, include high dose prolonged steroid therapy, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine A, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and other immunosuppressive agents, which all carry significant side effects. Failure to obtain remission using the current treatment approaches frequently results in progression to ESRD with its associated costs, morbidities, and mortality. In the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS) registry, half of the pediatric patients with Steroid Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome required renal replacement therapy within two years of being enrolled in the disease registry. FSGS also has a high recurrence rate following kidney transplantation (30-40%) and is the most common recurrent disease leading to allograft loss.

The prevailing classification of Nephrotic Syndrome categorizes patients into FSGS, MCD, and MN, if in the absence of other underlying causes, glomerular histology shows a specific histological pattern. This classification does not adequately predict the heterogeneous natural history of patients with FSGS, MCD, and MN. Major advances in understanding the pathogenesis of FSGS and MCD have come over the last ten years from the identification of several mutated genes responsible for causing Steroid Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome (SRNS) presenting with FSGS or MCD histopathology in humans and model organisms. These functionally distinct genetic disorders can present with indistinguishable FSGS lesions on histology confirming the presence of heterogeneous pathogenic mechanisms under the current histological diagnoses.

The limited understanding of FSGS, MCD, and MN biology in humans has necessitated a descriptive classification system in which heterogeneous disorders are grouped together. This invariably consigns these heterogeneous patients to the same therapeutic approaches, which use blunt immunosuppressive drugs that lack a clear biological basis, are often not beneficial, and are complicated by significant toxicity. The foregoing shortcomings make a strong case that concerted and innovative investigational strategies combining basic science, translational, and clinical methods should be employed to study FSGS, MCD, and MN. It is for these reasons that the Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network is established to conduct clinical and translational research in patients with FSGS/MCD and MN.

Keywords

Minimal Change Disease (MCD), Membranous Nephropathy, Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental, Focal and Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, Focal & Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, FSGS, Minimal change disease, MCD, MN, Nephrotic Syndrome, Neph Syndrome, NEPTUNE, NephCure, Halpin, Kidney Diseases, Nephrosis, Membranous Glomerulonephritis, Lipoid Nephrosis, Syndrome, Kidney Biopsy

Eligibility

For people ages up to 80 years

Cohort A (biopsy cohort) Inclusion Criteria:

Patients presenting with an incipient clinical diagnosis for FSGS/MCD or MN or pediatric participants not previously biopsied, with a clinical diagnosis for FSGS/MCD or MN meeting the following inclusion criteria:

  • Documented urinary protein excretion ≥1500 mg/24 hours or spot protein: creatinine ratio equivalent at the time of diagnosis or within 3 months of the screening/eligibility visit.
  • Scheduled renal biopsy

Cohort B (non-biopsy, cNEPTUNE) Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age <19 years of age
  • Initial presentation with <30 days immunosuppression therapy
  • Proteinuria/nephrotic
    • UA>2+ and edema OR
    • UA>2+ and serum albumin <3 OR
    • UPC > 2g/g and serum albumin <3

Exclusion Criteria (Cohort A&B):

  • Prior solid organ transplant
  • A clinical diagnosis of glomerulopathy without diagnostic renal biopsy
  • Clinical, serological or histological evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as defined by the ARA criteria. Patients with membranous in combination with SLE will be excluded because this entity is well defined within the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society categories of lupus nephritis, and frequently overlaps with other classification categories of SLE nephritis (68)
  • Clinical or histological evidence of other renal diseases (Alport, Nail Patella, Diabetic Nephropathy, IgA-nephritis, monoclonal gammopathy (multiple myelomas), genito-urinary malformations with vesico-urethral reflux or renal dysplasia)
  • Known systemic disease diagnosis at time of enrollment with a life expectancy less than 6 months
  • Unwillingness or inability to give a comprehensive informed consent
  • Unwillingness to comply with study procedures and visit schedule
  • Institutionalized individuals (e.g., prisoners)

Locations

  • University of California San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospitals not yet accepting patients
    San Francisco California 94158 United States
  • Lundquist Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor UCLA Medical Center accepting new patients
    Torrance California 90502 United States
  • University of Southern California-Children's Hospital accepting new patients
    Los Angeles California 90227 United States
  • Stanford University School of Medicine accepting new patients
    Palo Alto California 94304 United States

Lead Scientists at University of California Health

  • Paul Brakeman, MD, PhD (ucsf)
    Professor, Pediatrics, School of Medicine. Authored (or co-authored) 44 research publications
  • Sharon Adler, MD (ucla)
    Professor-in-Residence, Medicine. Authored (or co-authored) 104 research publications

Details

Status
accepting new patients
Start Date
Completion Date
(estimated)
Sponsor
University of Michigan
Links
Rare Diseases Clinical Research Networks Homepage Patient Advocacy group for FSGS/MCD Patient advocacy group for MN The NEPTUNE Study Homepage
ID
NCT01209000
Study Type
Observational
Participants
Expecting 1200 study participants
Last Updated