Rheumatoid Arthritis drug could halt kidney failure

(Harvard Gazette, November 15, 2013)

A drug approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis may also turn out to be the first targeted therapy for one of the most common forms of kidney disease, a condition that almost inevitably leads to kidney failure. “We identified abatacept as the first personalized, targeted treatment for kidney disease and specifically for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a devastating and largely untreatable disease” said Peter Mundel of the Division of Nephrology in the MGH Department of Medicine. “We also identified a biomarker that helps us discern which patients are most likely to benefit from therapy with abatacept." The new treatment prevented four patients from losing transplanted kidneys and achieved disease remission in a fifth.