RESEARCH ARTICLE
Continued Eculizumab Therapy for Persistent Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
Arif Asif 1, *, Syed S. Haqqie1, Ketan Ghate1, Roy O Mathew1, Tushar Vachharajani2 , Ali Nayer3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2013Volume: 6
First Page: 46
Last Page: 48
Publisher ID: TOUNJ-6-46
DOI: 10.2174/1874303X01306010046
Article History:
Received Date: 11/2/2013Revision Received Date: 20/3/2013
Acceptance Date: 22/3/2013
Print publication date: 12/7/2013
Collection year: 2013
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (atypical HUS) is characterized by endothelial injury and microvascular thrombosis resulting in microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and ischemic injury to organs, especially the kidney. Activation of complements is involved in the pathogenesis of atypical HUS. Eculizumab, a neutralizing monoclonal antibody directed against complement C5, has shown salutary effects in patients with atypical HUS. In this report, we present a 23-year-old man with atypical HUSwho was treated with eculizumab. During the first four weeks of treatment, eculizumab failed to achieve a remission. Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia persisted, while renal function deteriorated necessitating initiation of hemodialysis. Continuation of eculizumab therapy, however, led to marked improvement in hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and renal function. After 10 weeks of eculizumab therapy, hemodialysis was discontinued. At 5-month follow-up, serum creatinine was 1.1 mg/dL with continued eculizumab therapy every other week. In addition, platelet count was normal, while there was no evidence of hemolysis. We conclude that in patients with persistent atypical HUS continued treatment with eculizumab can be helpful in achieving remission.
