Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

Objectives: Juvenile Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease with multisystem affection and diverse clinical manifestations. Lupus Nephritis is one of the commonest and most serious clinical manifestations of systemic lupus Effective treatment of lupus nephritis requires correct diagnosis, timely intervention and early treatment of any disease relapse Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is produced by the heart, lungs, kidney, and bone.We investigated urinary OPG as potential biomarker for lupus nephritis. Methods: this is a cross sectional study conducted on 60 JSLE patients (27 have active nephritis, 8 have active non renal disease, 10 have inactive nephritis and 15 inactive SLE). Urine samples were collected for OPG measurement by ELISA (pg/ml). Urine samples from 30 healthy individuals served as controls.Results: uOPG was higher in cases than controls (p value<0.001), correlation analysis showed that uOPG levels were significantly correlated with tSELDAI score (r = 0.772, P >0.001), rSLEDAI score (r = 0.828, P < 0.001), Renal Activity Score(r = 0.814, P < 0.001), C3 titre (r = -.590, P < 0.001), C4 titre (r = -.603, P < 0.001) albumin/ creatinine ratio ( P< 0.001) and renal biopsy (P=0.002). Conclusion: uOPG is derived from kidneys and helps to differentiate active SLE patients with LN. It shows modest correlation with disease activity

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