Study Finds Taking Kidney Tissue Samples, Key for Lupus Research, is Safe and Practical

In a kidney biopsy, a small amount of kidney tissue is surgically removed from the body in order to check for illness. When a physician suspects that a patient with lupus may have lupus nephritis (LN) – lupus-related kidney disease – a kidney biopsy is considered “clinically indicated” to help make a diagnosis. Now, new research finds such clinically indicated biopsies also provide a safe opportunity to collect additional kidney tissue for use in clinical research.

In the study, 475 people with lupus agreed to donate kidney tissue for research purposes during a clinically indicated biopsy. A small percentage (7.2%) experienced a negative outcome related to the procedure, and an even smaller percentage (3.8%) had bleed-related issues due to the biopsy that required hospitalization. In all cases, complications resolved within 15 days. The authors concluded that taking kidney tissue samples for research purposes as part of a clinically indicated biopsy was safe and achievable.

This research was made possible by the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), which funds work to find new medicines and tools to help diagnose and treat complex diseases like lupus. The Lupus Foundation of America is a proud contributing member of AMP, along with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other non-profit disease organizations, medical research institutions and drug companies.

More than half of people with lupus develop LN. And in LN research, ‘tissue is the issue.’ Increasing researchers’ access to kidney tissue samples from people with the disease is critically important for developing new and more effective treatments. Learn more about lupus nephritis.

Read the study

Listen to a podcast with researchers Drs. Buyon and Carlucci as they further discuss the findings from this study.