Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tarek Alhamad, MD, MS, FACP, FASN, Transplant Nephrology, has been awarded a grant from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. The investigator-initiated project is entitled Efficacy of Acthar in Recurrent Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis after Kidney Transplantation.
“Recurrence of primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) after kidney transplantation remains a frequent medical challenge,” says Dr. Alhamad. “Around one third of patients with primary FSGS develop recurrence in the first kidney allograft. This recurrence impairs kidney allograft survival and leads to poor outcomes.” Management of recurrent FSGS is difficult and not well established. Combinations of plasmapheresis, steroids, ACE inhibitors and rituximab are among the conventional therapeutic options. H.P. Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) is currently the only Food and Drug Administration therapy approved for the treatment of nephrotic syndrome; its use in recurrent FSGS after kidney transplantation has not been well identified.
Dr. Alhamad says that the main goal of the study “is to examine our experience of Acthar use in approximately 23 patients with recurrent FSGS at two large centers, Washington University in St. Louis and The Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore.” Daniel Brennan, MD, FACP, Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Renal Diseases, established the communication with Johns Hopkins and will participate in this project.