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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffWith early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, you may recover from Wegener's granulomatosis within a few months. In some cases, longer treatment may be necessary. Because the disease can recur, your doctor will continue monitoring your condition after treatment.
Medications
Your doctor may prescribe corticosteroids, such as prednisone, to treat the early signs and symptoms of Wegener's granulomatosis. For some people, a corticosteroid may be enough. However, most people require another immunosuppressive drug, such as cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), azathioprine (Imuran) or methotrexate (Rheumatrex), to counteract the body's immune reaction.
When standard treatments aren't effective, some doctors who are experienced in treating Wegener's are using experimental drugs. One such drug is rituximab (Rituxan), which reduces the number of a type of cell in your body (B cell) that's involved with inflammation. But further studies are needed to see if this drug should be considered standard treatment for Wegener's. Rituxan was developed to treat a type of cancer known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has since been approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Because of potential side effects of the drugs used to treat Wegener's, such as hampering your body's ability to fight off infection, your doctor will monitor your condition while you're taking them. Drugs your doctor may prescribe to help prevent drug-related side effects include:
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra) to prevent lung infection
- Medicine such as bisphosphonates (Fosamax) to prevent bone loss (osteoporosis) associated with prednisone use
- Folic acid, a synthetic form of the B vitamin folate, to prevent sores and other signs and symptoms associated with the depletion of folate in your body from methotrexate use
Surgery
If you've had kidney failure as a result of Wegener's granulomatosis, you may want to consider a kidney transplant to restore normal kidney function. A successful transplant depends on finding the organ that minimizes the chances your body will reject it and following a treatment regimen that will allow your body to accept the new organ.
Talk to your doctor to determine whether a kidney transplant might be an option for you. Your eligibility to receive a donated kidney will depend on how your other organs have been affected by the disease.
