How Well Does Mycophenolate Mofetil Work as a Lupus Treatment?
• Mycophenolate mofetil in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a prospective pharmacokinetic study Lupus, Volume 18, Number 4, May 2009, pp. 441– 447 What is the topic? When new drugs are being developed, research studies are conducted to find out the best doses to treat the disease and minimize side effects. Part of that process involves finding out how much of each dose of medicine is absorbed into the person’s blood stream and other tissues, and how long the medicine remains active in the body. Researchers also try to see if the amount and duration of active medicine in the body varies for specific groups of patients, such as between men and women, or among racial groups. The study of how drugs are absorbed in the body and how long they remain active before being eliminated is called “pharmacokinetics.” Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), an immunosuppressive medicine being used to treat lupus, was originally developed to prevent rejection of organ transplants. When MMF is taken as
