Mycophenolate Mofetil in a Lupus Patient with Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening complication of several, different connective tissue diseases, including systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), systemic sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. PH can present early in SLE. The severity does not correlate with other organ disease activity or with disease duration. It is still debatable whether immunosuppressive therapy is useful for PH related to SLE or autoimmune connective tissue disease, as there are no large clinical trials. However, several case reports have shown improvement with cyclophosphamide and prednisone with or without vasodilator therapy. We present a case of SLE-related PH in which a dramatic improvement in mean pulmonary artery pressure and exercise capacity was noted after the institution of treatment with mycophenolate mofetil, resulting in a decrease in corticosteroid dose. Our observations support the potential value of mycophenolate mofetil therapy for PH in SLE.