Breakthrough trial: lupus patients may ditch harsh drugs without relapse risk

This study tested whether lupus nephritis patients who have been in stable remission for at least a year could safely stop their maintenance immunosuppressive drugs after two years of treatment. One hundred participants were randomly assigned to either continue their current immune-suppressing medications or stop them while continuing hydroxychloroquine and possibly low-dose steroids. The goal was to see if stopping these drugs, which can have significant side effects, would not increase the risk of the kidney disease flaring up again.