Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis secondary to subcutaneous interferon β-1a treatment in a patient with multiple sclerosis

Interferon (IFN)-β is a first line treatment for patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) that has been shown to decrease relapse rates, reduce magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disease burden and possibly delay onset of disability (Arnason, 2005). There are few reports of nephrotic syndrome related to Minimal Change Disease (MCD) or Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) during treatment with IFN-α (Nishimura et al., 2002, Tola et al., 2003 June and Rettmar et al., 1995 August). There are fewer reports of nephrotic syndrome induced by IFN-β (Tola et al., 2003 June, Auty and Saleh, 2005 August and Kumasaka et al., 2006 September). We report a 41 year old African American woman with RRMS that developed FSGS after 3 months of treatment with IFN-β-1a 3 times weekly and review the previously published cases.