Comparison of Mycophenolate Mofetil and Cyclophosphamide for Active Takayasu's Arteritis

Takayasu's arteritis(TAK) is a rare systemic vasculitis which can cause ischemia or inflammation of the involved organs and increase the overall mortality rate.The traditional treatment of TAK is primarily empirical. The most commonly used drugs for treating active TAK are glucocorticosteroids(GC) and immunosuppressants. However, the genital toxicity of CYC has limited its long term use. In a pilot study carried out by the principal investigator of this study has shown that mycophenolate mofetil(MMF) combined with MTX is effective and with few adverse effects. The purpose of this prospective open-label study is to compare the efficacy and safety of GC+MMF+MTX with GC+CYC followed by GC+AZA for the treatment of active TAK. 150 patients with active TAK will be recruited and randomized in a 2:1 ratio to GC+MMF+MTX group and C+CYC and AZA group. Patients were followed for 52 weeks for efficacy and safety assessment.