side effects of the calcineurin inhibitor, such as new-onset diabetes after kidney transplantation

new-onset diabetes after transplantation (nodat) is one of the frequent complications following kidney transplantation. patients were randomized to receive cyclosporine a- or tacrolimus-based immunosuppression. fasting and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed, and the patients were assigned to one of the following three groups based on the results: normal, impaired fasting glucose/impaired glucose tolerance (ifg/igt), or nodat. nodat developed in 14% of patients receiving cyclosporine a-based immunosuppression and in 26% of patients taking tacrolimus (p = 0.0002). albumin levels were similar, but uric acid level (p = 0.002) and the age of the recipient (p = 0.003) were significantly different comparing the diabetic and the normal groups. evaluation of tissue samples revealed that acute cellular rejection (acr) and interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (if/ta) were significantly different in the nodat group. the pathological effect of new-onset diabetes after kidney transplantation can be detected in the morphology of the renal allograft earlier, before the development of any sign of functional impairment