Chloroquine was used as a prophylactic agent against malaria, and more recently mild immunosuppressive. However, due to lengthy treatment periods, adverse effects have become apparent, which included retinopathy. The structurally related hydroxychloroquine is less toxic, thought be owing lower tissue accumulation in melanin rich areas. This study primarily focused on quantifying binding between...

OBJECTIVE The efficacy for primary orthotopic liver transplantation of a new immunosuppressive agent, FK 506 (tacrolimus, Prograf, Fujisawa USA, Deerfield, IL), was determined. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA After 3 years of preclinical research, a clinical trial of FK 506 for orthotopic liver transplantation was begun in February 1989, first as a rescue therapy for patients with intractable rejecti...

BACKGROUND Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common in men with renal failure, but is not always alleviated following kidney transplant. The objective of the present study was to assess the feasibility in renal transplant patients of sildenafil citrate treatment, an agent with proven efficacy in the management of ED. METHODS This was a phase IV, open, multicentre, 3 month, dose-escalation study. A...

BACKGROUND Rapamycin is an immunosuppressive agent with antiproliferative properties against not only lymphocytes but also vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, and it reduces the fibroproliferative response to vascular injury. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has also been shown to have graft protective effects and to inhibit vascular remodeling. In this study, we evaluated whether there is an ...

BACKGROUND Psoriasis, a disease of unknown etiology, is in some patients severe, extremely debilitating, and unresponsive to conventional therapies, including UV-B, oral psoralen with long-wave UV radiation in the A range (PUVA), oral retinoids, and methotrexate. We report the results from our study of seven patients with refractory psoriasis who were treated with the new immunosuppressive drug...

Background and Objective: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are associated with severe morbidity and mortality in patients, especially pediatric renal transplantation patients. The use of immunosuppressive agents places these patients at the risk of viral infections. As cytomegalovirus infection influences the graft outcome, adopting useful strategies for limiting this virus after transplantatio...

Methotrexate (MTX) is a commonly used anti-metabolite agent. Increased risk of lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been documented with the prolonged use of immunosuppressive medications such as MTX. This is thought to be the result of immune dysregulation and/or chronic immune stimulation. Most cases of LPDs regress following withdrawal of the off...

Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is an effective treatment in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Its mechanism of action remains unclear, although it has been assumed to be immunosuppressive. However, ATG has also been shown by several laboratories to be immunostimulatory. Recently, interleukin-1 (IL-1) production has been found to be decreased in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated peripheral b...

Mycolactone is a polyketide toxin produced by Mycobacterium ulcerans (Mu), the causative agent of the skin disease Buruli ulcer (BU). Surprisingly, infected tissues lack inflammatory infiltrates. Structural similarities between mycolactone and immunosuppressive agents led us to investigate the immunomodulatory properties of mycolactone on dendritic cells (DCs), the key initiators and regulators...

Background and Aim: Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) accounts for 10%-20% of all cases of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. These patients are at risk of developing end-stage renal disease. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic characteristics, renal biopsy findings, response to immunosuppressive treatment, and prognosis in pediatric patients with SRNS.Materials and Met...