title: Irreversibility of cyclosporine-induced renal function impairment in heart transplant recipients.
abstract: The use of cyclosporine therapy for heart transplant recipients has been associated with a significant improvement of graft survival. Renal function impairment is a frequent finding in patients chronically treated with cyclosporine. The purpose of this prospective randomized study was to establish renal function in a group of heart transplant recipients receiving chronic cyclosporine treatment and to test the hypothesis of reversibility of cyclosporine-induced nephropathy by late reduction of cyclosporine. A total of 28 patients who underwent operation at least 18 months before this study began were randomly assigned to either group A (n = 14), in which the whole-blood polyclonal cyclosporine target trough level was reduced from 400 to 600 micrograms/L to 200 to 400 micrograms/L, and group B (n = 14), in which the level was maintained at 400 to 600 micrograms/L. Renal and cardiac function were assessed by paraaminohippuric acid, inulin and lithium clearances and heart catheterization, respectively, at entry and 4 months later. Cellular rejection in the transplanted heart was monitored by at least four endomyocardial biopsies every 14 days with the histologic Texas scale (grading: 0 to 10). In heart recipients renal blood flow (592 +/- 202 ml/min/1.73 m2) and glomerular-filtration rate (74 +/- 33 ml/min/1.73 m2) were significantly lower (p < 0.01), and mean arterial blood pressure (109 +/- 13 mm Hg) and renal vascular resistance (22.4 +/- 9 mm Hg/dl/min/1.73 m2) were significantly higher than the corresponding values in normal controls (p < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maggiorini
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Binswanger
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keusch
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Carrel
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: von Segesser
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012079:Renal Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D014556:Urine; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D016572:Cyclosporine