Avoiding steroids in solid organ transplantation.
The excellent results obtained today in solid-organ transplantation allow the envisaging of an improvement in long-term quality of life with a functioning graft. One way for this to be achieved is by the reduction, or even better, the avoidance, of steroid-based immunosuppression. Avoidance of steroids is indeed known to enhance the physical and psychological well being of the allograft recipient. This paper reviews the current status of steroid-free immunosuppression in renal, pancreatic, hepatic, intestinal, and cardiac transplantation.
Lerut
Jan P
JP
Department of Digestive Surgery, Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc/1400, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium. lerut@chir.ucl.ac.be
D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011788:Quality of Life; D013256:Steroids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014180:Transplantation / Q000523:psychology; D014181:Transplantation Immunology
D013256:Steroids