New Approach Promising against Multiple Sclerosis Jun 12, 2008
There is one other immunosuppressant drug used for MS.. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000 approved the cancer drug Novantrone, also known as mitoxantrone, for MS treatment. (MEDLINEplus)
Rituximab in Relapsing–Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Jun 12, 2008
Keeping pace with the use of more potent and specific immunosuppressant agents, the incidence of opportunistic infections such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy seems to be increasing. In clinical trials of natalizumab for the treatment of. (New England Journal of Medicine)
'HiCy' drug regimen reverses ms symptoms in selected patients Jun 11, 2008
New approach to immunosuppressant treatment tested in nine individuals shows promise. A short-term, very-high dose regimen of the immune-suppressing drug cyclophosphamide seems to slow progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in most of a small group of patients studied and may even restore neurological function lost to the disease, Johns Hopkins researchers report. (EurekAlert!)
Richard Lower, 78, surgeon, pioneer in heart transplants Jun 3, 2008
At Stanford, Shumway combined the use of cyclosporin, an immunosuppressant drug, with an innovative biopsy technique that enabled him to readily check the body's acceptance or rejection of a new organ. In time, survival rates in the first year for transplant patients rose from roughly 60 percent in the 1970s to nearly 90 percent today. (Boston Globe)
Final Results of the CellCept(R) Spare the Nephron (STN) Study Show Maintenance Therapy is Associated with Improved Renal Function Jun 2, 2008
"The goal of this study was to optimize the use of immunosuppressants for achieving long-term success," added Dr. Pearson ... The reported cases generally had risk factors for PML, including treatment with immunosuppressant therapies and impairment of immune function ... A patient who is planning a pregnancy should not use CellCept unless she cannot be successfully treated with other immunosuppressant drugs. (PR Newswire)
Anti-Rejection Drugs After Transplant, Increase Diabetes Risk: Study May 31, 2008
Treatment with Sirolimus a relatively new immunosuppressant drug used to prevent rejection in organ transplantation - may actually lead to an increased risk of diabetes later on in kidney transplant recipients, a team of researchers has found. For the study the researchers scrutinized data of about 20,000 Medicare patients who had undergone kidney transplants between 1995 and 2003. (TheMedGuru)
Cancer risk soars in HIV-infected people: study May 21, 2008
Many early AIDS patients developed Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer previously associated with older people or people receiving immunosuppressant medications following an organ transplant. But the advent of combination drug therapy in the 1990s called highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, greatly extended the lives of many HIV-infected people, particularly in developed countries. (Scientific American)
Islet Cell Transplants Aid Type 1 Diabetics May 20, 2008
However, Gorn pointed out that because islet cell transplantation still requires lifelong immunosuppressant medications, the procedure is reserved for those with difficult to control diabetes and people who have severe, recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia. She said newer immune-suppressing medications are currently being tested in clinical trials, and the hope is that they'll have fewer side effects. (MEDLINEplus)
Current Regenerative Medical Techniques Hold Great Promise For Bladder Regeneration May 18, 2008
This treatment option essentially regenerates the patient s own bladder, reducing the risk of rejection and the need for immunosuppressant drugs, said Timothy Bertram, D.V.M., Ph. D. If successful in human clinical trials, patients should expect to regenerate normal bladder structure and function. (Science Daily)
Treatment Target For Liver Cancer Recurrence And Survival Identified Apr 14, 2008
23, 2005) A new study on the incidence of liver cancer after transplant found that high levels of the immunosuppressant cyclosporine favored tumor recurrence and identified blood levels of the drug that should. (Oct. (Science Daily)
Promising New Drug Targets Identified For Huntington's Disease Mar 25, 2008
Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant used to lower the body's natural immunity in patients who receive kidney transplants, is the most promising candidate drug currently available but can have significant side effects. Now, in research published today online in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, Professor Rubinsztein and colleagues have shown that a number of FDA-approved drugs for treatments such as migraine and hypertension are able to stimulate autophagy in fruit flies and zebrafish through... (Science Daily)
An Organ Transplant Recipient Receives A Rare Gift From A Friend Mar 22, 2008
The immunosuppressant drugs that help his transplanted lung work in his body have been toxic to his kidneys, Spanilo said. Without a new kidney, he would have to undergo dialysis treatments, which present a whole different set of challenges because of his weakened immune system. (FOX61, CT)
Boston Hospital To Perform Facial Transplants Mar 6, 2008
As with other transplants, rejection is a a major risk, requiring recipients to take immunosuppressant drugs. Now that the hospital has been approved, experts say the next step will be identifying transplant candidates. (Boston Channel.com)
Drug breakthrough 'could cure diabetes' Mar 1, 2008
Drug breakthrough 'could cure diabetes' - Telegraph. Drug breakthrough 'could cure diabetes. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Stroke therapy shows promise Feb 20, 2008
To prevent possible rejection, rats were treated with an immunosuppressant drug. The new cells stayed alive and functional. (San Jose Mercury News)
So sweet, possibly so deadly Feb 20, 2008
Quite the opposite: the immunosuppressant drugs she must down for the rest of her days in fact nurture larval cysts in other parts of her body. So along with a fistful of other medications she takes one more daily pill to hold them at bay. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Immunosuppressant Further Linked To Birth Defects, Case Study Suggests Feb 13, 2008
12, 2008) A new study documents malformations seen in an infant born to a kidney transplant recipient who had taken mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a widely used immunosuppressant available commercially as Cellcept ... The fetal side-effects of several immunosuppressant drugs have been studied, though not for widely used newer medications, such as (MMF) ... The use of immunosuppressant drugs is a required, life-long treatment for solid organ transplant recipients. (Science Daily)
Diabetes Trial Supported By US-Based Diabetes Foundation Feb 12, 2008
Treatment with DiabeCell does not require the use of immunosuppressant drugs. LCT's DiabeCell trials are progressing well with four patients already enrolled in Russia. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Cure hope over diabetes therapy Feb 12, 2008
However, the patients need to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives and it is likely re-transplants will be likely in the future as doctors do not expect the hypoglycaemia protection to last for ever. The government-funding will mean many more patients will be able to benefit from the technique, with up to 20 transplants planned in the first year before the numbers are gradually built up to about 80. (BBC News -- Health)
Pixantrone Shows Activity in a Preclinical Study of Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis (EAMG) Feb 11, 2008
The authors concluded that "pixantrone [is] a promising immunosuppressant agent suitable for clinical investigation in myasthenia gravis, although additional experiments are needed to confirm its safety profile in prolonged treatments." Current therapeutic treatment options for myasthenia gravis include corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, both of which are effective in most patients. However, some patients do not respond to the standard treatments, and side effects may limit prolonged... (PR Newswire)
Eisai, Astellas Face Setbacks in Gaining U.S. Approval for New Treatments Feb 2, 2008
Astellas applied in 2005 for U.S. approval of the once- daily version of its immunosuppressant medicine ... Astellas raised its full-year profit forecast by 33 percent on higher sales of its Prograf immunosuppressant. (Bloomberg -- Japan)
Astellas Pharmaceutical Raises Profit Target on Tax Rate, Prograf Sales Feb 1, 2008
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Astellas Pharma Inc., Japan's second- largest drugmaker, raised its full-year profit forecast by 33 percent on higher sales of its Prograf immunosuppressant and a lower rate. Net income will rise to 175 billion yen ($1. (Bloomberg -- Japan)
News Bytes of the Week—First glimpse of SpaceShipTwo Jan 26, 2008
Ordinarily, transplant patients must take immunosuppressant drugs which themselves can cause kidney damage to keep the cellular soldiers at bay. In an effort to spare patients a lifetime on antirejection medications, researchers replaced the damaged bone marrow cells with those of the organ donor in effect also transplanting the donors' immune systems. (Scientific American)
Protein That Controls Hair Growth Also Keeps Stem Cells Slumbering Jan 25, 2008
Clinical research, meanwhile, showed that a particular immunosuppressant that inhibits NFATc1, a drug called cyclosporine A, has a rather unsightly side effect: excessive hair growth. Fuchs and Valerie Horsley, a postdoc in her lab, realized that there was a connection between the drug's side effect and the abundance of NFATc1 within the hair follicle's stem cell compartment -- the bulge. (Science Daily)
Organ transplants without rejection Jan 24, 2008
Three independent research teams have successfully performed organ transplantations that do not require the recipient to face a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection ... But if the techniques can be reproduced in a larger population, they could eliminate one of the most enduring scars of the operation: the need to continue taking sometimes-dangerous immunosuppressant drugs ... But even when the organ donor is a close relative, the transplant recipient often needs to take... (Nature News Service)
New Therapies Could Change Organ Transplants Jan 24, 2008
The man has lived without immunosuppressant drugs for two years. Unfortunately, six other patients who received the same treatment have not been able to give up their immunosuppressive drugs. (Health-Finder)
Newly Discovered Virus Linked To Deadly Skin Cancer Jan 20, 2008
The incidence of MCC has tripled over the past 20 years to about 1,500 cases a year, especially among people whose immune systems are compromised by AIDS or transplant-related immunosuppressant drugs. About half of patients with advanced MCC live nine months or less, and some two-thirds of MCC patients die within five years. (Science Daily)
New laws on insurance, taxes to take effect Jan 1, 2008
Act 92, Relating to Prescription Drugs: Provides equal access to immunosuppressant medication for Medicaid patients who have HIV, AIDS or hepatitis C, or who require immunosuppressant medication due to transplants, regardless of whether they are in the Medicaid Fee-for-Service or QUEST programs. Act 108, Relating to Domestic Abuse: Codifies existing procedures defining the responsibilities of the Department of Human Services and the Family Court when the court refers an allegation of domestic... (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
More of this story Dec 30, 2007
Provide equal access to immunosuppressant medication for Medicaid patients who have HIV, AIDS or Hepatitis C.. Require all candidates to file campaign reports electronically in order to be viewed online. (Lihue Garden Island, HA)
Health Care: Tough Calls Dec 25, 2007
Dr. Stuart Knechtle, who heads the liver transplant program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, says transplantation is not an option for leukemia patients because the immunosuppressant drugs used in such procedures tend to spur the growth of cancer cells (he was not commenting specifically on Nataline's case). In a perfect world, Cigna would have funded the transplant and it would have worked, against the odds, to give Natalie a normal life. (Investors Business Daily)
Teen Dies After Insurance Balks Dec 22, 2007
Transplantation is not an option for leukemia patients because the immunosuppressant drugs "tend to increase the risk and growth of any tumors," said Dr. Stuart Knechtle, who heads the liver transplant program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and was not commenting specifically on Nataline's case. The procedure "would be futile," he said. (Fox News)
Huge stem cell breakthrough Dec 19, 2007
And since the new cells came from the sick mice, there was also no need for dangerous immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection. But leading stem cell researchers warned that the skin cells are not yet and might never be a substitute for embryonic stem cells. (iAfrica.com)
Partial Face Transplant Patient Doing Well Dec 14, 2007
Although a face transplant is not technically a lifesaving procedure, recipients still need to take immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection, as this woman did. Forty-eight hours after surgery, the patient started physical therapy involving facial exercises focusing on lip movement and closing her mouth. (MEDLINEplus)
1st face transplant patient all smiles Dec 13, 2007
She faces lifelong treatment with immunosuppressant drugs and the persistent worry that her immune system may reject the graft. The drugs bring the added risk of kidney failure and increase the chance of infection and cancer. (Los Angeles Times)
Bone marrow cell transplants help nerve regeneration Dec 5, 2007
Allologous cells, donated by other individuals, require the host to take heavy immunosuppressant drugs. Artificial nerves, cultured from a variety of cells and transplanted to nerve damaged areas, have been considered as alternatives to nerve grafting. (EurekAlert!)
Minnesota investigating illnesses among workers at plant Dec 4, 2007
It is treated with steroids and immunosuppressant drugs, according to the National Institutes of Health. The patients included men and women from a range of ages and ethnicities, said State Epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
Joslin Needs Bone Marrow Transplant Dec 1, 2007
Doctors have also treated him with immunosuppressant medication for six months, Joslin said. According to National Marrow information, the therapy seeks to weaken the immune system, which is believed to attack bone marrow. (Westerly Sun, RI)
Baby has heart swap at five weeks Nov 30, 2007
Andrew will have to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life to stop his body rejecting the heart and in 12 years' time he could need another transplant. Dr Kirk said the Freeman Hospital was one of two centres in the country carrying out heart transplants in children - the other being Great Ormond Street Hospital. (BBC News -- Health)
Controversial Gene Therapy Trial Restarts Nov 27, 2007
Others have suggested that more systematized protocols for the administration of the therapy be devised, so that someone who seems to be sick isn't given an experimental immunosuppressant therapy. - Whether Targeted should have made these and other changes beforehand is not the point. (Wired News)
Stem cells created without embryos Nov 21, 2007
Had a heart attack with major damage to the heart - grow a new one that will not require immunosuppressant drugs. I for one want to look on the positive side. (CTV.ca)
How Poisonous Mushrooms Cook Up Toxins Nov 15, 2007
Fungal natural products that benefit human health include penicillin and the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporin. Studying their biosynthesis could lead to the discovery and development of new medicines. (Science Daily)
Poinsett County Health Marked Tree Unit Providing Free Flu Shots Nov. 9 Nov 2, 2007
Though all persons over 6 months of age should get a flu shot each year, those most at risk for influenza disease complications are: those in nursing home; individuals over 50 years of age; persons with chronic diseases of the heart, lung, and kidneys, or who have diabetes, asthma, immunosuppressant, or severe forms of anemia; women who will be pregnant during flu season; children and teens on long-term aspirin therapy. Children six months through five years of age should receive the flu vaccine... (Tri-City Tribune, AR)
Ways To Teach Approved Drugs New Tricks: How To Combat Cancer Oct 30, 2007
At the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, researchers present the results of some of these investigations, whether it is finding a new use for the immunosuppressant rapamycin or adapting the use of approved antibodies to reach the same targets within different cancers ... The antibody, called CP-751871, is currently in a Phase III trial by its developer, Pfizer, Inc., while rapamycin, an approved immunosuppressant, is also under study for its... (Science Daily)
I've fought tough battles: Qantas chair Oct 30, 2007
The near fatal chain of events started when Ms Jackson was diagnosed with a flare-up of her Crohn's disease in February and prescribed immunosuppressant drugs, just as the fight for Qantas was heating up. "I then went to London and when I came back I was dehydrated and suffering the beginnings of malnutrition," Ms Jackson said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
U.Va. hospital performs first intestinal transplant Oct 25, 2007
Although she will continue to take immunosuppressant medications for the rest of her life, she said she now will do so in reduced doses. Schmitt, meanwhile, reiterated that intestinal transplant is a relatively rare procedure even today, nearly two decades after it was first introduced. (The Cavalier Daily, VA)
* Handle with care Oct 23, 2007
Those most at risk are pregnant women and their unborn or newborn babies; people with weakened immune systems; the elderly; patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer; people with diabetes; people taking immunosuppressant medications, including corticosteroids and drugs to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs. Listeria emerged as a serious contamination problem in meat and poultry products in the 1980s. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Further Positive Preliminary Data on DiabeCell Oct 22, 2007
DiabeCell is administered to patients without the need for immunosuppressant drugs. The first patient was injected with his first dose in June 2007 without adverse effects. (Scoop.co.nz)
Hair-raising ideas to cure baldness Oct 9, 2007
Sign up to receive our free Daily Briefing e-newsletter and get the top news of the day in your inbox. Get breaking news in your inbox as it happens. (USA Today)
Hui Yi the miracle girl Oct 7, 2007
She had to be given doses of immunosuppressant and the intra-aortic balloon pump that had been inserted into the vessel was removed in the morning, he said, adding that Hui Yis progress would be closely monitored over the next 72 hours. He said if everything went well, she would be moved to the normal ward in about five days and fed through a tube. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Hui Yi making good progress Oct 6, 2007
She had to be given a huge dose of immunosuppressant, and the intra-aortic balloon pump that had been inserted into the vessel had been removed in the morning, he said, adding that they had to monitor her closely for the next two to three days. He said if everything went on well then she could be out of ICU in five days to be placed at the ward, and slowly they would maybe start feeding her through a tube. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Child's double transplant truly a family affair Sep 21, 2007
If he had only a kidney transplant and was put on immunosuppressant medication, the doctor said, his risk of infection in the bile duct would rise ... He said Andrew will likely be on some immunosuppressant drugs for life, although "we try to wean it to the lowest level possible. We have noted that in living-donor transplants, the need for immunosuppressants is minimal. Up to 10 percent of the patients can have it withdrawn. That is an encouraging possibility. We're working on predicting which... (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Targeted Genetics Reports on Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) Review of its Phase 1/2 Trial of tgAAC94 for Rheumatoid Arthritis Sep 18, 2007
Many of the medications commonly prescribed to patients undergoing treatment for inflammatory arthritis, including those that were being taken by the patient, are recognized to have immunosuppressant effects. About tgAAC94 and the Phase I/II Study tgAAC94 is being developed as a supplemental therapeutic to systemic anti-TNF-alpha protein therapy for use in patients with inflammatory arthritis who have one or more joints that do not fully respond to systemic protein therapy. (PR Newswire)
A to Z on Stifling the Sneezes Sep 18, 2007
If you're immune-compromised or on immunosuppressant drugs, don't take it, as Echinacea stimulates the immune system. Flu shot. (Fairfax Chronicle, VA)
Role Of Oxidative Stress In Estrogen-related Bone Loss Illuminated Sep 13, 2007
In order to try and prevent bone loss in the research mice whose ovaries were removed and determine how reactive oxygen was exerting its toxic effects, the research team treated the mice with the immunosuppressant CTLA4-Ig, which prevents the activation of T cells by blocking the binding of CD80 to CD28. Because CTLA4-Ig did not directly affect osteoclasts or block the direct effects of reactive oxygen on osteoclasts, the data helped prove the researchers' hypothesis that oxidative stress causes... (Science Daily)
Aspreva Provides Update On Lupus Nephritis Development Program Sep 10, 2007
Current induction treatments involve the off-label use of existing cancer drugs such as cyclophosphamide, steroids, and immunosuppressants such as azathioprine ... CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil, MMF) is an immunosuppressant or anti-rejection drug approved for use in combination with other immunosuppressive drugs (cyclosporine and corticosteroids) for the prevention of rejection in patients receiving kidney, heart and liver transplants ... Patients receiving immunosuppressant regimens are at... (Primezone Releases)
New Hope That Some Transplant Patients Could Live Free Of Anti-rejection Drugs Aug 22, 2007
Although the anti-rejection medications, known as immunosuppressants, tamp down the immune system enough to permit lifesaving organ transplants, their benefits come at a price ... Transplant physicians prescribing immunosuppressants to their patients walk a fine line between avoiding organ rejection and increasing the risk of infection and cancer ... What's more, one out of 12 stable, fully medicated patients and five out of 10 patients on a modified, low-dose immunosuppressant regimen shared... (Science Daily)
* World News Quick Take Jul 31, 2007
The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Abbas as saying that, during his visit, he intended to "discuss all the pressing problems, especially as many such problems have amassed. Our friendship with Russia is rooted in history, and we will preserve and strengthen this relationship.'' MEXICO Rebels attack jail A left-wing rebel group that bombed fuel pipelines in Mexico earlier this month said on Sunday it carried out an attack on a jail in the southern state of Chiapas. The Popular Revolutionary... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Scientists identify new genes linked to MS Jul 30, 2007
" Women are more than three times as likely to develop MS as are men. Various immunosuppressant drugs can reduce symptoms and slow the disease's course, but it has an "uncertain path and an uncertain future and in that way it's a very, very challenging disease. " Still, Royal said the new genetic research provides hope for better ways of dealing with the disease in the future. "It may as it develops offer us new insights about treatment, maybe how do we use certain treatments for certain people,... (Toronto Star)
After a decades-long search, scientists identify new genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis Jul 30, 2007
Various immunosuppressant drugs can reduce symptoms and slow the disease's course, but most MS patients become increasingly disabled with time. The trigger for MS is unclear, though there's strong evidence for an interplay between genetic susceptibility and some type of environmental factor. (EurekAlert!)
Brigham doctors will do rare face transplants Jul 29, 2007
To address this, Brigham doctors said they will perform face transplants only on patients already taking immunosuppressant drugs, most likely people who have had organ transplants ... Aside from having concerns about exposing patients to immunosuppressant drugs when their lives are not at stake, critics worry that it is not possible to fully inform patients about the procedure's risks because patients cannot know how they would react to having a different face. (Boston Globe)
Pig To Human Transplantation Getting Closer Jul 24, 2007
New approaches will be needed to address the problem: either improved approaches to immunosuppressant drug therapy or further genetic manipulation of the donor animals. Studies may also explore techniques of inducing immune tolerance between the animal donor and human recipient before the transplantation procedure is done an approach that is not generally possible in human-to-human transplantation. (Science Daily)
Are you certain you've never had a placebo? Jul 18, 2007
It is accepted, for example, that adrenaline, the body s fight or flight hormone, and other stress-induced hormones, are immunosuppressants they inhibit the normal function of the immune system. Since a placebo may relax a patient, and reduce levels of immunosuppressant hormones, it is logical that it may speed recovery from infection. (FirstScience.com)
Immunosuppressant Drugs Jul 5, 2007
Immunosuppressant medications help prevent organ rejection in transplants and reduce inflammation and autoantibody production in patients with autoimmune disorders. Immunosuppressant medications, which are also known as immunosuppressive medications, are a group of drugs that suppress or slow down the immune system ... In the treatment of autoimmune disorders, immunosuppressants are often used in combination with as corticosteroid-sparing agents in an effort to reduce the dose of corticosteroids... (Suite101.com)
Kidneys given from the heart Jun 25, 2007
After the transplant, they are put on an immunosuppressant drug, have blood work done to check for signs of rejection and, for a short time, are put on antiviral medication to guard against infection. Transplant patients do not need to be on a restrictive diet, although they should pay attention to salt and water intake. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
Canine Hemolytic Anemia Jun 18, 2007
Treatment consists of corticosteroids such as prednisone and prednisolone as well as other immunosuppressant medications such as cyclophosphamide. Most canines respond well to a course of treatment lasting several months. (Suite101.com)
