Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is the typical bone marrow failure syndrome characterized by an empty bone marrow; an immune-mediated pathophysiology has been demonstrated by experimental works as well as by clinical observations. Immunusuppressive therapy (IST) is a key treatment strategy for aplastic anemia; since 20 years the standard IST for AA patients has been anti-thymocyte globuline (ATG)...

Postpartum injections of 250 ,tg of anti-D gammaglobulin prevent Rh-immunization of Rh-negative women, with an im-munosuppression success rate of approximately 95% (Eklund and Nevanlinna, 1971). The average fetomaternal transfusion, however, is less than 1-5 ml in 98% of cases (Clarke et al., 1966), and so far there are few observations on trying to suppress primary Rh-immunization due to massi...

Organ transplantation is a well-established method for the therapy of end-stage organ failure. The emergence of novel immunosuppressive regimens has reduced the risk of rejection and extended the life expectancy of organ recipients. The long-term outcome of these patients is now challenged by life-threatening complications such as cardiovascular disease, infections and post-transplant malignanc...

Impairment of the immune system by drugs, such as azathioprine and cyclosporin, or by diseases, such as AIDS, represents the most firmly established cause of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Neither drugs nor diseases, however, can explain the increases in the incidence of NHL in the general population, for these include cohorts relatively unexposed to immunosuppressive drugs or to AIDS. Furthermo...

Despite recent improvements in immunosuppressive therapy, hepatic allograft rejection remains a major cause of morbidity and late graft loss in patients undergoing liver transplantation. Although some biochemical tests suggest hepatic allograft damage, the gold standard for defining rejection remains based on morphologic findings. Acute cellular rejection usually occurs within the first 3 weeks...

BACKGROUND Immunosuppression for solid organ transplantation is associated with increased incidence of internal and cutaneous malignant tumors, among which skin cancer is the most common. OBJECTIVE To determine the effects on cutaneous carcinogenesis when stopping therapy with immunosuppressive medications. OBSERVATIONS We followed the clinical course of 6 solid organ transplant recipients ...