BACKGROUND Hepatitis A vaccines are highly immunogenic in healthy patients, but there is uncertainty about their immunogenicity in immunocompromised patients. METHODS Our study included immunocompromised patients who received 1 or 2 hepatitis A vaccinations between January 2011 and June 2013. We assessed factors that influenced the serologic response to vaccination. We performed a literature ...

Two cases of Cryptococcus neoformans infection are described, both complicating chronic renal failure. In one case the use of prednisone and immunosuppressive drugs may have predisposed to infection.

Immunosuppressive treatment is used in many clinical conditions. These drugs help to suppress immune system which functions excessively or optimum level, while creating some risks as well. The most important of these risks is the disappearance of defense against infectious agents and emergence of undue infections. Therefore, during immunosuppressive treatment, prophylactic anti-infective agents...

The first successful kidney transplantation between monozygotic identical twins did not require any immunosuppressive drugs. Clinical application of azathioprine and glucocorticosteroids allowed the transfer of organs between genetically disparate donors and recipients. Transplantation is now the standard of care, a life-saving procedure for patients with failed organs. Progress in our understa...

Recipients of liver transplantation (LT) require long-term immunosuppressive drug treatment, but lifelong immunosuppressive treatment has severe side effects. It is known that some LT recipients develop immune tolerance, and although the development of such operational tolerance should allow a decrease in the burden of immunosuppressive drug treatment, the factors that indicate operational tole...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation (HBVr) in patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy is still a hot topic worldwide. Its prevention and management still represents a challenge for specialists dealing with immunosuppressed patients. Aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of the relevant information emerged in the recent literature regarding HBV reactivation following immunosup...

BACKGROUND The number of individuals with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs) treated with immunosuppressive drugs is increasing steadily. The variety of immunosuppressive drugs and, in particular, biological therapies is also rising. The immunosuppressants, as well as the AIIRD itself, increase the risk of infection in this population. Thus, preventing infections by means of va...

Organ transplantation is the main alternative to the loss of vital organ function from various diseases. However, to avoid graft rejection, transplant patients are treated with immunosuppressive drugs that have adverse side effects. A new emerging approach to reduce the administration of immunosuppressive drugs is to co-treat patients with cell therapy using regulatory cells. In our laboratory,...

PURPOSE To study the value of methotrexate (MTX) and the requirement for additional anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of severe chronic iridocyclitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS Institutional study of 35 consecutive patients with JIA started on MTX as the single systemic immunosuppressive drug for the treatment of associated iridocyclitis. The clinical...