BACKGROUND Limited data exist concerning changes of renal perfusion directly after kidney transplantation. Colour-coded duplex sonography is the accepted method to assess kidney perfusion after transplantation. A widely used, although unspecific, Doppler parameter is the intrarenal resistance index (RI). The aim of this study was to clarify the influence of different patient- and procedure-rela...

Corticosteroids have been a component of maintenance immunosuppression for renal transplant since the 1960s and have helped to reduce the rate of acute rejection. Corticosteroids, however, have many adverse effects, and with the development of new immunosuppressive medications, many transplant centers have adopted protocols that eliminate or completely avoid the use of corticosteroids. Despite ...

IMPORTANCE Immunobullous diseases mediated by IgA are often difficult to manage, but to date no mechanism has been proposed. Rituximab is an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that has demonstrated good efficacy in the treatment of refractory mucous membrane pemphigoid. However, not all cases of mucous membrane pemphigoid respond to rituximab. Herein we present a case of treatment-refractory mucous ...

Unless they maintain Medicare status through disability or age, kidney transplant recipients lose their Medicare coverage of immunosuppression 3 years after transplantation. A significant transplant survival advantage has previously been demonstrated by the extension of Medicare immunosuppressive medication coverage from 1 year to 3 years, which occurred between 1993 and 1995. The United States...

OBJECTIVE Immunosuppressive therapy following transplantation, if not managed well, can lead to increased drug toxicity or rejection episodes. We investigated whether use of an automated clinical management system in our liver transplant program would improve clinical outcomes in managing transplant recipients' immunosuppressive medications. DESIGN We performed a retrospective cohort study of...

Immunosuppressive medications are a mainstay of psoriasis treatment. As these increase the risk infection, Pre-Immunosuppression Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) was created to screen for infectious diseases and evaluate vaccination status patients prior starting immunosuppressive therapies. Of 78 (mean age= 50, SD= 14, Males= 54% Females= 46%) who were prescribed through ...

OBJECTIVE To show that immunotherapy with medications such mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) can cause serious complications in patients with neuromuscular disorders. METHODS Two patients with neuromuscular disorders on immunotherapy with long-term MMF who developed toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) were included in this case series. RESULTS One patient with myasthenia gravis and one patient with inf...

Biologic therapies for rheumatologic diseases, which are targeted at molecules involved in the mechanisms of the immune system, provide an alternative to the existing treatment methods of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and other immunosuppressive medications. However, the current drawbacks of biologic therapies, including the inconvenience of intravenous administration, the high costs o...