PURPOSE OF REVIEW The purpose of this review is to discuss reasons why immunosuppressive therapy so far failed in Primary Biliry Cholangitis. RECENT FINDINGS Even targeted immunosuppressive therapy seems ineffective or potentially harmful. SUMMARY Bile acid-mediated cholangiocyte damage, facilitated by insufficient bicarbonate secretion, seems to attenuate the anti-inflammatory and anti-fib...

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of immunosuppressive treatment in serpiginous choroiditis. DESIGN The clinical courses were reviewed of six consecutive patients (12 eyes) with vision-threatening, steroid-dependent/resistant serpiginous choroiditis treated with a combination of immunosuppressive agents including azathioprine, cyclosporine, and cyclophosphamide. All patients underwent treat...

Cardiac transplantation offers definitive therapy for selected patients with end-stage heart failure and thus provides significant improvements in survival in these recipients. Heart transplantation comes with a cost, however, resulting from the actual transplantation procedure, the subsequent allo-immune response to the transplant and the immunosuppressive medications required to keep the allo...

Recipients of organ transplantation on immunosuppressive medications are at increased risk for developing de novo malignancies, including skin cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, in situ carcinomas of the uterine cervix, anogenital cancers, renal cell carcinoma, and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD). However, there are few case reports of germ cell tumors after organ transplantation. T...

BACKGROUND Kidney transplant recipients must adhere to their immunosuppressive medication regimen. However, non-adherence remains a major problem. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to determine how kidney transplant recipients remember to take their medications, and assess their perception and beliefs about adherence to immunosuppressive medications and barriers to medication adherence. In a...

The existence of piercings dates through history, with reports of Roman centurions wearing nipple rings in their breast plates as a sign of loyalty to their Emperor. In addition the Mayans pierced their tongues as part of spiritual rituals, while Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, is rumoured to have had his penis pierced. In recent times the prevalence of piercin...

Immunotherapy has been used for years in many types of cancer therapy. Recently, cancer immunotherapy has focused on mechanisms which can enhance the development of cell-mediated immunity. Anticancer medications are administered to inhibit immunosuppressive factors such as nagalase enzyme, which is produced by neoplastic cells and destroys macrophage activating factor (Gc-MAF). Anti-neoplastics...

Azathioprine, 6-MP and Methotrexate were developed for cancer chemotherapy, but when used in small doses, they can be helpful for treating chronic inflammatory diseases such as IBD and some forms of arthritis. These are medications that reduce (suppress) the activity of the immune system by suppressing the bone marrow where immune cells are formed. These medications are called immunosuppressive...