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Organ-Rejection Drug Linked to Higher Cancer Risk After Liver Transplant
Posted 28 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, June 28 – Cyclosporine, a drug commonly used to prevent organ rejection following a transplant, has been linked to a significantly increased risk of developing cancer after liver transplant, new Dutch research reveals. The study was done in part to examine what role drugs that suppress the immune system might play in the development of cancer in liver transplant patients, whose long-term survival rates have improved little over the past three decades. Cancer is one of the leading causes of late death, and appears to be directly related to the intensity and cumulative doses of immunosuppressive drugs, according to researchers. The Dutch study compared cyclosporine and tacrolimus – the cornerstone of immunosuppressive drug therapy – in the occurrence of de novo (new) malignancies after transplantation. To do so, researchers analyzed the records of 385 liver transplant patients ... Read more
Related support groups: Cyclosporine, Neoral, Gengraf, Sandimmune
FDA Medwatch Alert: Immunosuppressant Drugs: Required Labeling Changes
Posted 14 Jul 2009 by Drugs.com
Sirolimus (marketed as Rapamune), Cyclosporine (marketed as Sandimmune and generics), Cyclosporine modified (marketed as Neoral and generics), Mycophenolate mofetil (marketed as Cellcept and generics), Mycophenolic acid (marketed as Myfortic) The FDA is requiring the makers of certain immunosuppressant drugs to update their labeling to reflect that immunosuppressed patients are at increased risk for opportunistic infections, such as activation of latent viral infections, including BK virus-associated nephropathy. These immunosuppressant drugs are used to protect against the rejection of certain organ transplants. The association of BK virus-associated nephropathy has previously been reported for another immunosuppressant drug, tacrolimus (marketed as Prograf). Monitoring for this serious risk and early intervention by the health care provider is critical. Adjustments in ... Read more
Related support groups: CellCept, Myfortic, Gengraf, Rapamune
Licorice May Block Absorption of Organ Transplant Drug
Posted 24 Mar 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 24 – People taking the immunosuppressant cyclosporine should avoid consuming licorice because it may weaken the drug's effectiveness and possibly lead to deadly consequences, new research suggests. Chemists in Taiwan report that lab rats taking cyclosporine – commonly used to help prevent organ rejection in transplant patients – who were feed licorice or its main active ingredient, glycyrrhizin, did not absorb the medication well. For a transplant patient on cyclosporine, lowered levels of the medication could lead to rejection of the new organ, followed by illness and even death, said the researchers, who were to present their findings Tuesday at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Salt Lake City. "I would suggest that transplant patients avoid taking licorice," researcher Pei-Dawn Lee Chao, a chemist at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan, said ... Read more
Related support groups: Gengraf
More Juices Found to Affect Drugs' Effectiveness: Study
Posted 19 Aug 2008 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Aug. 19 – Grapefruit juice, long known to boost the absorption of certain medications, isn't the only juice that doesn't mix well with drugs, according to the Canadian researcher who first identified the ill effects of grapefruit juice. Other common juices, including orange and apple, may limit the body's absorption of drugs, compromising their effectiveness, said David Bailey, a professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada. Bailey was expected to present his research Tuesday at the American Chemical Society's national meeting, in Philadelphia. "The original finding is that [grapefruit juice] markedly boosts the amount of drug that gets into the bloodstream," Bailey said. He first reported that nearly 20 years ago when he discovered that grapefruit juice increased the body's blood levels of the drug felodipine ... Read more
Related support groups: Cipro, Levaquin, Allegra, Tenormin, Plendil, Sporanox, Tenoretic, Gengraf, Etopophos
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Related Condition Support Groups
Psoriasis, Ulcerative Colitis, Organ Transplant -- Rejection Prophylaxis, Organ Transplant -- Rejection Reversal, Crohn's Disease, Idiopathic (Immune) Thrombocytopenic Purpura, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis