Cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among transplant recipients, frequently engaging the clinician in a struggle to balance graft preservation with control of CMV disease. Leflunomide has been shown to have immunosuppressive activity in experimental allograft models together with antiviral activity inhibiting CMV both in vitro and in vivo. Data are emerging about its potential role in ganciclovir-sensitive and -resistant CMV, primarily by virtue of a unique mechanism inhibiting virion assembly, as opposed to inhibition of viral DNA synthesis by current agents. This review aims to put in perspective, the knowledge acquired in the last decade or so on leflunomide for CMV. Evidence suggests that it might have activity against human CMV with good oral bioavailability and, more importantly in the resource-poor setting, is economical. Although the data presented here are not from randomized trials, several relevant observations have been made that could influence future, more structured assessments of the drug. An immune suppressive compound with antiviral features and experimental activity in chronic rejection is an attractive combination for organ transplantation, and it appears that leflunomide may just fit that niche.
Renal transplantation is the optimal treatment for children with ESRD. We undertook this study to establish the outcome of pediatric renal transplants in a resource-constrained environment in a developing country. A retrospective analysis on 90 pediatric renal transplants (age at transplant =18 yr) done at our center over a 15 yr period was analyzed. The mean age of the recipients was 15 yr (range 6-18 yr) accounting for 6.1% of all the renal transplants done at our center (90/1472). Ninety-six percent of patients received kidneys from live-related donors. The major causes of ESRD were glomerulonephritis (28%) and urological abnormalities (17%), while the etiology was unknown in 50%. Immunosuppression was based on a triple drug regimen consisting of prednisolone, CsA and azathioprine in 98% of children. Amongst complications, any acute rejection episodes (46.7%), UTI (26.7%) and CMV disease (16.7%) predominated. The mean duration of follow-up was 42 +/- 33 month (range 3-159 month). Graft loss occurred in nine (10%) children at a mean duration of 25 +/- 22 month (range 6-70 month). Overall 1-, 5-, and 10-yr graft survival was 98%, 84% and 76%. Overall 1-, 5-, and 10-yr patient survival was 95%, 87%, and 79%. The significant predictors of graft loss were CMV disease (p = 0.018) and >2 rejection episodes (p = 0.05), while sepsis (p = 0.01) was the most important contributor to patient loss. Pediatric renal transplantation in India can be accomplished successfully. The graft and patient survival in our study, the largest from India, is comparable to those published from developed countries and is encouraging given the limited resources.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.