Does Calcineurin Inhibitor Plus Mycophenolate Mofetil Combination Therapy Decrease the Risk of Late Acute Rejection after Liver Transplantation?

Abstract

Background: With advances in immunosuppression, graft and patient survival rates have increased significantly, but acute cellular rejection remains an important problem following liver transplantation (LT), and late acute rejection (LAR) occurs in a small percentage of recipients. Some risk factors for LAR have been identified, yet the cause of LAR has not been completely investigated. The efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) administered in combination with calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) for reduction of LAR has been demonstrated.

Treatment of Macular Degeneration Using Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium: Preliminary Results in Asian Patients

“…Immunosuppression was started at lower dosages of tacrolimus and MMF; the doses were gradually titrated according to each patient’s serum tacrolimus level (3–7 ng/ml), with tolerability judged by a clinical rheumatologic specialist, while the ophthalmologists monitored the patient for changes in the clinical examinations. Lower MMF dosages of 1.0–1.5 g/day were used according to previous reports regarding its safety and efficacy in the Asian organ transplantation patients ( Tsang et al., 2000 , Kim et al., 2010 ). Both immunosuppressive drugs were started 1 week prior to the surgical procedure and were continued for a period of 7 weeks until post-operative 6 weeks.…”