Early promise for steroid-free liver transplantation in children (p 2068)December 17, 2003Results of a preliminary study into paediatric liver transplantation in this week's issue of THE LANCET suggest that successful transplantation could take place without the need for steroid treatment-with potential health benefits for transplant recipients. Steroids have been central to immunosuppressive therapy since the early days of transplantation; however, steroid avoidance could be beneficial, especially among children as steroids are often associated with negative outcomes including arterial hypertension, growth retardation, and hyperlipidemia. In a pilot study, Raymond Reding and colleagues from Saint-Luc University, Brussels, Belgium, compared the success of liver transplantation under steroid-free immunosuppression in 20 children with a group of 20 historical controls (children who had been previously given steroids for liver transplantation). Children not given steroids had reduced rates of graft rejection (25%) after 12 months compared with children who had been given steroid treatment (50%). Raymond Reding comments: "Except for one preliminary report, findings on steroid-free immunosuppression have yet to be reported for paediatric liver transplantation. Our results suggest no harmful effect of steroid avoidance for graft acceptance, but this finding will need to be confirmed after extended follow-up." | |||||||||||||||||||||
Science Research Departments
Earth Science Alternative Energy | Anthropology and Archaeology | Earthquakes and Volcanoes | Environment and Nature News | Global Warming | High-Energy and Particle Physics | Ozone Hole | Scientists Slow Light | Tsunami Space Science Astronomy and Space News | Black Holes | Chandra X-Ray Observatory | Extrasolar Planets | Hubble Telescope | International Space Station | Jupiter Galileo Mission | Jupiter Cassini Mission Flyby | Mars Exploration | Mars Odyssey 2001 | Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Polar Lander | Mars Climate Orbiter | Mars Pathfinder | Meteors and Asteroids | Mir Space Station | NEAR Asteroid Probe Mission | Pluto Planet Debate | Search for Extraterrestrial Life | Space Shuttle Program | Space Shuttle Mission: STS-102 | Space Weather Life Science Animal News | Biotechnology and Genetics | Brain Research | Human Cloning | Dinosaur and Fossil Discoveries | Endangered Species | Gene Therapy | Genetically Modified Food | Stem Cell Research | Whales and Whaling |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||