immunosuppressant

Examples of immunosuppressant in the following topics:

• Secondary Immunodeficiency Diseases

  • Cortisone was the first immunosuppressant identified, but its wide range of side-effects limited its use.
  • Secondary immunodeficiencies, also known as acquired immunodeficiencies, can result from various immunosuppressive agents, for example, malnutrition, aging and particular medications (e.g., chemotherapy, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplants, glucocorticoids).
  • For medications, the term immunosuppression generally refers to both beneficial and potential adverse effects of decreasing the function of the immune system, while the term immunodeficiency generally refers solely to the adverse effect of increased risk for infection.
  • Many specific diseases directly or indirectly cause immunosuppression.

• Immunodeficiencies

  • Secondary immunodeficiencies, also known as acquired immunodeficiencies, can result from various immunosuppressive agents, for example, malnutrition, aging, and particular medications (e.g. chemotherapy, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplants, and glucocorticoids).
  • For medications, the term immunosuppression generally refers to both beneficial and potential adverse effects of decreasing the function of the immune system.
  • Many specific diseases directly or indirectly cause immunosuppression.

• Kidney Transplant

  • Although the donated kidney was rejected ten months later because no immunosuppressive therapy was available at the time—the development of effective antirejection drugs was years away—the intervening time gave Tucker's remaining kidney time to recover and she lived another five years.
  • The basis for most immunosuppressive regimens is prednisolone, a corticosteroid.
  • Thus other, non-steroid immunosuppressive agents are needed, which also allow lower doses of prednisolone.

• Extent of Host Involvement

  • An opportunistic disease requires impairment of host defenses, which may occur as a result of several factors such as genetic defects, exposure to antimicrobial drugs or immunosuppressive chemicals, exposure to ionizing radiation, or as a result of an infectious disease with immunosuppressive activity.

• Tuberculosis

  • Extrapulmonary TB occurs more commonly in immunosuppressed persons and young children.
  • Diagnosing active tuberculosis based merely on signs and symptoms is difficult, as is diagnosing the disease in those who are immunosuppressed.
  • The test does have limited accuracy, especially in immunosuppressed people, and is typically used in combination with clinical findings and x-rays to reach a diagnosis.
  • Certain medications that cause immunosuppression such as corticosteroids and infliximab, are becoming increasingly important risk factors, especially in the developed world.

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

  • SLE is treatable using immunosuppression, mainly with cyclophosphamide, corticosteroids, and other immunosuppressants; there is currently no cure.
  • DMARDs commonly in use are antimalarials such as plaquenil and immunosuppressants (e.g. methotrexate and azathioprine).
  • Unlike immunosuppressives and corticosteroids, IVIGs do not suppress the immune system, so there is less risk of serious infections with these drugs.

• Cryptococcosis

  • The prevalence of cryptococcosis has been increasing over the past 20 years for many reasons, including the increase in incidence of AIDS and the expanded use of immunosuppressive drugs.
  • Every attempt should be made to reduce the amount of immunosuppressive medication until the infection is resolved.

• Predisposing Factors

  • Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.
  • In general, deliberately-induced immunosuppression is performed to prevent the body from rejecting an organ transplant, treating graft-versus-host disease after a bone marrow transplant, or for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.

• Graft Rejection and Tissue Typing

  • Transplant rejection can also be limited by the use of immunosuppressant drugs after the transplant.
  • Acute rejection occurs to some degree in all transplants, except between identical twins, unless immunosuppression is achieved (usually through drugs).

• Overview of Human-Microbial Reactions

  • Resident microbes can cause skin diseases and enter the blood system creating life-threatening diseases particularly in immunosuppressed people .
  • An opportunistic disease requires impairment of host defenses, which may occur as a result of genetic defects, exposure to antimicrobial drugs or immunosuppressive chemicals, exposure to ionizing radiation, or as a result of an infectious disease with immunosuppressive activity.