Comparison of oral and intravenous cyclosporine A in kidney transplants.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to O N Fernando.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Beta-Cell function in human islets derived from a number of kidney donors was investigated by using various types of islet preparations. With fresh islets, both insulin release and biosynthesis were increased by raising glucose concentrations, although the response was a variable one. In fresh islets, the effects of 5 mmol of glucose/l on release were potentiated by 10 mmol of D-3-hydroxybutyrate/l. Insulin release at 20 mmol of glucose/l was inhibited by adrenaline (0.1 mmol/l), and potentiated by theophylline (10 mmol/l) in the presence of 5 mmol of glucose/l, in islets cultured for 4 days. After culture for 8 days, islets still showed an increase in insulin release and biosynthesis in response to glucose. Pancreas slices derived from fresh human tissue also responded to increasing concentrations of glucose with a sigmoidal curve for insulin release.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Eight hypertensive renal allograft recipients who had received captopril are presented. Captopril in a maximal daily dose of 250 mg enabled the withdrawal of large doses of beta-blocking agents and vasodilators. Blood pressure was satisfactorily controlled in all except one. No adverse side effects were observed other than the 'first dose' effect which resulted in transient anuria in one patient. Captopril appears to be a useful agent in the management of severe hypertension after renal transplantation.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Sixty-five renal transplant recipients underwent digital vascular imaging of the graft and simultaneous selective venous sampling for plasma renin activity. Renal artery stenosis was found in seven patients but did not appear to be functionally important. Diffuse intrarenal arterial attenuation was found in seven patients and was associated with impaired graft function and perfusion; it may indicate chronic rejection. Lower pole hypoperfusion was found in nine patients without impaired graft function or perfusion; its clinical relevance is uncertain. Aneurysmal dilatation of the main renal artery was found in two patients. Severe hypertension was common in patients with these three major abnormalities, but a causal association between the abnormality and hypertension could rarely be inferred. It may be the abnormalities on digital vascular imaging, especially diffuse intrarenal arterial attenuation and lower pole hypoperfusion, are secondary to severe hypertension. Digital vascular imaging with simultaneous selective venous sampling for plasma renin activity is useful in evaluating the vascular anatomy of the grafted kidney and in assessing any abnormality found. The combined procedure was well tolerated by all patients with no complications and no incidence of acute tubular dysfunction or proteinuria after the investigation.
Biopsies of normal kidneys taken at time of transplantation were studied using a variety of immunofluorescent and cytochemical techniques. A heterogeneous population of HLA-DR+ cells was found, mainly confined to the intertubular interstitium. The majority of these cells (80%) were positive when stained with a rabbit anti-factor VIII antiserum suggesting that they were endothelial cells. A minority however (20%) were factor VIII- but were positively stained with FMC17, a monoclonal antibody (McAb) directed against human monocyte/macrophage antigens. Positive staining of this subpopulation was also noted with RFD1, a McAb which reacts with an antigen on human interdigitating cells (ID cells). Cytochemical reactions revealed that these cells contain adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and acid phosphatase (ACP) and thus do not conform to the phenotype of tissue histiocytes. The phenotype of this latter population is identical with that of the ID cells found in tonsil, thymus and spleen and it is suggested that they play a major role in initiating the process of renal allograft rejection.
We assessed the nephrotoxicity of ionic and non-ionic radiocontrast material (CM) in two groups of patients in a prospective study. One group of 25 potential live kidney donors was studied following conventional renal angiography, carried out as part of the routine pre-operative assessment. The other group of 49 renal transplant patients with varying degrees of renal impairment was studied following digital vascular imaging carried out for investigation of hypertension. Plasma creatine, urinary N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), urinary microglobulin (B2M) and urinary protein excretion were measured before and after the imaging procedure. There were no significant changes in these parameters following digital vascular imaging, but there were increases in plasma creatinine (p less than 0.005) and urinary NAG creatinine ratio (p less than 0.002) in the conventional angiography group following the procedure. Substantial proteinuria developed in 35% of patients following conventional angiography. The differences in nephrotoxicity of radiocontrast agents during the two procedures could not be accounted for by the dose of material used, but probably reflect the effect of differences in the route of administration on the maximal concentration of the material reaching the kidney. Non-ionic radiocontrast material proved less toxic than ionic and may be preferable in conventional angiography.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Forty-four hypertensive transplant patients were investigated by digital vascular imaging of the graft and simultaneous selective venous sampling for plasma renin activity to attempt to identify those patients whose hypertension may be amenable to surgical treatment. Localization of renin hypersecretion was possible in 12 patients. In ten of these, hypersecretion originated from the native kidney and in two from the graft. Localization was possible in a significantly higher proportion of patients with severe hypertension (8 of 17), and all of these had native kidney hypersecretion. Bilateral nephrectomy may be indicated in these patients. No cases of functionally significant renal artery stenosis were identified. The other major types of abnormal vascular pattern found on digital vascular imaging, diffuse intra-renal arterial attenuation and lower pole hypoperfusion may be secondary to hypertension. This combined technique may be useful in the evaluation of post-transplant hypertension, especially when hypertension is severe.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Plasma LCAT activities were measured in 51 renal allograft recipients as well in 18 patients before and after successful renal transplantation. The mean plasma LCAT activity of the 51 patients did not differ significantly from that of 27 normal subjects. When the patients were separated into two groups according to whether they had normal or impaired renal function, there was no significant difference in their mean LCAT activities. Plasma LCAT activities correlated significantly with total cholesterol and total triglyceride concentrations. The sequential study demonstrates that the low plasma LCAT activities in uraemic patients rose towards normal after successful transplantation. At the same time, total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol concentrations also increased. The increase in LCAT activity after renal transplantation is due to increased concentrations of the enzyme and probably reflects increased turnover of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.
Out of 24 patients receiving haemodialysis who were subjected to parathyroidectomy, 13 developed hypophosphataemia; this persisted for 3-52 weeks (mean 10.6 weeks). Before operation these 13 patients had had significantly higher plasma alkaline phosphatase activities (p less than 0.01) and significantly higher values in iliac crest bone biopsy samples for active resorption surface and active formation surface (p less than 0.05 in each case) than the group who remained normophosphataemic. Significantly more of the patients who remained normophosphataemic had shown periarticular calcification in preoperative skeletal radiographs (p less than 0.001). Hypophosphataemia may result from reduced mobilisation of phosphate from bone or its increased accretion into bone, and resorption of phosphate from periarticular mineral deposits may protect against development.