Fibrosis with Inflammation Worsens Transplant Outcomes

A combination of fibrosis and inflammation one year after kidney transplantation is associated with reduced graft function and graft survival, according to an online report in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

In a study of 151 recipients of living-donor kidneys, Mark D. Steagall, MD, and co-investigators found that those with both fibrosis and inflammation had a decline in glomerular filtration rate and reduced graft survival as well as a rejection-like gene expression signature. Patients with normal histology or fibrosis alone had stable kidney function between one and five years.

“Early interventions aimed at altering rejection-like inflammation may improve long-term survival of kidney allografts,” the authors concluded.

From the November 01, 2010 Issue of Renal and Urology News