[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Islet Foundation Message Forum ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by klausen on 01:32:50 2004/08/01
In Reply to: Re: 1 4 1 posted by Mike
One book on transplant medicine I have has 250 pages on the complications of immunosuppressive therapy! To mention just a few of them, the basic one is that the immune system is suppressed, so even the most ordinary infection can turn into septicemia or pneumonia. The odds of developing cancer in immunosuppressed patients are 5 to 7 times higher than in the general population. Immunosuppressives are toxic to the pancreas, and many previously non-diabetic transplant recipients quickly become insulin-dependent diabetics just because of the medications they must now take. Ironically, since the majority of transplants are of kidneys, the major immunosuppressive drugs used are extremely toxic to the kidneys. Neurological damage, brain damage, cortical blindness, seizures, insomnia, and tremors can all be caused by these medications, and some people shake so violently and persistently that they can no longer write. The gums tend to overgrow, causing severe periodontal disease. The face becomes bloated and coarse, and hair starts growing where it shouldn't. Accelerated arteriosclerosis can develop, along with heart disease, high lipid levels, elevated triglyceride levels, salt retention, edema, and anemia. Chronic bone disease is one of the major complications, and many transplant patients have to have hip replacement. Interestingly, since immunosuppressives are now much better at preventing long-term rejection of transplanted tissue, the limiting factor now on patient survival is not rejection of the graft but death from the side-effects of immunosuppression.
Dr. Oberholtzer, quoted in the link provided in the posting kindly provided by Martin, below, is in my view a fool to say that immunosuppression is worth enduring for the sake of a pancreas transplant. I think that is just a case of someone getting so involved in one form of therapy that he loses sight of its disadvantages. No sensible person would see the ravages of diabetes as comparable to those of immunosuppression, at least not until after very many decades of diabetes, and even then I have my doubts.
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Islet Foundation Message Forum ] [ FAQ ]