A Scientific Report on Immunosupression Used For Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Continued advances in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapy have allowed liver transplantation to become an extremely successful treatment option for patients with end-stage liver disease. Beginning with the revolutionary discovery of cyclosporine in the 1970s, immunosuppressive regimens have evolved greatly and current statistics confirm one-year graft survival rates in excess of 80%. Advances in immune suppressants over the past decade have resulted in dramatic improvements in short- and long-term outcomes in organ transplantation as well as a decreased incidence of acute rejection. However, immunosuppressive drugs need to be given long term, lack specificity, and are accompanied by adverse metabolic derangements, toxicities, the risk of infection and cancer, and a myriad of other side effects.