Sirolimus (Rapamune) in renal transplantation

Abstract

There has been a necessary change in attitude to transplantation; there is much less concern with short-term outcome and more concern with long-term kidney function, overall health and quality of life. Nephrotoxicity is an invariable consequence of long-term treatment with calcineurin antagonists and it is one of the most underestimated causes of late graft loss; it has been reported as a serious threat to both patient and graft survival following heart, liver and bone marrow transplantation. Sirolimus has been shown in many recent studies to be of great value in allowing patients to be weaned from cyclosporine with excellent patient and graft survival at 24 months a significant improvement in renal function with resolution of hirsutism and gum hyperplasia. Patients maintained on the combined regime of cyclosporine and sirolimus had significantly higher blood pressure, much more cyclosporine nephrotoxicity and hyperuricaemia at 12 months. The experimental studies have found cyclosporine and sirolimus potentiate with each other's good and adverse effects. Cyclosporine therefore augments hyperlipidaemia caused by sirolimus, and sirolimus augments nephrotoxicity caused by cyclosporine. The results of these studies indicate that sirolimus is a suitable replacement for cyclosporine or tacrolimus for long-term maintenance therapy. By contrast the use of sirolimus in combination with cyclosporine results in potentiation of side effects. The principal disadvantages being increased cyclosporine associated nephrotoxicity and sirolimus associated hyperlipidaemia