Inhibition of graft coronary arteriosclerosis after heart transplantation.

Graft coronary arteriosclerosis (GCA) is the leading cause of long-term mortality after heart transplantation (HTx). The goal of this study was to demonstrate that inhibition of immunemediated injury by cyclosporine (CsA) protects the allograft from GCA. ACI-to-Lewis rat allografts were disparate in major and nonmajor histocompatibility loci.

Heart transplantation with donors fifty years of age and older.

Objective: Limited availability of donor organs has led to the progressive expansion of the criteria for donor selection, particularly a higher age limit of potential donors. We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of patients who underwent heart transplantation using cardiac allografts 50 years of age and older and compared them with patients who had donor organs younger than 50 years.

Method: Between September 1989 and May 2000, 20 patients underwent orthotopic heart transplantation using donor hearts 50 years of age and older (range 50-56 years, mean 52.

Combined heart-kidney transplantation with single-donor allografts.

Objectives: Combined heart-kidney transplantation with allografts from the same donor has been long proved to be a feasible approach for selected patients with coexisting end-stage cardiomyopathy and renal disease. The purpose of this retrospective study is to analyze our long-term results and compare these results with heart-only transplantation over a 7-year period.

Methods: Between June 1992 and April 1999, 10 patients underwent combined heart-kidney transplantation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Heart transplantation in patients seventy years of age and older: A comparative analysis of outcome.

Objective: Advanced age has traditionally been considered a contraindication for heart transplantation because of the reported adverse effect of increased age on long-term survival. However, as the field of transplantation continues to evolve, the criteria regarding the recipient's upper age limit have been expanded and older patients are being considered as potential candidates. We analyzed the outcome of heart transplantation in patients 70 years of age and older and compared these results with those in younger patients (<70 years) over a 4-year period.