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.