[Lyme nephritis in humans: Physio-pathological bases and spectrum of kidney lesions].

Known in less than half a century, borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is a zoonosis caused by the tick bite. It is the most common vector disease in Europe and the United States. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacterium in question, is fitted with a "cunning device" that allows it to trick the immune system and implant the infection chronically.

Successful Transplantation in ABO- and HLA-Incompatible Living Kidney Transplant Patients: A Report on 12 Cases.

Few studies have assessed the outcomes of ABOi/HLAi living-kidney transplantation. We report a single-center experience of 12 ABOi/HLAi living-kidney recipients. Twenty-seven donor-specific alloantibodies (DSAs) (1-6 per patient) were found with fluorescence intensities of 1500-15 000.

Treatment of large plasma volumes using specific immunoadsorption to desensitize ABO-incompatible kidney-transplant candidates.

Background: ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney-transplantation has very good long-term results, i.e. similar to those observed for living-kidney ABO-compatible transplantation.

Early post-transplant complications following ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation.

Background: Living-kidney transplantation is increasing because of the scarcity of kidneys from deceased donors and the increasing numbers of patients on waiting lists for a kidney transplant. Living-kidney transplantation is now associated with increased long-term patient- and allograft-survival rates.

Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective study was to identify, in a cohort of 44 ABO-incompatible (ABOi) live-kidney transplant patients, the main complications that occurred within 6 months post-transplantation, and to compare these findings with those from 44 matched ABO-compatible (ABOc) live-kidney transplant patients who were also from our center.

Pilot conversion trial from mycophenolic acid to everolimus in ABO-incompatible kidney-transplant recipients with BK viruria and/or viremia.

Immunosuppression using everolimus (EVR) plus low-dose tacrolimus (Tac) is commonly used in organ transplantation. EVR has potential antiviral effects. Herein, the long-term outcomes and impacts of Tac-EVR on the BK virus are reported in ABO-incompatible kidney-transplant recipients.

Immunoadsorption and hemodialysis as a tandem procedure: a single-center experience of more than 60 procedures.

Purpose: We have designed a desensitization program that gives good results and is cost effective for kidney-transplant patients who have a potential living donor, who are ABO incompatible (ABOi), and who may or may not have donor-specific alloantibodies (DSAs).

Methods: Desensitization at pretransplant is based on immunosuppressants (such as rituximab, tacrolimus, and mycophenolic acid) and apheresis to retrieve potentially detrimental isoagglutinins and DSAs from blood. In 2011, we implemented immunoadsorption (IA) instead of plasmapheresis in our center as part of the desensitization protocol.

Efficacy of immunoadsorption to reduce donor-specific alloantibodies in kidney-transplant candidates.

Objectives: We implemented a desensitization program at our center to enable transplant in kidney-transplant candidates who have a living human-leukocyte antigen-incompatible (HLAi) donor. We report on the efficacy of semispecific immunoadsorption to allow HLAi kidney transplant in 6 highly sensitized patients.

Materials And Methods: We chose immunoadsorption as the apheresis technique coupled to hemodialysis as a means to decrease donor-specific alloantibodies in kidney transplant candidates submitted to a pretransplant desensitization program to remove detrimental antibodies.

Efficacy and safety of tandem hemodialysis and immunoadsorption to desensitize kidney transplant candidates.

Objectives: We conducted a desensitization program in our center in patients undergoing kidney transplant for end-stage renal disease. These patients had a living-donor either ABO incompatible and/or human-leukocyte antigen-incompatible. The safety and efficacy of this program were evaluated.

Non-tolerability of double-filtration plasmapheresis in antibody-incompatible kidney transplant candidates.

Few studies have reported the use of double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) in antibody-incompatible kidney transplantation. To assess the efficiency and tolerability of DFPP, we prospectively studied four chronic hemodialysis patients from two centers undergoing antibody-incompatible kidney transplantation. DFPP was used for ABO-incompatible transplantation (n = 1), for high human leukocyte antigen (HLA) immunization levels (n = 2) or for the presence of a donor-specific antibody (DSA) against a potential living donor (n = 1).

How to implement immunoadsorption in a polyvalent dialysis unit: a review.

Background: Many kidney-transplant candidates have anti-HLA alloantibodies (HLAi): these make transplantation difficult, even from a living kidney (LK) donor, because of the presence of donor-specific anti-HLA alloantibodies. Due to the shortage of deceased kidney donors, the number of LK transplants is increasing, but is potentially limited by ABO incompatibility (ABOi).

Objectives: To make ABOi and/or HLAi patients suitable for kidney transplantation they need to be desensitised: this strategy is mainly based on rituximab therapy combined with either plasmapheresis (PP) or immunoadsorption (IA).