Successful prevention of BK-polyomavirus nephropathy using extracorporeal photopheresis for immunosuppression minimisation following severe BK polyomavirus replication after kidney transplantation in a double lung transplant recipient, a case report.

Background: BK-polyomavirus (BKpyV) nephropathy (BKVN) is associated with end-stage kidney disease in kidney and non-kidney solid organ transplantation, with no curative treatment.

Case Presentation: A 45-year-old woman with a past medical history of double lung transplantation subsequently developed end-stage kidney disease, of undetermined origin. One month after receiving a kidney transplant, a diagnosis of early BKVN was suspected, and in retrospect was a reasonable cause for the loss of her native kidneys.

Rare Variants in Complement Gene in C3 Glomerulopathy and Immunoglobulin-Mediated Membranoproliferative GN.

Background: C3 glomerulopathy and idiopathic immunoglobulin-mediated membranoproliferative GN (Ig-MPGN) are rare complement-mediated kidney diseases. Inherited forms of C3 glomerulopathy/Ig-MPGN are rarely described.

Methods: Three hundred ninety-eight patients with C3 glomerulopathy ( n =296) or Ig-MPGN ( n =102) from a national registry were screened for three complement genes: factor H ( CFH ), factor I ( CFI ), and C3 .

Reappraisal of Renal Arteritis in ANCA-associated Vasculitis: Clinical Characteristics, Pathology, and Outcome.

Background: Renal involvement in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) is associated with poor outcomes. The clinical significance of arteritis of the small kidney arteries has not been evaluated in detail.

Methods: In a multicenter cohort of patients with AAV and renal involvement, we sought to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with AAV who had renal arteritis at diagnosis, and to retrospectively analyze their prognostic value.

Eculizumab discontinuation in children and adults with atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome: a prospective multicenter study.

The optimal duration of eculizumab treatment in patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) remains poorly defined. We conducted a prospective national multicenter open-label study to assess eculizumab discontinuation in children and adults with aHUS. Fifty-five patients (including 19 children) discontinued eculizumab (mean treatment duration, 16.

Use of Highly Individualized Complement Blockade Has Revolutionized Clinical Outcomes after Kidney Transplantation and Renal Epidemiology of Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.

Background: Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is associated with high recurrence rates after kidney transplant, with devastating outcomes. In late 2011, experts in France recommended the use of highly individualized complement blockade-based prophylaxis with eculizumab to prevent post-transplant atypical HUS recurrence throughout the country.

Methods: To evaluate this strategy's effect on kidney transplant prognosis, we conducted a retrospective multicenter study from a large French nationwide registry, enrolling all adult patients with atypical HUS who had undergone complement analysis and a kidney transplant since January 1, 2007.

Patterns of Clinical Response to Eculizumab in Patients With C3 Glomerulopathy.

Background: Cases reports and small series of patients with C3 glomerulopathy have reported variable efficacy of eculizumab.

Study Design: Case series of C3 glomerulopathy.

Setting & Participants: Pediatric and adult patients with C3 glomerulopathy treated with eculizumab between 2010 and 2016 were identified through the C3 glomerulopathy French registry database, and a questionnaire was sent to participating French pediatric and adult nephrology centers, as well as one pediatric referral center in Québec, Canada.

Lung cancer in renal transplant recipients: A case-control study.

Introduction: Solid organ transplant patients are at heightened risk of several cancers compared to the general population. Secondary to a higher number of procedures and better survival after transplantation, cancer is a rising health concern in this situation. Limited data exist for lung cancer (LC) after renal transplantation.

Outcome and Treatment of Nocardiosis After Solid Organ Transplantation: New Insights From a European Study.

Background: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at risk of nocardiosis, a rare opportunistic bacterial infection, but prognosis and outcome of these patients are poorly defined. Our objectives were to identify factors associated with 1-year mortality after nocardiosis and describe the outcome of patients receiving short-course antibiotics (≤120 days).

Methods: We analyzed data from a multicenter European case-control study that included 117 SOT recipients with nocardiosis diagnosed between 2000 and 2014.

Nocardia Infection in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients: A Multicenter European Case-control Study.

Background: Nocardiosis is a rare, life-threatening opportunistic infection, affecting 0.04% to 3.5% of patients after solid organ transplant (SOT).

Is 3-compartment bioimpedance spectroscopy useful to assess body composition in renal transplant patients?

Background: Metabolic disorders, in particular weight gain, increase cardiovascular mortality risk and can cause serious problems after renal transplantation. Weight and body mass index are imprecise indicators of nutritional status. Accurate determination of the body composition of renal transplant patients is essential; therefore, a simple tool that allows appropriate patient monitoring is crucial.

Systemic and kidney toxicity of intraocular administration of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors.

Intravenous injection of angiogenesis-inhibitor drugs is used widely to treat cancers. Associated renal complications primarily involve proteinuria and hypertension, and thrombotic microangiopathies also have been described. Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy currently is used by ophthalmologists to treat neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration.

Prospective comparison of the use of sirolimus and cyclosporine in recipients of a kidney from an expanded criteria donor.

A 6-month, open-label, multicenter prospective pilot study was conducted to evaluate the effects of sirolimus (SRL) versus cyclosporine (CsA) in recipients of kidneys from expanded criteria donors. All patients also received antithymocyte globulins induction, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids. Sixty-nine patients (33 SRL, 36 CsA) were randomized.

Aortic stiffness of kidney transplant recipients correlates with donor age.

Increased aortic stiffness is a major factor responsible for the high cardiovascular mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease, but the impact of kidney transplantation on recipient aortic stiffness remains poorly defined. The use of expanded-criteria kidney donors is associated with decreased recipient survival compared with the use of standard-criteria donors, although the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. It was hypothesized that donor characteristics may affect recipient aortic stiffness, which may contribute to cardiovascular mortality in these patients.

Localized amyloidosis: a survey of 35 French cases.

Since the prognosis of localized amyloidosis remains unclear, we conducted a survey to define the characteristics and the course of this disease. The charts of 35 patients with either laryngeal (14 patients), tracheobronchial (10 patients), colonic (1 patient), or lower urinary tract amyloidosis (10 patients) were analyzed. The average age at diagnosis was 52.

Tacrolimus-induced alopecia in female kidney-pancreas transplant recipients.

Background: Immunosuppressive drugs given to solid organ transplant recipients may be responsible for cosmetic side effects which can endanger patient compliance. Cyclosporine is associated with hirsutism whereas tacrolimus has been associated with rare cases of alopecia. Since 1998, we have included tacrolimus within the immunosuppressive regimen following kidney-pancreas transplantation.