Loss of antibodies to hepatitis E virus in organ transplant patients with hepatitis E.

Aim: Studies regarding changes in antibodies to hepatitis E virus (HEV) after HEV infection in organ transplant patients are limited. This study aimed to clarify HEV infection trends in organ transplant patients who contracted HEV using data from a previous Japanese nationwide survey.

Methods: This study was undertaken from 2012 to 2019.

Deterioration of presarcopenia and its risk factors following kidney transplantation.

Background: Sarcopenia is prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease and is associated with increased mortality; however, limited data are available on whether kidney transplantation can improve muscle wasting. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess changes in body composition before and after kidney transplantation.

Methods: Between April 2015 and January 2018, 80 de novo consecutive adult patients with end-stage kidney disease who underwent kidney transplantation were prospectively enrolled.

Association Between Peripheral Blood CD19-Positive Rate and Antibody-Mediated Rejection Following Rituximab Administration in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: Rituximab is used widely for desensitization in ABO-incompatible and donor-specific antibody-positive kidney transplantation. However, data about the effects of individual differences in rituximab-induced B-cell suppression on antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) remain unknown. We aimed to assess the association between CD19-positive rate and AMR following rituximab administration after kidney transplantation.

Remission of Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder by conversion to everolimus in a kidney transplant recipient.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a fatal complication of transplantation. There is no clear consensus on the treatment of PTLD. In most cases, the pathogenetic mechanism of PTLD involves the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Conversion to Everolimus in Kidney Transplant Recipients With Calcineurin Inhibitor-Induced Nephropathy: 3 Case Reports.

Background: Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), which remain the most important immunosuppressants in kidney transplant recipients, are a major cause of renal dysfunction due to CNI-induced nephropathy. However, a safe and effective CNI-sparing protocol is yet to be established. Herein, we report a case series of kidney transplant recipients experiencing CNI nephropathy, whose renal function is improved after conversion from CNIs to everolimus.

Effects of denosumab on hypercalcemia and bone mineral density loss in kidney transplant recipients .

Background: Hypercalcemia and bone mineral density (BMD) loss are serious problems associated with post-transplant chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder. The present study aimed to clarify the effects of denosumab on hypercalcemia complicated with BMD loss in kidney transplant recipients.

Materials And Methods: Among 100 consecutive adult kidney transplant recipients, 16 patients with serum corrected Ca (cCa) levels ≥ 11.

Fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis in a kidney transplant recipient with hepatitis C virus.

Fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis (FCH) is a fatal disorder that presents as a progressive deterioration of liver function over a period of several weeks to several months. It is caused by the direct cytotoxic effect of the over-expression of viral antigens on hepatocytes in immunosuppressed patients. Our patient was a 59-year-old man with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection of genotype 2a who had suffered from end-stage renal disease due to diabetic nephropathy and underwent kidney transplantation.

Prevalence and characteristics of hepatitis E virus infection in kidney transplant recipients: A single-center experience in Japan.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection can lead to chronic hepatitis in solid organ transplant recipients. To investigate whether HEV infection influences outcomes following kidney transplantation, we examined the prevalence of HEV infection and clinical characteristics of kidney transplant recipients in our hospital.

Methods: Our cross-sectional study included 184 kidney transplant recipients.

Sarcoidosis in the renal allograft of a recipient whose primary disease was autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

We report a 55-year-old man with a renal allograft that developed sarcoidosis. His autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) progressed to end-stage stage renal disease when he was 52 years old, and he underwent living-donor kidney transplantation at the age of 53 years. His proteinuria worsened at 19 months post-transplantation, and his renal function began to decline at 29 months post-transplantation.

Renal Transplantation with Simultaneous Aortoiliac Reconstruction Using a Polytetrafluoroethylene Vascular Graft for Severe Atherosclerosis.

Studies on aortoiliac reconstruction for severe atherosclerosis with renal transplantation are limited. Here, we report a rare experience of the simultaneous reconstruction of the external iliac artery caused by severe atherosclerosis with polytetrafluoroethylene vascular graft and renal transplantation in a 55-year-old female; she was unable to undergo standard renal artery anastomosis to the right external iliac artery because of severe atherosclerosis, which would result in complete occlusion. Next, we directly anastomosed the donor renal artery to the polytetrafluoroethylene graft.

Prevalence and predictors of early hypercalcemia after kidney transplantation: a nested case-control study within a cohort of 100 patients.

Background: Hypercalcemia (HC) after kidney transplantation (KTx) can deteriorate both graft and patient survival. However, HC as a clinical condition and its clinical significance after KTx remain unknown. We evaluated the prevalence and risk factors of early HC after KTx.

Conversion From Steroid to Everolimus in Maintenance Kidney Transplant Recipients With Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus.

Objectives: Although steroid withdrawal has been attempted to ameliorate various complications in kidney transplant recipients, a steroid-sparing strategy has more frequently led to acute rejection. We investigated the use of everolimus to safely overcome steroid withdrawal in kidney transplant recipients with posttransplant diabetes mellitus under maintenance immunosuppressive therapy.

Materials And Methods: A total of 75 de novo consecutive kidney transplant recipients received conventional immunosuppressive therapy comprising tacrolimus (trough level of 5 ng/mL), mycophenolate mofetil (1000 mg), and methylprednisolone (4 mg).

Desensitization with the Use of an Antibody Removal-Free Protocol in ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplant Recipients with a Low Anti-A/B Antibody Titer.

Background: Desensitization for ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation mainly comprises removal of antibodies with the use of apheresis and suppression of antibody (Ab) production with the use of rituximab. This study aimed to estimate the outcomes of ABOi kidney transplantation with the use of an Ab removal-free protocol to avoid complications associated with apheresis.

Methods: A total of 32 de novo consecutive adults who underwent ABOi living-donor kidney transplantation were retrospectively evaluated.

Steroid Withdrawal Using Everolimus in ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplant Recipients With Post-Transplant Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: The effectiveness of everolimus (EVR) for ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation is unknown. We evaluated outcomes of conversion from steroid to EVR in ABOi kidney transplant recipients.

Methods: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of 33 de novo consecutive adult ABOi living donor kidney transplant recipients.

Prevention of Late-Onset Cytomegalovirus Infection and Disease in Donor-Positive/Recipient-Negative Kidney Transplant Recipients Using Low-Dose Valganciclovir.

Background: The main challenge with cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in IgG donor-positive/recipient-negative (D+/R-) kidney transplant recipients is late-onset CMV disease. We evaluated a novel protocol for the prevention of late-onset CMV infection and disease in D+/R- organ recipients.

Methods: Our prospective, observational, cohort study included 100 adult kidney transplant recipients.

No significant differences in short-term renal prognosis between living kidney donors with and without diabetes.

Background: Renal prognosis in living kidney donors with diabetes is currently not known. In this study, we sought to investigate renal prognosis in living kidney donors with diabetes.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 241 living kidney donors who underwent nephrectomy at Jichi Medical University Hospital between January 2000 and December 2015.

Effective and Safe Reduction of Conventional Immunosuppressants Using Everolimus in Maintenance Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: Adverse events due to conventional immunosuppressive therapy decrease both graft and patient survival. We aimed to establish a new protocol using everolimus (EVR) to safely minimize conventional immunosuppressants in maintenance kidney transplant recipients.

Methods: A total of 86 consecutive kidney transplant recipients with no complications were maintained with triple-drug combination therapy (conventional group).

Surgical Techniques and Procedures for Kidney Transplant Recipients With Severe Atherosclerosis.

Objectives: Atherosclerosis is becoming a more common problem for dialysis patients. Therefore, transplant surgeons are faced with the need to develop surgical techniques and procedures for severe atherosclerosis. This study aimed to clarify the clinical features, the usefulness of examinations, and operative procedures for kidney transplant recipients with the complication of severe atherosclerosis.

Selection Criteria for Kidney Laterality in Retroperitoneoscopic Living Donor Nephrectomy and the Usefulness of Pretransplant Intervention.

Objectives: To evaluate the selection criteria for kidney laterality and the usefulness of pretransplant intervention in living donor nephrectomy.

Methods: We compared conventional and revised criteria. The conventional criteria were that left kidneys were chosen in preference and provided the kidney with the fewest structural abnormalities and lowest functional decline and that most renal arteries remained in the donor.

Familial Mediterranean Fever developing in a Japanese kidney transplant recipient.

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an auto-inflammatory disease characterized by periodic febrile episodes and sterile polyserositis and is extremely rare in Asian populations. Here, we report a case of FMF in a 61-year-old Japanese man who received a kidney transplant 31 years ago but had to re-start hemodialysis. Although kidney function had been stable since his initial transplant, serum creatinine levels had been increasing over the 2 years prior to his presentation at our hospital, and a periodic fever developed at the same time.