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Preventive Antiviral Therapy Could Save Hundreds Of Kidneys Every Year MIJDRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS -- September 25, 1997 -- Effective antiviral therapy against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection could help protect hundreds of kidney transplant patients from losing their grafted kidneys every year, a major study has revealed. The study, involving nearly 1,200 patients, is the first to link CMV infection with kidney graft loss due to chronic rejection. Many studies have already shown CMV infection is linked with chronic graft rejection in heart, heart–lung and liver transplant patients. Treating CMV-infected kidney transplant patients with the antiviral agent ganciclovir (Cymevene®, Cytovene®) can reduce the risk of graft loss due to chronic rejection, according to Dr. Helena Isoniemi, consultant transplant surgeon at the University of Helsinki Central Hospital, who presented the study results for the first time at the Eighth Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) in Budapest, Hungary. "CMV is a major risk factor for chronic kidney rejection, especially in patients with severe – or symptomatic – CMV disease," Dr. Isoniemi said. "Screening all kidney transplant patients for CMV infection and giving infected patients ganciclovir to prevent them developing CMV disease, should significantly reduce the risk of chronic rejection." Chronic rejection is the biggest cause of graft loss in kidney transplant patients, Dr. Isoniemi explained. After the first year, four to five percent of kidney recipients lose their grafted kidney each year due to chronic rejection, compared with just a one to two percent overall risk due to acute rejection. "Many thousands of patients lose their kidneys every year worldwide due to chronic rejection. Perhaps hundreds of these kidneys could be saved by effective anti-CMV therapy," she said. Dr. Isoniemi called for a programme of screening and prevention of CMV infection in transplant patients, which could help save hundreds of people from losing their grafted kidneys every year. Such a programme would also save money in the long term. An oral form of ganciclovir (Cymevene) has been developed for preventive therapy. This will make routine anti-CMV therapy much easier, according to Dr. Isoniemi. "Oral ganciclovir is awaiting medical approval for use in transplant patients in Finland. I hope it will be available soon," she said. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version