A brief course of cyclosporine A pretransplant reduces posttransplant cyclosporine A requirements in beagles and humans

CsA given prior to renal transplantation with or without red blood cell transfusions in DLA haplotype/MLC-reactive beagle dogs, results in prolonged graft survival with lower doses of CsA required posttransplantation. When applied to a human trial, preliminary results show that CsA given in conjunction with transfusion therapy results in: (1) fewer significant rises in PRA (ie, decreased sensitization); (2) lower doses of CsA required over the first 6 months posttransplantation; (3) no difference in patient or graft survival or CMV serology with minimal differences in T4/T8 ratios when compared with red blood cell transfusion therapy alone.