Second and third kidney transplantations.

We reviewed the results of second and third kidney transplantations at our center. Among 1500 patients who had undergone kidney transplantation from 1968 to October 2005, we discovered 77 (male 55 and female 22 of overall mean age = 48.9 years) second transplantations and 5 (male 4, female 1; mean age = 46.8 years) third transplantations. The 82 kidneys were derived from living donors in 67 patients and from cadaveric donors in 15 patients. The mean duration from the first to the second transplantation was 89 months, and from the second to the third transplantation, 32.7 months. Among the second and third transplantations and graft nephrectomies, we failed to observe additional surgical complications compared with first transplants and over 80% graft survival at 1 year.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in kidney transplant recipients.

Renal transplant recipients currently survive many years with a consequent increase in the risk of presentation with vascular diseases. So aortic reconstruction in transplant patients has been increasingly reported the most common procedures involving abdominal aorta aneurysms (AAAs). The most important problem during the operation is ischemic injury to the transplanted kidney during aortic clamping. Protection for the grafted kidney from ischemic or reperfusion injury may be achieved by permanent or temporary axillo-femoral, femoro-femoral, aorto-iliac bypass, cold perfusion, local cold preservation, or autotransplantation. Some authors have reported protection of the transplanted kidney function without any other procedures. We had experience with four AAA cases in kidney transplant patients, including two cases of direct reconstruction of the AAA without any other surgical protection, one autotransplantation, and one AAA excision with using temporary aortofemoral bypass with good results. Herein, we report two cases of successful AAA excision without a surgical procedure for graft protection.

A case of benign retroperitoneal cyst of Müllerian type in kidney transplant patient.

Müllerian cysts of the retroperitoneum, which considered to be a subtype of urogenital cysts, are extremely rare disease entities. Herein we have presented successful excision from a second kidney transplantation from a brain-dead donor to a 38-year-old woman with previous kidney graft failure. During the second cadaveric kidney transplantation operation, two fist-sized cysts were found in the left retroperitoneal pelvic space extending from the left common iliac artery to the prevesical region, which compromised the iliac vessels for vascular anastomosis. After complete cyst excision, vascular anastomoses were performed. Histologically, the cysts were lined with benign Müllerian-type epithelium. We report a rare case of benign retroperitoneal cyst of the Müllerian type, which was incidentally found during kidney transplant surgery.

Beneficial effects of prostglandin on rat cardiac allografts with cyclosporine immunosuppression.

Graft rejection is characterized by cellular infiltration, reduction in blood flow, and intravascular coagulation, finally resulting in graft failure and absolute increase in thromboxane and relative decrease in prostacyclin synthesis. It is also suspected that prostaglandin itself could cause prolongation of allograft survival. In this experimental study, after successful heterotopic cardiac transplantation in rats, CyA was administered by intramuscular injection and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) given into the peritoneal cavity. Each dose was according to the experimental designs. The authors found that PGE1 in addition to CyA could provide beneficial effects with significantly increased cardiac allograft survival, with amelioration of pathological changes in allograft rejection reaction.

Nicardipine hydrochloride injectable phase IV open-label clinical trial: study on the anti-hypertensive effect and safety of nicardipine for acute aortic dissection.

We performed a multicentre, phase IV, open-label clinical trial to examine the clinical usefulness of a continuous infusion of nicardipine hydrochloride to control hypertension in 31 patients with acute aortic dissection. Target blood pressure levels were reached within 15 min in 16 patients; in 15-30 min in 10 patients; in 30-45 min in three patients; and in 45-60 min in two patients. Baseline average systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures were 147 +/- 23 mmHg, 82 +/- 18 mmHg and 104 +/- 18 mmHg, respectively, with third-day pressures significantly reduced at 119 +/- 12 mmHg, 69 +/- 9 mmHg and 86 +/- 8 mmHg. Blood pressures after discontinuation of the infusion were not significantly different from those measured on the third day of infusion and no definite adverse effects attributable to the treatment were observed. Nicardipine hydrochloride was both effective and safe at controlling blood pressure in patients with acute aortic dissection.

Clinical course of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia with and without ganciclovir treatment in CMV-seropositive kidney transplant recipients. Longitudinal follow-up of CMV pp65 antigenemia assay.

This study was designed to evaluate the longitudinal history of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and to test the capacity of ganciclovir as effective therapy in CMV-seropositive renal transplant recipients. The CMV viremia was detected with CMV pp65 antigenemia assay in 153 renal transplants. The recipients were classified as having low-grade and high-grade CMV infections according to the severity of CMV infection. The recipients with low-grade CMV infections were observed without ganciclovir treatment, and the recipients with high-grade CMV infection were randomly assigned to ganciclovir-treated and untreated groups. The clinical course between low-grade and high-grade CMV infections was evaluated. All recipients with low-grade CMV infection (n = 62) showed spontaneous remission regardless of immunosuppresants. In high-grade CMV infection (n = 31), the ciclosporin A treated group (n = 11) showed no evidence of CMV disease, and the methylprednisolone-treated group (n = 8) showed CMV disease in 1 (25%) of 4 ganciclovir-untreated recipients. In the OKT3 group (n = 12), symptomatic CMV infection was observed in 6 (100%) ganciclovir-untreated recipients contrary to no CMV disease in the ganciclovir-treated group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the CMV antigenemia assay is effective in monitoring CMV viremia, and ganciclovir treatment should be done during early CMV viremia in OKT3-treated recipients.

Titanium oxide film for the bottom antireflective layer in deep ultraviolet lithography.

Titanium oxide thin film, fabricated with tetraisopropyltitanate and oxygen by electron cyclotron resonance-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, is investigated as a potential candidate for the antireflective layer in KrF excimer laser (248-nm) lithography. The oxygen flow-rate dependence of the optical properties such as the refractive index (n) and the extinction coefficient (k) of the film at the 248-nm wavelength has been characterized, and the films with the expected combinations of n and k values for the antireflective layer have been deposited. Simulation results indicate that reflectance values of less than 4% and as low as 1.2% can be reached at the interface between the photoresist and the film postulating the structures of the photoresist/300-A TiO(x) film/c-Si substrate and the W-Si substrate, respectively, by selected proper combinations of n and k values. Moreover the reflectance can be further reduced to almost zero by changing the film thickness. Thus it is found that titanium oxide thin films can be used as the bottom antireflective layer in KrF excimer laser lithography.

Simulation and fabrication of attenuated phase-shifting masks: CrF(x).

To acquire the required resolution for 248- and 193-nm lithography, a study of attenuated phase-shifting mask (Att-PSM) technology is in progress. We performed a simulation study using a matrix method to calculate relative transmittance and the amount of phase shift of light through the PSM. However, we found that the average film composition changed with deposition time. Accordingly, optical constants were found to be a strong function of film thickness. Therefore we rearranged the relationship between deposition parameters (e.g., deposition time or gas flow rate ratio) and optical constants (e.g., refractive index and extinction coefficient) to extract the empirical formula for the optical constants with respect to film composition. To verify our simulation study, we fabricated a phase shifter based on our simulation result, which was found to have a transmittance of 8.3% and a phase shift of 179.5 degrees . Consequently, we obtained a reliable optimum condition for the deep-ultraviolet Att-PSM.

Factors on graft survival of living donor kidney transplantation in a single center.

We analyzed the potential factors that could influence the survival of graft, focused on primary graft living-donor kidney transplantation with cyclosporine (CsA) therapy. 680 cases were enrolled in this study. Patients and graft survival rates were calculated by a Kaplan-Meier product limit estimate with a 1-day time interval. The analyzed variables were donor relationship, HLA matching, recipient age and sex, donor age and sex, ABO blood type compatibility, diabetic status, hepatitis virus infection, donor specific or non-specific blood transfusion and acute rejection episode. The results suggested that acute rejection episode was the most prognostic factor in graft survival. An HLA-matched donor and a young male donor, i.e. a greater donor nephron mass for less recipient body mass, will show better long-term survival. Diabetes and hepatitis B infection have some negative effects on the long-term survival of graft kidney, but age of recipient, donor-specific transfusion and donor-recipient relationship have little effect.

Synergistic inhibitory effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and heparin on intimal hyperplasia after rat aorta injury.

The respective efficacies of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and standard heparin were investigated with respect to their inhibitory effects on intimal hyperplasia after balloon denudation of rat aorta. Local angiotensin II effects in the artery wall may participate in regulation of the vascular response to arterial injury, apparently independent of the plasma renin and angiotensin system. ACE inhibitors have been shown to block intimal hyperplasia after arterial injury in rats. Increasing evidence points toward an inhibitory effect of heparin on intimal hyperplasia independent of anticoagulation. Balloon catheter aortic denudation was performed in 25 rats pharmacologically treated from six days or one day before to fourteen days after surgery and split into four groups: group A (control group), normal feeding; group B (ramipril group), ramipril 10 mg/kg/day orally; group C (heparin group), heparin 1200 IU/kg/day subcutaneously; group D (combined group), both ramipril and heparin. Animals were killed and aortas were perfused and fixed at physiologic pressure fourteen days after denudation. Cross-sectional intima-to-media area ratios (I-M ratio) were calculated by an image analyze system.