Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

How human cytomegalovirus hijacks the immune system

The human cytomegalovirus, HCMV for short, lies dormant unnoticed in the body of most people for their entire lives. In immunocompromised individuals, however, the virus can cause life-threatening infections. It infects dendritic ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Study finds no higher risk of miscarriage after COVID-19

LUMC research has shown that women who previously had a miscarriage due to COVID-19 are not at increased risk of having another miscarriage or a stillbirth. Nor are preventive drugs needed during the pregnancy.

Surgery

US surgeons perform world's first whole eye transplant

A team of surgeons in New York has performed the world's first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough, although it isn't yet known whether the man will ever see through the donated ...

Medications

Maintenance immunosuppressive drugs tied to severe COVID-19

Maintenance immunosuppressive drugs are associated with an increased risk for COVID-19 hospitalization in solid organ transplant recipients, according to a study published online Nov. 7 in JAMA Network Open.

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Immunosuppressive drug

Immunosuppressive drugs or immunosuppressive agents are drugs that inhibit or prevent activity of the immune system. They are used in immunosuppressive therapy to:

These drugs are not without side-effects and risks. Because the majority of them act non-selectively, the immune system is less able to resist infections and the spread of malignant cells. There are also other side-effects, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, peptic ulcers, liver, and kidney injury. The immunosuppressive drugs also interact with other medicines and affect their metabolism and action. Actual or suspected immunosuppressive agents can be evaluated in terms of their effects on lymphocyte subpopulations in tissues using immunohistochemistry.

Immunosuppressive drugs can be classified into five groups:

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