In all varieties of organ transplants, early results have dramatically improved over the past two decades and failures due to acute rejection are becoming rarer. Efficient immunosuppressive regimens have been developed with the objective of very good results at 1, 3 and 5 years.
Successful transplants, however, are significantly less frequent at 10 and 20 years, and many patients require retransplantation. Many factors are involved in late graft loss and it is now well recognized that, in addition to chronic rejection, a number of non-immunologic factors play a prominent role. In the...

With a long practice of organ transplantation, retransplantation has become a major goal in patients with long-term failure of their first transplant (chronic rejection, exhaustion of the transplant, recurrence of the initial disease, etc. ). In addition, retransplantation can be necessary in the initial period, due to severe acute rejection, a non-functioning organ, or surgical complication. Immunological and non-immunological factors affecting the success of a second transplant are described in this volume, together with alternatives to retransplantation. It is hoped that in the future...

In the past nuclear medicine has tended to develop in cycles governed by the development of new radiopharmaceuticals followed or preceded by advances in instrumentation. The development of alternative techniques, such as X-Ray Computer Tomography, NMR Imaging and Ultrasound have also had a stimulating effect and pointed the way to new developments. The development of Positron Emission Tomography, while in itself of limited application because of high costs involved, provided a great deal of information which led to the development of new organ or disease specific, single photon emitting...

Since the mid 1990s, transplantation knowledge and techniques, as well as insights into pharmacology, have improved, thus enabling greater access to transplantation for patients. The pool of organs for transplantation is stable, and therefore insufficient to cope with the growing demand. To adjust demand and resources in the most equitable way, organ procurement and allocation have been organized nationally and often across borders. The national and international organ exchange programmes were studied and discussed during the Congress on Organ Allocation, from which this book is derived.

Immunosuppression in solid organ transplantation is experiencing a worldwide revival since new drugs are now available in the late-1990s and others are under development. In order to contribute to the design of future strategies, a critical approach of surrogate endpoints is given and long-term side effects are analyzed, together with the impact of non-compliance, quality-of-life and economical parameters. In this book, international specialists have set up the scientific rationale and provided new bases for further immunosuppressive strategies.

Malignancies are frequent complications in organ transplantation, mainly as the result of infection with certain viruses and of long-term immunosuppression. The epidemiology confirms that the increased incidence concerns certain cancers, especially HIV-related skin cancers and EBV-related lymphoproliferative malignancies.
This book covers all currently available information on this important topic of the relationships between transplantation and malignancies: preexisting cancers, posttransplant cancers, their etiology and pathophysiology, their prevention and treatment. A significant...

Rejection and Tolerance is the latest subject in the Continuing Education series, organized by Fondation Marcel Merieux and Universite Claude Bernard in Lyon.
The annual subject is chosen to reflect the status of the topical issues of the year, as taught by leading international experts. The contribution of transplantation and clinical immunology to advanced medicine is considerable and promising. The annual volumes in this series keep the reader abreast of these developments.
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With a long practice of organ transplantation, retransplantation has become a major goal in patients with long-term failure of their first transplant (chronic rejection, exhaustion of the transplant, recurrence of the initial disease, etc. ). In addition, retransplantation can be necessary in the initial period, due to severe acute rejection, a non-functioning organ, or surgical complication. Immunological and non-immunological factors affecting the success of a second transplant are described in this volume, together with alternatives to retransplantation. It is hoped that in the future...