Therapeutic problems associated with organ transplantation

The problem of acute rejection of whole organ transplants has been reduced by the development of immunosuppressant drugs. The mainstay treatment before the 1970s was glucocorticoids, azothioprine and anti-lymphocyte sera. Although these techniques are still used, most modern protocols involve the use of ciclosporin or tacrolimus. However, since these drugs increase the patients' susceptibility to infection and cancers, new drugs that target specific biochemical pathways are being introduced in the hope of reducing the incidence of these complications. Examples of these drugs are the monoclonal antibodies basiliximab and daclizumab. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.