Modern Immunosuppressives [Paperback]

Expanding from the classic use of immunosuppressants in transplantationand rejection, this current overview highlights their new roles inclinical medicine. Immunosuppressants are at the forefront of newtreatment modalities. Individual chapters focus on their use not only inprevention or treatment of transplant rejection, but also on their usein immune-complex and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoidarthritis; on combination therapies to achieve synergy inimmunosuppression; on new drugs, low molecular weight chemicals, the useof antibodies and gene therapy; on immunological tolerance to prevent orinhibit transplant rejection; and how data derived from transplantstudies can be applied to other avenues of immunosuppression.Clinicians and researchers will appreciate the scope of the work and thepresentation of new approaches in the rapidly developing field ofimmunosuppression.Expanding from the classic use of immunosuppressants in transplantationand rejection, this current overview highlights their new roles inclinical medicine. Immunosuppressants are at the forefront of newtreatment modalities. Individual chapters focus on their use not only inprevention or treatment of transplant rejection, but also on their usein immune-complex and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoidarthritis; on combination therapies to achieve synergy inimmunosuppression; on new drugs, low molecular weight chemicals, the useof antibodies and gene therapy; on immunological tolerance to prevent orinhibit transplant rejection; and how data derived from transplantstudies can be applied to other avenues of immunosuppression.Clinicians and researchers will appreciate the scope of the work and thepresentation of new approaches in the rapidly developing field ofimmunosuppression.Introduction, Global Perspectives and History of Immunosuppression.- Immunosuppressive Drugs.- Cyclosporine: Role of Pharmacokinetics.- Tacrolimus.- The Potential Role of Immunosuppressive Macrocyclic Lactones.- Inosine l‡