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Therapeutic Monitoring of Calcineurin Inhibitors for the Nephrologist

TLDR
The purpose of this article is to review the current understanding of CNI pharmacokinetics and its relevance to proper dosing and monitoring of these medications and discusses the effect of adjunctive immunosuppressive agents on CNI Pharmacokinetic and dosing.
Abstract
The calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) cyclosporine and tacrolimus remain the backbone of immunosuppression for most kidney transplant recipients. Despite many years of experience, protocols that optimize efficacy with minimal toxicity remain a subject of debate. Nevertheless, studies of the pharmacokinetic properties of the CNI, particularly cyclosporine, have led to improved dosing strategies. The purpose of this article is to review the current understanding of CNI pharmacokinetics and its relevance to proper dosing and monitoring of these medications. This article also reviews the trials that have helped to define the optimal dosages and discusses the effect of adjunctive immunosuppressive agents on CNI pharmacokinetics and dosing.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Opportunities to optimize tacrolimus therapy in solid organ transplantation: report of the European consensus conference.

TL;DR: The importance of obtaining multicenter prospective trials to assess the efficacy of alternative strategies to TAC trough concentrations is emphasized, and single time points, limited sampling strategies, and area under concentration-time curve have all been considered to determine the most appropriate sampling procedure that correlates with efficacy.
Journal ArticleDOI

Effect of CYP3A and ABCB1 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms on the Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Calcineurin Inhibitors: Part II

TL;DR: Despite a strong association between the CYP3A5 6986A>G SNP and tacrolimus pharmacokinetics, there is no consistent evidence of organ rejection as a result of genotype-related under-immunosuppression, with studies showing conflicting results in regard to the main parameters of acute rejection and nephrotoxicity.
Journal ArticleDOI

PharmGKB summary: cyclosporine and tacrolimus pathways.

TL;DR: Tacrolimus (FK506) and cyclosporine (cyclosporin A, CsA) are cornerstone immunosuppressive agents administered to solid organ transplant recipients to prevent and treat allograft rejection.
Journal ArticleDOI

New insights into the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the calcineurin inhibitors and mycophenolic acid: possible consequences for therapeutic drug monitoring in solid organ transplantation

TL;DR: New insights for the calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) cyclosporine and tacrolimus and the antimetabolite mycophenolic acid (MPA) are highlighted and the possible consequences are discussed.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

The effect of food on cyclosporine absorption.

TL;DR: If adequate immunosuppression is achieved with lower doses of cyclosporine taken with food, significant cost savings could be realized.
Journal ArticleDOI

Pharmacodynamic monitoring of cyclosporine a in renal allograft recipients shows a quantitative relationship between immunosuppression and the occurrence of recurrent infections and malignancies.

TL;DR: Recurrent infectious complications and the degree of suppression of NFAT-regulated genes by CsA in transplanted patients are correlated with the frequency of recurrent infections and malignancies in patients with five or more years of follow-up posttransplantation.
Journal ArticleDOI

A prospective, randomized clinical trial of cyclosporine reduction in stable patients greater than 12 months after renal transplantation.

TL;DR: This study suggests that a strategy consisting of a 50% CsA reduction is safe and is not associated with the increased risk of acute rejection observed inCsA withdrawal studies, and appears to reduce cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
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