Immunosuppressive therapy is treatment that deliberately reduces the activity of the immune system, used chiefly to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ and to control autoimmune and inflammatory disease, drawing on drug classes including corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine and tacrolimus, and antimetabolites such as azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil. The introduction of cyclosporine into clinical transplantation in the early 1980s, developed from a compound isolated from a soil fungus, markedly improved survival rates for transplanted organs by controlling rejection more effectively and with fewer side effects than the corticosteroid-based regimens that preceded it. Because suppressing the immune system also reduces its ability to fight infection and detect cancer, patients on long-term immunosuppressive therapy are monitored closely for both complications throughout treatment.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearMarks Hench's 1949 introduction of therapeutic corticosteroid dosing (cortisone), the earliest deliberate pharmacological immunosuppression on record; transplant-specific immunosuppression followed in the 1960s. Immunosuppressive Therapy
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Immunosuppressive therapy is a standard treatment for bullous pemphigoid.
Immunosuppressive therapy is the standard treatment for dermatomyositis.
Immunosuppressive therapy is standard treatment for moderate to severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Immunosuppressive therapy is the standard treatment for pemphigus.
Immunosuppressive therapy is the standard treatment for polymyositis.
Immunosuppressive therapy is used to manage severe systemic manifestations of Sjogren syndrome.
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1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationCortisone - History section
In 1949, Philip S. Hench and colleagues discovered that large doses of injected cortisone were effective in the treatment of patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunosuppression, lead section
Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system.
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Why is immunosuppression deliberately induced?
To prevent organ transplant rejection, treat graft-versus-host disease and treat autoimmune diseases.
In general, deliberately induced immunosuppression is performed to prevent the body from rejecting an organ transplant. Additionally, it is used for treating graft-versus-host disease after a bone marrow transplant, or for the treatment of auto-immune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, or Crohn's disease. This is typically done using medications, but may involve surgery (splenectomy), plasmapheresis, or radiation.
What are the drawbacks of immunosuppressive drugs?
They can cause immunodeficiency, raising the risk of infection and malignancy.
Immunosuppressive drugs have the potential to cause immunodeficiency, which can increase susceptibility to opportunistic infection and decrease cancer immunosurveillance. After an organ transplantation, the body will nearly always reject the new organ due to differences in human leukocyte antigen between the donor and recipient. Immunosuppressants are administered in order to help prevent rejection; however, the body becomes more vulnerable to infections and malignancy during the course of such treatment.
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