Inhaled Anti-Rejection Drug Boosts Lung Transplant Survival

The anti-rejection drugs patients receive after lung transplants are so strong they can sometimes kill. But a new, small study finds that inhaling these medications increases patients' two-year survival by nearly 50 percent. The patients in the study inhaled cyclosporine, an experimental version of the drug normally given by mouth or injection to reduce the immune system attack on the transplanted tissue. These types of delivery methods affect the body as a whole, raising side-effect risks such as severe kidney and liver damage. But the researchers pointed out that inhalation delivers cyclosporine mainly to the area of transplant.

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