
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993                   TAG: 9305200228
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: HOUSTON                                LENGTH: Short

DRUG SHOWS EDGE IN HALTING ORGAN REJECTION

A new immunosuppressive drug shows advantages over current therapy in preventing rejection of transplanted organs, two experts said at a meeting.

However, it could take two to five years for doctors to establish the best way to use the drug, called FK-506, said Dr. Sue McDiarmid, an assistant professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Goran B.G. Klintmalm of Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

At a meeting of the American Society of Transplant Physicians, they presented two studies on Tuesday involving use of the drug.

"It's an important step forward," said Klintmalm. He said he thinks the drug, which is being tested by a Japanese firm, will prove more effective than cyclosporine.

Cyclosporine revolutionized transplants more than 12 years ago when it was shown to cut the rejection rate of organs by more than 75 percent.

McDiarmid, who presented the results of a multicenter trial involving her institution and 11 others, said there was a small but significant decrease in the number of rejection episodes when FK-506 was used in patients who had undergone liver transplants. - The New York Times

by CNB