Rhode Island Hospital
Kidney Transplant Center
Research Update
Transplant Research
The division of organ transplantation is at the forefront of critical advances in transplantation. The center continues to be an active participant in national and international trials evaluating the efficacy of various drug regimes in improving outcomes, reducing rejection rates and enhancing quality of life. The center has also recently instituted protocols for reducing alloantibody levels in highly sensitized patients using intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), plasmapheresis and anti-CD20 antibody (Rituximab). Currently, the division is involved in several ongoing trials and employs three full-time research associates.
Reginald Y. Gohh, M.D. has been involved in investigating the role of preemptive plasmapheresis in preventing recurrent FSGS in renal transplant recipients. In collaboration with Fatemah Akhlaghi, PharmD, PhD, of University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, Gohh is also investigating the pharmacokinetics of mycophenolate mofetil in diabetic renal transplant recipients.
Angelito Yango, M.D. has recently introduced a program for protocol renal biopsies to monitor early stages of rejection and chronic allograft nephropathy in renal transplant recipients. The center performs 70-90 bedside ultrasound guided renal transplant biopsies a year and this has been a valuable tool in immunosuppression management. Yango is also investigating the role of hepatocyte growth factor and GSK3b in the pathogenesis of chronic allograft nephropathy.
Paul Morrissey, M.D. is interested in outcomes after renal transplantation for organ donors and recipients. Coincident with Rhode Island Hospital’s experience in altruistic kidney donation and a large experience in utilizing kidneys from donors after cardiac death (DCD), he has written and lectured about safely expanding organ donation and transplantation. Other interests include delayed allograft function and effort to limit ischemia-reperfusion injury after transplantation.
Kevin D. Charpentier, M.D.’s research interests include pancreas transplantation outcomes and factors that influence early allograft function.
Clinical Trials
We are currently involved in a number of research studies that patients are eligible to enter. The majority of these studies involve the use of new or novel immunosuppressive regimens that may either enhance transplant survival or offer a more beneficial side-effect profile.
Ongoing Projects:
- FAVORIT: Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation
- My GAIN: Myfortic vs. MMF (Cellcept) when administered in combinations with calcineurin inhibitors in renal transplant recipients experiencing gastrointestinal intolerance
Past Projects:
- Steroid withdrawl – designed to test the safety of steroid withdrawal in patients receiving tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil
- Basilixumab (Simulect) induction with steroid withdrawl
- Rapamune study – investigating the safety of sirolimus (Rapamune) in kidney transplantation
- Certican – study of two doses (1.5 and 3 gm) of everolimus in combination with cyclosporine and steroids
- Stem Cell Infusions – investigating the immunosuppressive effects of donor stem cells infused after successful live donor renal transplantation
- RapStarr – a comparison of sirolimus with tacrolimus or cyclosporine in high-risk kidney recipients
- FTY – Randomized trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TY720 in de novo adult renal transplant recipients
- Optima – Optimizing Prograf (tacrolimus) in maintenance allografts
- Orion – A randomized, open-label study to compare the safety and efficacy of two different sirolimus regimens to a tacrolimus + MMF regimen in de novo renal allograft recipients
- Opticept – a comparison of standard CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) dosing with therapeutic monitoring of CellCept in combination with tacrolimus and steroids
Some topics we are currently studying include determining the level of exercise tolerance in transplant recipients and methods to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
To learn more, call 1-401-444-8562.
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