Cyclosporine Complications

Cyclosporine is a drug that suppresses the immune system. The drug reduces the risk of organ rejection in transplant patients. It is also used to treat auto-immune diseases such as ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. The drug may leave the body vulnerable to opportunistic infections or certain types of cancer by inhibiting the body's natural ability to fight off disease. Cyclosporine complications include high blood pressure, kidney damage and neurotoxicity.

Opportunistic Infections

• It is easier to contract bacterial pneumonia while being treated with cyclosporine.

  Patients taking cyclosporine are more at risk of developing viral, fungal, parasitic or bacterial infections including septicemia, cytomegalovirus, urinary tract infections and pneumonia.

Lymphoma and Skin Cancer

• Cyclosporine users are at higher risk of developing skin cancer from UV rays.

  Your chance of getting skin cancer or lymphoma (cancer of the immune system) is greater if you take cyclosporine in combination with other drugs that also suppress immune function, or if you are currently undergoing chemotherapy or have some form of cancer.

  Tell your physician if you are taking the chemotherapy drug methotrexate, or if you have had an organ transplant and have been prescribed anti-rejection drugs, such as tacrolimus, azathioprine or sirolimus.

  Those on cancer radiation therapy or on UV-A or UV-B light therapy for vitiligo, psoriasis or eczema, should advise their doctor since cyclosporine increases the skin's sensitivity to these forms of light rays. Cyclosporine users should limit their exposure to the sun. Apply sunscreen to areas of the skin not covered by clothing. Wear sunglasses during daylight hours.

  Individuals who have a history of shingles (herpes zoster) or chicken pox (varicella-zoster) should not take cyclosporine. Cyclosporine inhibits the body's ability to fight off these diseases.

Hypertension

• Cyclosporine users risk developing hypertension.

  A Canadian review of medical trials examined the use of cyclosporine compared to placebo use, and found that hypertension in patients increased an "overall magnitude of 7 mmHg" in patients who were given cyclosporine.

  The study indicated that blood pressure grew more elevated along with higher doses of the drug, with "an average increase in mean blood pressure ranging from 5 mmHg with low dosages to 11 mmHg with high doses of cyclosporine. This increase is of clinical importance and suggests that prescribers should try to find the lowest effective dose in all patients on chronic therapy."

Kidney Damage

• Patients taking sulfonamides or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should not take cyclosporine as it may lead to kidney damage. Elevated creatinine levels are also found in patients taking cyclosporine. This is indicative of kidney dysfunction or failure.

Neurotoxicity in Children

• Neurological problems may occur in children given cyclosporine during stem-cell transplantation.

  Children may develop damage to the nervous system, or "neurotoxicity," while being treated with cyclosporine during bone marrow transplantation. Symptoms may include headaches, seizures, hallucinations, or dangerous increases in brain pressure. Neurotoxicity may lead to the death of the child.

  Once the drug is withdrawn, children usually return to normal neurological function, but long-term adverse effects can occur, such as abnormal EEG readings or epilepsy.