Cyclosporin A

Immunosuppressive medications play a large part of the management of many pediatric illnesses.

Cyclosporine is the primary tool used to prevent rejection following solid organ and bone marrow transplantation . It has been estimated that cyclosporine is given to more than 90% of children who have received a kidney transplant in the United States.

In addition, the ability of cyclosporine to inhibit T-cell activation has been shown to have a role in the treatment of diseases such as nephrotic syndrome, refractory Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, biliary cirrhosis, aplastic anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis, and dermatomyositis.

Chime model of cyclosporin A, the active ingredient in the Sandoz medication Sandimmun. The Pharmaceuticals company Sandoz is now owned by Novartis http://www.pharma.novartis.com/ and they now market the product Sandimmum.

Sandimmun acts in a very specific way to suppress rejection of transplanted organs by the body's immune system.

Expand View of cyclosporin A

Lymphocytes (cells of the immune system), the site of action of the active ingredient cyclosporin A.

SEM micrograph of the cyclosporin A crystal in its purest form.

SEM micrographs are always black and white.

Scale: 12 cm = 0.01 mm

Light microscopy image of a cyclosporin A crystal.

The colours in this picture are produced by the effects of polarization.