Experimental Study Of Simvasatin's Effect On Obliterative Bronchiolitis After Lung Transplantation

Nowadays lung transplantation has become a successful clinical therapy for end-stage pulmonary disease. However, the incidence of acute rejection after lung transplantation is substantially greater, and chronic allograft dysfunction occurs more frequently and at earlier time point than other solid-organ (kidney, liver, heart) transplantaton. The development of obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is the leading cause of chronic allograft dysfunction. Survival at 5 years after the onset of OB is only 30-40%. Quality of life and long-term survival of lung transplant recipients has been adversely affected by OB.The pathogenesis of OB remains incompletely understood. The development of OB probably represents a aberrant tissue repair response resultant from inflammatory airway injury, whether primed by alloimmune-dependent and/or -independent mechanisms. In general, medical treatment of OB is not fully satisfactory. Once established, OB is difficult to reverse, but augmented immunosuppression using various treatment regimens may achieve stabilization or at least slow the rate of decline in FEVl for some period of time. Ultimately, progressive deterioration usually ensues. This may, in part, be due to the fact that these anti-inflammatory therapies are not effective against the process of fibrosis that is occurring in the airways. In addition, these treatment strategies are delivered as pulse therapy because of the long-term side effects. Hence, relapses may be common. Therefore the need for alternative...