Cataract in renal transplantation recipients with combination ciclosporin treatment

Post surgical cataracts induced by corticosteroids as immunosuppressive agents were investigated in recipients undergoing triple therapy with ciclosporin and the results were compared with those who had therapy without ciclosporin administration. The subjects of the triple therapy group were 54 cases with a mean age of 31.7 years. The mean observation period was 25 months. The incidence of posterior subcapsular cataract was 77.8%. 7.9% of them developed progressed cataract. Early cataractous changes were noticed within one post-operative year in half of the cases. 3 out of 22 cases that were followed up over three years showed progressed cataractous changes. The total doses of methylprednisolone during the period of the first post-transplant year in recipients with Grades I or II and over Grade III were 7.7 +/- 1.9g and 9.8 +/- 3.6g, respectively. They were significantly higher than those in the conventional therapy group. However, a 2 to 3 g reduction in the total dose of steroids during the first year had no influence on cataract occurrence.