View clinical trials related to BK Virus Infection.
Filter by:BKvirus associated nephropathy (BKvAN) is a major complication in kidney transplantation. Due to BKvirus (BKv) intra-graft replication, BKvAN affects nearly 10% of patients and causes graft loss in more than 50% of cases. Without current antiviral therapy, the treatment consists of minimizing immunosuppression, secondarily exposing the patient to a graft rejection risk. Impaired BKv specific T cell response plays a crucial role in the BKvAN pathophysiology. Several teams, including ours, have demonstrated a profound impairment of BKv specific T cell response during BKvAN. Immunovirological monitoring allows an individual assessment of viral reactivation risk based on the anti-viral immune response. Our group has developed the NEPHROVIR method. This non-invasive biological method allows the identification of BKvAN risk level. The aim of this work is to evaluate, by the NEPHROVIR method, the risk to develop a BKvAN with renal impairment in kidney transplant recipients with sustained BKv viremia. The investigators propose the BK-VIR study. This is a prospective multicentric study involving 100 kidney transplant recipients with sustained BKv viremia. The aim of this work is to evaluate the NEPHROVIR method as an innovative immunovirological surveillance method for predicting the risk of BKvAN occurrence. The characterization of individual BKvAN risk level could help in the individualized follow-up and management of immunosuppression in patients. The long-term objective would be to diagnose very early, or even anticipate, the occurrence of BKvAN and to allow early readjustment of the immunosuppressive treatment.
Hypothesis: Early detection, and treatment, of BK virus infection after kidney transplantation will prevent BK virus associated kidney transplant injury. BK virus associated nephropathy (BKVN) is estimated to cause a progressive kidney transplant injury in 1-10% of renal transplant recipients. Diagnostic and monitoring strategies for BKVN is still being developed. Detectable virus in the blood by polymerase change reaction-test (PCR) is predictive of BKVN. Additionally, PCR provides a objective estimate of the degree of infection. If early detection and treatment of BK virus infection is effective in preventing subsequent kidney transplant injury has not been studied. However, renal injury and dysfunction develops late in the natural course of BKVN and it seems likely that screening in combination with early treatment would be beneficial for long-term transplant survival. There is no established treatment for BK virus infection. Nevertheless, in kidney transplanted patients diagnosed with BK virus infection, immunosuppression is reduced to allow the patients own immune system to handle the virus. However, reduction of immunosuppression has not been associated with rejection. This indicate that these patients were over-immunosuppressed, predisposing them to BKVN. Therefore, to compare the degree of immunosuppression in BKVN patients (over-immunosuppressed) to other patients (not over-immunosuppressed) could yield interesting information. One possibility would be to quantify these patients specific cellular immune response to BK virus but also to other viruses (T cell reactivity). Leflunomide (Arava) is an immunosuppressive drug, approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and has been used in more than 300,000 patients worldwide. Furthermore, leflunomide has been used safely in humans after clinical kidney and liver transplantation for more than 300 days. In addition to leflunomide's value in preventing rejection, it has been shown to exert inhibitory effects on different viruses. Recently published pilot studies suggest that leflunomide treatment of patients with BKVN significantly reduces the amount of BK virus in blood and prevents recurrence of kidney transplant injury. At Karolinska University Hospital, leflunomide has been used for treatment of BKVN and, in some of the patients, renal function has stabilized and BK virus load has decreased significantly.