AbstractsMedical & Health Science

Renal transplantation (RTx) has become an established treatment modality for end-stage renal disease in children. Along with the improvements in pre- and post-transplant care, the patient and graft outcomes have improved significantly during the past two decades. This attracts more attention to avoiding secondary complications and long-term side effects of the post-RTx immunosuppressive medication. Several risk factors cast a shadow over patients normal physical and mental development, but detailed reports on long-term outcome after pediatric RTx are scarce. This thesis was designed to investigate pubertal development and subsequent male fertility and semen quality with special emphasis on the effects of immunosuppressive medication on reproductive function. The study also aimed to analyze the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in pediatric RTx patients and the association of these parameters with the long-term graft function. The onset of pubertal development occurred at the mean age of 12.7 years in boys with 22% considered delayed. In girls, however, no delayed development occurred, with the age at onset of puberty and menarche averaging 10.7 years and 12.5 years, respectively. Pubertal growth continued relatively long resulting in average final height of -1.7 height standard deviation score in boys and -1.2 in girls. The reproductive hormone levels were normal in a great majority of the patients. In young adult males who had received RTx in childhood, the free testosterone levels were lower and luteinizing hormone levels were higher in comparison with age-matched healthy controls. The RTx patients had also smaller testicular volumes and total sperm counts than the controls. Only a quarter of the RTx men who provided a semen sample had normospermia. Patients with a history of cyclophosphamide therapy had the worst outcome. Metabolic data were collected at several time points during a 13-year follow-up post-RTx. Hypertriglyceridemia associated with a worse kidney graft function at 1.5 and 5 years post-RTx, and it predicted the subsequent rate of kidney function decrease after 1.5 years post-RTx. Beyond the first postoperative year, other metabolic risk factors associated modestly with the long-term kidney graft function in pediatric RTx patients. The ambulatory BP monitoring data were retrospectively analyzed 5 to 10 years post-transplantation. The BP profiles were similar between renal, heart, and liver transplant groups. Hypertension was common especially at nighttime and the nocturnal BP dipping was often blunted. The use of antihypertensive medication did not notably change the ambulatory BP profile in RTx recipients. The BP variables correlated poorly with the metabolic parameters or kidney graft function. Elinsiirrot ovat vakiinnuttaneet asemansa monen vaikean sairauden hoitokeinona. Suomessa on tehty elinsiirto yli 400 lapselle ja nuorelle. Munuaisensiirtojen osuus kaikista lasten elinsiirroista on yli puolet. Lasten elinsiirrot on maassamme keskitetty HYKS:n Lastenklinikalle.…