Inability of cyclosporine to completely prevent the recurrence of focal glomerulosclerosis after kidney transplantation.

From January 1984 through July 1986, 15 patients with biopsy-proven focal glomerulosclerosis (FGS) underwent kidney transplantation. Following transplantation, all patients were immunosuppressed with cyclosporine and prednisone. There were 8 men and 7 women with a mean age of 33 years (range, 16-47 years). Five patients (33%) had recurrence of FGS. Two patients had received kidneys from HLA identical siblings, and 3 patients were transplanted with cadaveric kidneys. In 4 out of 5 patients, the recurrence of FGS occurred within 3 months of transplantation. Of the 2 graft losses in this group, one was from recurrence of FGS. Ten patients followed for a mean of 25 months did not develop recurrence of FGS. No graft loss occurred in this group. Three patients with end-stage renal disease of unknown etiology were found to have FGS in the renal allograft and were presumed to have recurrence of FGS. All 3 patients developed the nephrotic syndrome following transplantation, and 1 patient has had progressive renal failure. Cyclosporine did not prevent the recurrence or the clinical manifestations of FGS following kidney transplantation. Additional studies are needed to determine if cyclosporine is effective in certain subgroups of patients with FGS.