Post-Transplant Diabetes Mellitus (PTDM) in Heart Recipients

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is prevalent in the general population, with more than one in five people over 50 years of age presenting with the condition [Van Hooff 2004].In general, (post-transplant) diabetes develops as a result of low or absent insulin output, increased insulin resistance, or a combination of the two. Transplant recipients generally take a combination of immunosuppressive drugs. Not only the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine and tacrolimus, but also corticosteroids have been associated with disturbances in glucose metabolic control [Van Dujinhoven 2003]. PTDM shares many similarities with type 2 diabetes and it may be reversible [Davidson et al. 2003]. The incidence of PTDM after heart transplantation is generally higher when compared to other organ transplantations [ISHLT 2004]....

Keywords: Post-Transplant