In autoimmune diseases and overreactions of the immune system, immunosuppressants are usually prescribed by the doctor. However, these drugs are also used for therapy in allergic asthma and rejection after organ transplantation.
What are immunosuppressants?
Immunosuppressants are drugs that weaken or completely suppress the immune system‘s responses. The human body’s immune system is constantly on alert, fighting off invaders such as bacteria, viruses, or other foreign substances. In this way, the body fends off disease and protects the organism from harm. Immunosuppressants are drugs that weaken or completely suppress the immune system’s responses. Immunosuppression is defined as non-physiological suppression of an immune response by an external intervention. The administration of such drugs is prescribed by physicians after certain interventions and for specific diseases.
Application, effect, and use
Most notably, the physician will administer an immunosuppressant to the patient after an organ transplant. The immune system views an implanted organ as a dangerous foreign body that must be removed. What normally should and can prevent disease leads to rejection of the new organ after an organ transplant. Therefore, immunosuppressants are used to prevent such rejection reactions. A transplant patient must take these drugs for the rest of his or her life to prevent the undesirable reactions of the immune system. Immunosuppressants are also used to treat the so-called autoimmune diseases. These diseases are caused by violent activities of the immune system, but directed against the patient’s own cells and organs. The exact causes of such diseases are not yet known. However, they are probably triggered by genetic dispositions in combination with external influences. Examples of a pathogenic immune system are inflammatory bowel diseases, psoriasis, rheumatic diseases or multiple sclerosis. Immunosuppressants are often used for all these diseases. They dampen or prevent the immune system’s excessive reactions and can thus help to attenuate and relieve the symptoms of the diseases.
Herbal, natural, and pharmaceutical immunosuppressants.
Among immunosuppressants, there are several groups that differ in their effects. Calcineurin inhibitors prevent signals from special cells in the immune defense system from being transmitted. Without these signals, the immune system is not stimulated to act in the first place. Thus, the so-called T cells are not activated and, for example, do not attack newly implanted organs in the first place. Cell division inhibitors, on the other hand, have the effect of inhibiting and curtailing the growth of immune cells. They also suppress messenger substances that stimulate the system to produce more new immune cells. The points of attack of the drugs are therefore quite different. However, it is inherent to both types of drugs that they must be taken very precisely, according to a detailed plan and as directed by a physician. Cortisone is mostly administered after transplantation. It has only general and no specific effects on the immune system. The cortisone inhibits the development of phagocytes, which normally destroy bacteria and foreign bodies. Also, when there is acute rejection of a new organ, more cortisone is used to prevent rejection.
Risks and side effects
Like all medications, immunosuppressants not only have the intended effect, but there are also many undesirable side effects. In general, taking the drugs makes the body much more susceptible to infections. The reason for this is obvious. When the immune system is made to ignore foreign organs and and substances, or to work at half strength, it also overlooks bacteria and viruses. When the entire system is dampened, pathogens can spread unhindered. The risk of developing tumors is increased. Cells are constantly changing in the body, and the immune system seeks them out and destroys them. Immunosuppressants inhibit this healthy response of the body’s police. Also, the entire metabolism and circulation can be affected. High blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels can develop.The entire digestive tract can be affected by the immunosuppressants. Diarrhea, vomiting and nausea may occur. But with all problems, the patient must follow the doctor’s instructions exactly. If side effects occur, it is essential to consult with the doctor. Under no circumstances should the drug simply be discontinued. It is possible in most cases to choose a different drug or to use other drugs to counteract or alleviate the side effects.
