Evaluation of laser Doppler flowmetry to assess cyclosporine A-induced impairment of renal blood flow

Cyclosporine A (CyA)-induced nephrotoxicity is a well-known complication of this potent immunosuppressive drug. It is caused by an elevation in renovascular resistance and impairment of renal blood how. Currently, one of the principal experimental settings to assess renal hemodynamics has been using the in vivo fluorescent videomicroscopy (IVFV) method on hydronephrotic rat kidneys, which is expensive, time-consuming, not physiological, and not applicable to humans, In the present paper we have been able to confirm our working hypothesis that laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a valuable tool for assessing microcirculatory changes in the rat kidney during CyA administration. Total subcapsular blood how decreased to approximately 70% of baseline values (P < 0.05) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) increased initially to 113% of baseline values (P < 0.05) compared to only minor changes for cremophor (carrier substance) or no changes for sodium chloride solution 0.9%. LDF provides an easy and rapid technique and its major advantage is the potential use in assessing microcirculatory changes after kidney transplants in humans. (C) 1998 Academic Press.