Neuropsychiatric side effects of FK506 vs. cyclosporine A - First-week postoperative findings

The authors studied 31 liver transplant patients to compare neuropsychiatric side effects of a newer immunosuppressant, FK506, to cyclosporine A (CYA). Patients were randomly assigned to either FK506 or CYA. At the 1-week postoperative stage, cognitive status was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Exam, Trailmaking Tests (TMT) A and B, Delirium Rating Scale, and a neuropsychiatric symptom checklist. No statistically significant differences were found on any outcome variable between these two drugs though scores on the TMTs were impaired as compared with published norms. The FK506 patients had moderately impaired TMT scores, whereas the CYA patients had transplantation, with only mild evidence of cognitive impairment.