belatacept

Approved by the FDA in 2011, Belatacept is a soluble fusion protein given into a vein, and is used with other medicines (namely basiliximab induction, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids) to prevent organ rejection after a kidney transplant. This product basically weakens your body's immune system, to help keep it from "rejecting" a transplanted organ. Bear in mind that organ rejection happens when the immune system treats the new organ as an invader and attacks it. It is worth noting that Belatacept may cause your body to overproduce white blood cells. This can lead to cancer, severe brain infection causing disability or death, or a viral infection causing kidney transplant failure. Therefore, you should call your doctor right away if you have: fever, swollen glands, flu symptoms, night sweats, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, burning when you urinate, blood in your urine, a new skin lesion, any change in your mental state, decreased vision, weakness on one side of your body, problems with speech or walking, or pain around your transplant. You also need to remember that you should not be treated with Belatacept if you are allergic to it, or if you've never been exposed to Epstein-Barr virus. On a side note, it is not known whether Belatacept will harm an unborn baby. So, don’t hesitate to call your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. However, you should not breast-feed while you are using this product.