Decrease of erythrocyte deformability in cyclosporine-treated renal transplant patients: correction with fish oil as well as corn oil

Twenty-nine renal transplant recipients with good, stable transplant function were included in a double-blind cross-over study to investigate the effects of different immunosuppressive treatment modalities and also the effects of fish oil and corn oil supplementation on erythrocyte deformability. Ten patients were treated with cyclosporine (CyA) only, 10 patients with CyA and prednisolone, and 9 patients with azathioprine and prednisolone. Erythrocyte deformability, as measured by an ektacytometric technique, was significantly decreased in both CyA-treated groups compared with the azathioprine-prednisolone-treated group, and this decrease was corrected with fish oil and with corn oil. The cause and the clinical significance of less deformable erythrocytes due to CyA are not yet clear. However, less deformable erythrocytes could play a role in the genesis of the complications of CyA