- Panel Reactive Antibody
Panel Reactive Antibody (PRA) is a blood test that is routinely performed on patients waiting for kidney transplants and measures anti-human antibodies in the blood. The PRA score is given as a percentage and can be from 0% to 99%. The PRA represents the percentage of the U.S. population that the anti-human antibody in your blood reacts with.
Patients develop anti-HLA (
Human Leukocyte Antigen )antibodies from exposure to HLA of other humans through previous transplants, blood transfusions and/or pregnancy. Patients showing high Panel Reactive Antibodies are often referred to as sensitized. Patients with high PRA (usually >50%) are less likely to receive transplants as the risk for immediate antibody-mediated rejection of the transplanted organ is significantly increased.Treatments to reduce PRA in sensitized transplant candidates exist including treatment with
Rituximab (aB-cell specific antibody),IVIg ,protein A immunoabsorption,plasmapheresis etc.Reference: Jordan and Pescovitz, Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 1: 421-432, 2006 [http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/cgi/content/full/1/3/421] .
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