Medium and long-term cognitive function in heart transplant recipients is the main theme of Britta Susanne Bürker‘s PhD thesis.

MAIN RESULTS:

1. The prevalence of cognitive decline following heart transplantation is high.
2. Posttransplant depression is related to increased risk of early death.

THESIS DEFENCE:

Thesis: Mood and Cognitive Outcome after Heart Transplantation: The MOODHEART study.
Candidate: Britta Susanne Bürker
Time: September 10, 2019 at 13:15
Place: Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet: Rødt auditorium
Link to university website

SUMMARY:

(1) Cognitive assessment should be integrated into the follow-up of patients after heart transplantation. Bürker and co-workers examined the cognitive function of 37 patients three years after transplantation, of which about half received standard immunosuppressive therapy with the calcineurine inhibitor cyclosporine. The rest had been randomly assigned to experimental immunosuppression with everolimus and a much lower dose of cyclosporin, shown to retain renal function better and reduce calcification of the large blood vessels of the new heart. There was no difference in cognitive function between the two groups. Overall, 40% of patients had cognitive impairments such as attention, memory or language problems.

REFERENCES:

(1) Bürker, B. S., Gullestad, L., Gude, E., Relbo Authen, A., Grov, I., Hol, P. K., Andreassen, A. K., Arora, S., Dew, M. A., Fiane, A. E., Haraldsen, I. R., Malt, U. F., & Andersson, S. (2017). Cognitive function after heart transplantation: Comparing everolimus‐based and calcineurin inhibitor‐based regimens. Clinical transplantation, 31(4), e12927.

(2) Bürker, B. S., Gude, E., Gullestad, L., Grov, I., Relbo Authen, A., Andreassen, A. K., Havik, O. E., Dew, M. A., Fiane, A., Haraldsen, I. R., Malt, U. F., & Andersson, S. (2017). Cognitive function among long‐term survivors of heart transplantation. Clinical transplantation, 31(12), e13143.

(3) Bürker, B. S., Gullestad, L., Gude, E., Havik, O. E., Authen, A. R., Grov, I., Andreassen, A. K., Fiane, A. E., Haraldsen, I. R., Dew, M. A., & Andersson, S. (2019). The predictive value of depression in the years after heart transplantation for mortality during long-term follow-up. Psychosomatic medicine, 81(6), 513-520.