Monash research will inform best treatment options for kidney transplant patients

Associate Professor Bill Mulley

Monash Health nephrologist Dr Bill Mulley has two reasons to smile: he’s been recognised for his research at Monash University with an academic promotion, and has been awarded a National Blood Authority grant to further his research into kidney transplantation.

Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor Mulley was recently awarded a National Blood Sector Research and Development Pilot Grant worth $450,000 to investigate therapies to improve outcomes in renal transplant patients who experience chronic rejection.

“Chronic antibody mediated rejection (cAMR) is the major cause of kidney transplant failure in the long-term, and currently there are no proven therapies for this type of rejection,” Associate Professor Mulley said.

Associate Professor Mulley is leading a randomised trial to assess whether intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is better than standard treatment for cAMR.

“Patients who are diagnosed with cAMR will be randomised to receive this therapy or not over a 12 month period, with efficacy judged by kidney biopsies and blood measurement of kidney function,” he said.

“If the treatment is found to be effective it is likely to be adopted as a standard of care treatment.”

“Also if there is improvement with IVIg, future studies will build on this one with additional therapies added to IVIg to attempt to further improve outcomes,” Associate Professor Mulley said.

Associate Professor Mulley designed and commenced this previously unfunded study at Monash Health five years ago.

“This grant allows the study to be implemented at multiple Australian sites, thereby increasing recruitment and providing significant data that can help further understanding in this field,” he said.

“cAMR is a large problem and having some evidence-based guidance will be very useful for all transplant clinicians, and most importantly will benefit patients.”