The anti-rejection drug, sirolimus, may lead to an increased risk of diabetes in kidney transplant patients. This news comes from researchers who analyzed data on about 20,000 Medicare patients who had kidney transplants between 1995 and 2003.

None of the patients had diabetes before their kidney transplant. Compared to other anti-rejection drugs, sirolimus was associated with a 36 percent to 66 percent increased risk of diabetes after transplant.

This article originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.