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A Pilot Study Of Demographic And Dopaminergic Genetic Contributions To Weight Change In Kidney Transplant Recipients, Ansley Stanfill, Donna Hathaway, Ann Cashion, Ramin Homayouni, Patricia Cowan, Carol Thompson, Behrouz Madahian, Yvette Conley

Nursing Faculty Publications

Kidney transplant recipients often experience a significant amount of weight gain in the first year post-transplantation. While demographic factors such as age, race, and sex have been associated with weight gain in this population, these factors do not explain all of the variability seen. A number of studies have suggested that genetics also plays a critical role in weight changes. Recently, alterations in the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine have been associated with weight change, and gene expression studies in kidney transplant recipients have supported this association. The purpose of this pilot study is to first examine the feasibility and …