Doctor donates kidney to patient

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Transplant nephrologist was perfect match for patient-turned-friend.

It’s rare that a transplant nephrologist becomes a kidney donor — but that’s exactly what happened to Dr. Aji Djamali last month.

Not long into his journey to becoming a nephrologist and surgeon, Djamali knew he wanted to donate his kidney. With the rare blood type B, he knew he could make an ideal match for a patient one day. Read or watch the story from ABC News here.

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‘If you don’t exercise, you break’: Physical activity key in osteoporosis intervention

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash
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ORLANDO — Exercise can supplement the efficacy of several therapies used to treat osteoporosis, according to a presenter at the 2022 Rheumatology Nurses Society Annual Conference.

“You get old, and if you don’t exercise, you break,” Jacqueline M. Fritz, RN, MSN, RN-BC, an infusion specialist at the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center, in La Palma, California, told attendees. Read more in Healio.

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One year after double-lung transplant, man to ride 38 miles for fundraiser

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Just over a year after receiving a double-lung transplant, a COVID-19 survivor is cycling 38-miles to raise funds for the nonprofit where he found support after his surgery. 

Rick Bressler, Lock Haven, contracted the COVID-19 virus in March 2021, four days before he was scheduled to receive the vaccine. He was soon hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. Read the full story in NorthcentralPA.com.

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Premature menopause associated with HF, AF risk

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Women with a history of premature menopause, defined as menopause before age 40 years, are more likely to develop HF or atrial fibrillation over 9 years of follow-up compared with women without premature menopause, data show.

In a Korean database analysis of more than 1.4 million women, researchers also found that premature menopause was significantly associated with CHD compared with all other categories of age at menopause. Read more in Healio.

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High frequency of adding salt to food may cause premature mortality, lower life expectancy

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Higher frequencies of adding salt to food were associated with premature mortality and lower life expectancy, according to study findings published in the European Heart Journal.

“The evidence in relation to sodium/salt intakes and mortality is still controversial,” Lu Qi, MD, PhD, FAHA, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor in the department of epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, told Healio. “This study may motivate further investigations, which may provide evidence to affect the recommendation of adding salt.” Read more Healio.

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Kids Treated at For-Profit Dialysis Centers Less Likely to Receive Transplant

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— They also waited longer to be put on a waitlist

Children receiving dialysis at a for-profit facility were less likely to be put on the waitlist for — and ultimately receive — a kidney transplant, according to a retrospective cohort study.

Among over 13,000 pediatric patients, those receiving dialysis at a profit center had a 21% lower chance of being put on the waitlist for a kidney versus those receiving care at nonprofit facilities (adjusted HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.75-0.83), reported Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS, of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues.
Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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New Laparoscopic Procedure for Live Donor Liver Transplant Makes Donation Easier

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It wasn’t until after his liver transplant that Felix Pon’s personality began to shine. His rare liver disease left him bright yellow, itchy, depleted, and hardly able to smile. He’s making up for it today by greeting everyone he meets with a wide grin and a happy hello.

“It was like a veil was lifted after his liver transplant. His good-natured, friendly personality came out,” says his mom, Katie Gilmer Pon. Read the full story from Stanford Medicine.

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Patient reacts to peanut after receiving transplanted lung from donor with allergy history

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After receiving a lung from a donor with known peanut allergy, a transplant patient with no history of allergy developed a temporary sensitization to peanut, according to a case study published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

This case suggests that IgE-mediated food allergies acquired from a donor through solid organ transplants may be transient, Stephanie Stojanovic, MBBS, registrar in allergy, asthma and clinical immunology at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues wrote in the study. Read more in Healio.

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Man is oldest person possibly cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

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A 66-year-old man is the oldest person yet to possibly be cured of HIV after undergoing a stem cell transplant, researchers announced Wednesday.

The man had HIV for more than 31 years when he received a blood stem cell transplant in early 2019 for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) using cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that prevents HIV from entering human cells, making people who have it resistant to most strains of the virus. Read more in Healio.

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Low MELD Score No Barrier to Long Survival After Living-Donor Transplant

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— End-stage liver disease patients with scores as low as 11 achieved survival of 13 years or beyond

End-stage liver disease patients at lower risk for death in the short term still reaped the substantial benefits of a living-donor liver transplant (LDLT), a case-control study revealed.

Compared with individuals who remained on the transplant waitlist, those with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease incorporating sodium levels (MELD-Na) scores ranging from 6 to 19 gained an additional 13 to 17 years of life following LDLT, reported John Malamon, PhD, of the University of Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues. Read more in MedPage Today.

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