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Young Man Receives the Rare Gift of Three Transplants

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By Lynn Nichols

Joseph (Joe Joe) Sanchez-Munoz loves to dance, especially to Karol G and Bruno Mars. After his recent heart transplant at age 18, he asked his social worker if he could borrow the hospital’s helicopter to go to a Bruno Mars concert. He’s quirky and funny. And his doctors, nurses, and providers comment on his big smile, which is almost always spread across his face.

“No matter what life throws at him, he’s smiling,” says mom Elena Munoz. Read the full story from Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.

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Another HIV Patient Possibly Cured With Stem Cell Transplant

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— But this case is unique, researchers say

By Ed Susman

BRISBANE, Australia — Another HIV patient has been off antiretroviral medication for 20 months without detectable HIV levels after he underwent stem cell transplant to treat cancer — but, unlike previous “cures,” this patient’s donor stem cells did not have the mutation that confers resistance to HIV. Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Transplant May Be Reasonable for Certain CRC Patients With Liver Mets

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— OS rates could be over 80% depending on clinical predictive factors

By Mike Bassett

For a select group of patients with colorectal cancer and unresectable liver metastases, liver transplant may be a reasonable option, according to results from a prospective, nonrandomized controlled cohort study.

Overall, among 61 patients who underwent liver transplant, the median disease-free survival (DFS) was 11.8 months (95% CI 9.3-14.2), with a 5-year DFS rate of 18.3%, and the median overall survival (OS) was 60.3 months (95% CI 44.3-76.4), with a 5-year OS rate of 50.4%, reported Svein Dueland, MD, PhD, of Oslo University Hospital in Norway, and colleagues. Read the full article in MedPage Today.

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Race-specific approach to spirometry disadvantages Black patients

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By Elana Gotkine

A race-specific approach to spirometry interpretation results in a lower lung allocation score (LAS) for Black patients and a higher LAS for White patients, according to a study published online May 26 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

J. Henry Brems, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues examined the impact of a race-specific versus race-neutral approach to spirometry interpretation on LAS among 8,982 adults (90.3 percent White; 9.7 percent Black) listed for lung transplant in the United States between Jan. 7, 2009, and Feb. 18, 2015. At listing, the LAS was calculated using a race-specific and race-neutral approach. Read more in Medical Xpress.

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Prescribe exercise for ‘dramatic impact’ on mortality, heart disease risk

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash
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By Regina Shaffer

ARLINGTON, Texas — Physical fitness is a vital sign for overall health, and prescribing even small amounts of exercise to increase cardiorespiratory fitness can reduce mortality and CVD risk, according to a speaker.

The 2018 federal physical activity guidelines suggest 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity, Carl “Chip” Lavie Jr., MD, FACC, FACP, FCCP, professor of medicine, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and preventive cardiology, director of the Exercise Testing Laboratory and staff cardiologist in the Echocardiographic Laboratory at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, Ochsner Clinical School–The University of Queensland School of Medicine, said during a presentation at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention. Read the full article in Healio.

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AI Can Play a Role in Reducing Stroke Disparities

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— But concerns remain about the potential for bias and differential access

By Mill Etienne, MD, MPH 

I recently evaluated one of my patients who had a stroke 2 years ago. After his stroke, we did an extensive workup, including prolonged cardiac monitoring, but could not determine what caused it. Then, a few months ago, his smart watch detected that he was in atrial fibrillation. Subsequent testing confirmed that diagnosis, and he was placed on anticoagulation to prevent additional strokes. Read the full article in MedPage Today.

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Donating a kidney can be safe for people living with HIV, study shows

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Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM

Based on findings from a study published today in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and three collaborating medical institutions suggest that people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who donate a kidney to other people living with HIV (PLWH) have a low risk of developing end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) or other kidney problems in the years following the donation. Read the full article in News Medical Life Sciences.

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Have a heart, gallant youth survives two transplants

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By Sylvester Brown Jr.

Imagine having a four-year-old son who seemed healthy and normal. Suddenly, your child has trouble keeping food down and then loses his appetite completely. You take him to the hospital, and he’s diagnosed with a bowel obstruction. You then find out it’s a misdiagnosis; your child’s heart is failing, and he’s been placed on the donor list for an immediate heart transplant.

“The news hit us like a ton of bricks,” said Makiyah Mosley-Flye. She and her husband, Antonio, live in Cape Girardeau, Mo. They have two children: 12-year-old daughter, Adrianna and Kyndric who’s now 8-years-old. Read the full story in The St. Louis American.

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