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Three-year graft survival achieved for HCV kidneys

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By Mark E. Neumann

Deceased donor kidneys with the hepatitis C virus can show graft survival beyond 1 year when transplanted into patients without the virus, according to a recently published study.

The study, conducted at two large transplant centers in the U.S., “provides important evidence that HCV-RNA [positive] kidney transplants function well beyond [1] year and that complications, such as rejection and [donor-specific antibodies] DSA, did not occur at elevated rates,” Vishnu Potluri, MD, MPH, of the renal-electrolyte and hypertension division at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues wrote. Read more in Healio.

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38-year-old has had 3 hearts: ‘It’s a third chance’

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By Laura Williamson

Melanie Wickersheim has no memory of the first time her heart gave her trouble. She was an infant, and her pediatric myocarditis – an inflammation of the muscular walls of the heart – resolved before she was old enough to know anything had ever been wrong.

She spent the first 10 years of her life like any other kid in Los Angeles, believing she was perfectly healthy. Until suddenly, she wasn’t. She couldn’t hold down food. She felt so weak, she could barely walk. “I remember trying to walk across a parking lot. I had to stop at every light pole to take a breath, panting for air,” she said. Read the story in American Heart Association News.

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Healthy plant-based diet shows potential for prevention of cognitive decline

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By Emma Bascom

Adhering to a healthy plant-based diet for 3 years was associated with a reduced risk for cognitive impairment, but following an unhealthy plant-based diet was linked to a greater risk, according to recent study results.

Previous studies lack evidence on how changes in plant-based dietary quality impact the risk for cognitive impairment, Kai Ding, of Wuhan University’s School of Public Health in China, and colleagues wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Read more in Healio.

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U-M Health performs its first heart transplant after cardiac death

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The patient received a new heart after years of severe symptoms due to a congenital heart condition

By Michigan Medicine

Newswise — As the number of heart transplants performed across the United States continues to grow, surgeons at the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center are taking advantage of technology that could increase its transplant yield by as much as 30%.

In March, transplant surgeons in Ann Arbor completed the health system’s first heart transplant using an organ from a donor who had recently died — a process called donation after circulatory death, or DCD. The patient, a man in his 30s, received the heart after years of deteriorating due to congenital heart failure.
Read more from Michigan Medicine.

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Afternoon exercise linked to greatest HbA1c reduction in type 2 diabetes

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash
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By Michael Monostra

Physical activity performed in the afternoon could yield a greater reduction in HbA1c than physical activity during other times in the day, according to an analysis of data from the Look AHEAD trial published in Diabetes Care.

“This is the first large-scale epidemiological study demonstrating that timing of unsupervised physical activity is associated with long-term improvement in blood glucose in type 2 diabetes,” Jingyi Qian, PhD, associate physiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Roeland J.W. Middelbeek, MD, MSc, assistant investigator and staff physician at the Joslin Diabetes Center and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Healio. Read the full story in Healio.

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Kidney transplants from COVID-positive donors are safe: Study

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By Ashleigh Hollowell

Kidney transplant recipients did not have worsened outcomes after receiving an organ from a COVID-19 positive donor, a study published May 30 in JAMA has found. 

Researchers studied outcomes from 45,912 patients who received kidneys from 35,851 deceased coronavirus-positive donors between March 1, 2020, and March 30, 2023. Read more in Becker’s Hospital Review.



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Study: Racial gaps in home dialysis persist despite Medicare intervention

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By Shawn M. Carter
Racial gaps in home dialysis treatment still exist among patients with kidney disease, even after Medicare introduced a new payment structure to alleviate critical barriers to care, according to results of a recently published study. Congress approved the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease prospective payment system (PPS) in 2011 to control costs and increase access to home peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis (HHD). But despite modest increases seen in dialysis availability and patient utilization following the reform, “significant racial disparities in home dialysis remain,” Virginia Wang, PhD, faculty at the Duke University School of Medicine and lead research author, wrote in the study. Read the full story in Healio.

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CareDx Demonstrates Innovation Leadership at 2023 Transplant Congress

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Record Number of 65 Abstracts Showcasing CareDx Innovation Including Data Showing Clinical Utility of AlloSure Kidney to Guide Immunosuppression Management

Experts Review Advancements in Artificial Intelligence and Molecular Diagnostics During CareDx Symposium

BRISBANE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– CareDx, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNA) – The Transplant Company™ focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers – today announced a leading presence at the 2023 American Transplant Congress (ATC) with 65 scientific presentations. CareDx will also be hosting a satellite symposium1 andsponsoring the Women’s Networking Event. The ATC meeting takes place June 3-7 in San Diego, California.

“We are proud to showcase our leadership with our highest-ever number of abstracts at the 2023 Transplant Congress with data that not only validates the performance of AlloSure® and AlloMap® but also demonstrates their clinical utility in the surveillance and management of patients,” said Reg Seeto, CEO and President of CareDx. “We’re also excited to have assembled a world-class panel of experts to describe the latest innovations in transplantation including the additive clinical value of incorporating our molecular biomarkers into artificial intelligence tools to drive earlier insights regarding a patient’s risk of rejection for more personalized, preventative care.”
Read the complete press release on CareDx.com.

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