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Genetically Engineered Porcine Organs for Human Xenotransplantation

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Abstract

Xenotransplantation holds a promising future for many patients, especially those with end-stage renal disease or uncontrollable serum glucose levels. Porcine organs are viewed as the perfect candidate for a source of xenografts. However, the recipient’s immunity, incompatibility of biologic systems, and transfer of new pathogenic organisms are all obstacles to clinical xenotransplantation, in addition to the risk of zoonosis and xenoantigens. Genetic modification of pigs using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) resulted in the production of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV)-free offsprings with the consequent removal of many clinical complications post-transplantation. Read the complete abstract from Cureus.

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Here’s How to Avoid a COVID-19 Vaccine Mix-Up

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— And what to do if it happens to you

Recognizing the potential for vaccine administration errors with look-alike vials, CDC staff shared best practices for giving the right vaccine to the right person at the right dose, during a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) webinar earlier this week.

The most concerning possible vaccination error would be that a child might receive a higher dose of vaccine than indicated for his or her age, because of the potential for increased reactogenicity — for example an arm that is more sore than normal or a fever — Elisha Hall, PhD, Clinical Guidelines Lead and a Health Education Specialist for the CDC, told MedPage Today in a follow-up phone call. Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Efforts underway to expand care to undocumented immigrants with kidney failure

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Although progress has been made, undocumented immigrants with kidney failure are underserved and in desperate need of care, according to a presenter at Innovations in Dialysis: Expediting Advances Symposium.Lilia Cervantes

“U.S. citizens have access to kidney replacement therapy because of the 1972 Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease Entitlement program, but for undocumented immigrants care varies,” Lilia Cervantes, MD, director of immigrant health, associate professor from the department of medicine at University of Colorado and member of Nephrology News & Issues Editorial Advisory Board, said. Read more in Healio.

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For chronic pain, AI-assisted therapy may be just as good as standard care

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Using artificial intelligence to facilitate cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain can provide outcomes that are as good as typical interventions while requiring less time with a therapist, according to researchers.

Evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain (CBT-CP) is a safe and effective alternative to opioid analgesics, John D. Piette, MSc, PhD, a professor at the University of Michigan, and colleagues wrote in the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Read more in Healio.

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Multi-state models preferable to measure graft risk among kidney transplant recipients

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Compared with the Kaplan-Meier estimator, researchers found multi-state models provided a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the life course and graft risk of older kidney transplant recipients.

“As a result of excellent graft survival in older patients and, inevitably, relatively high mortality, most older kidney recipients can expect to die with a functioning graft. Also noteworthy is the fact that there is an increased rate of early graft failure in elderly patients, at least in part due to higher use of expanded criteria kidneys in this age group,” Thomas Vanhove, MD, PhD, from Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues wrote. Read more in Healio.

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Impacting Policy on Dialysis, Drug Coverage, and Transplant Donation

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While Voices for Kidney Health advocates frequently hear about NKF legislative efforts around the Living Donor Protection Act, federal appropriations, and other bills, they may be less aware about the federal regulations and policies that directly affect the lives of people with kidney disease. These rules and regulations can have almost as big an impact on the lives of kidney patients as some of our major legislative initiatives.

For example, the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System and Quality Improvement Program govern much of the care that dialysis patients receive.
Read more from National Kidney Foundation.

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