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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a potential therapeutic target in the donor lung that can prevent primary graft dysfunction (PGD) in lung transplant recipients, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).
GR Scott Budinger, MD, chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care in the Department of Medicine and the Ernest S. Bazley Professor of Airway Diseases, was senior author of the study. Read the full story from the Northwestern Medicine News Center.
Since the first kidney transplant more than 60 years ago,1 doctors have developed a deeper understanding of how to protect donated organs. With newer medications and improved management, it’s less likely transplanted kidneys will undergo rejection by the immune system.
That’s not to say doctors have completely eliminated the risk of kidney transplant rejection, though. Unfortunately, while many kidneys will last much longer, the median life of a kidney transplant is still only ten years. Understanding the risks and early warning signs of rejection gives you the best chance of a successful kidney transplant. Read the full story on CareDx.com.
Susan Weiner, MS, RDN, CDCES, FADCES, talks with Parul Kharod, MS, RD, LDN, about the ancient medical knowledge system known as Ayurveda and what it can reveal about living with diabetes. Read the full story in Healio.