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New Biomarker Speeds Up Identification of Lung Disease

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A new diagnostic method could help identify one of the deadliest types of interstitial lung disease (ILD) sooner, allowing for faster treatment and improved patient outcomes.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is one of the most serious and common types of ILD, occurring most often in patients 60 and older with an average survival time of three to five years. At any given time roughly 300 patients are being treated for IPF in London, Ontario. Globally, it is the number one reason for lung transplants. Read more in Technology Networks.

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Shrinking Liver Tumors Before Transplant Greatly Improves Outcomes in HCC

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Mount Sinai researchers have shown that shrinking liver tumors to a size that allows the patient to qualify for liver transplant results in excellent 10-year outcomes, validating current US policies for transplant eligibility.

Parissa Tabrizian, Associate Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues explain in JAMA Surgery that liver transplant eligibility among people with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been guided by the Milan Criteria for more than 20 years. Read more from Inside Precision Medicine.

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Bacteria in donor organs complicate immune response after transplantation

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Organ transplant recipients take life-long immunosuppressive drugs to prevent their bodies from mounting an immune response against the donated organ, yet a substantial number of them still reject the organs. A new study by researchers from the University of Chicago shows that transplant recipients also mount an immune response against commensal bacteria in the organ graft, adding to the immune response against the genetic makeup of the tissue and reducing the effectiveness of immunosuppressive drugs.

The study, published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, also shows that this anti-microbial immune response can be triggered by immune cell memory of previous encounters with bacteria, further complicating the body’s ability to accept a lifesaving new organ. Read more in Medical Xpress here.

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Death, disability from rheumatic heart disease decreased globally from 1990 to 2019

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Despite an increased incidence and prevalence of rheumatic heart disease worldwide from 1990 to 2019, death and disability caused by the condition trended downward, according to data published in Arthritis Research &Therapy.

“Due to the high risks of premature morbidity, mortality and disability, [rheumatic heart disease (RHD)] remains a critical public health issue worldwide, particularly in many low-income countries,” Zejin Ou, PhD, of Guangzhou Twelfth People’s Hospital, in Guangzhou, China, and co-authors wrote. Read more in Healio.

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Kidney stones, CKD connection unclear, but clinicians collaborate on treatment

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It did not take long for nephrologist and kidney stone specialist David S. Goldfarb, MD, FASN, to realize that the buildup of pain radiating from the right side of his abdomen was from a kidney stone that had begun its downward migration.

And he came to the realization based on his experience with kidney stones – this was his second one – that the escalating pain meant he did not have the 30 minutes it would take by car to get to his favored hospital and employer, New York University’s Langone Health, for treatment. He told the driver – his wife – to divert to closer-by Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. Read more in Healio.

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Adding daily potassium may improve heart health in women with high-sodium diet

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In women with a high-sodium diet, every 1 g increase in daily potassium intake was associated with a 2.4 mm Hg lower systolic BP, according to data from a large cohort study.

In an analysis of long-term cohort data, researchers also found that women within the highest tertile of potassium intake had an 11% lower risk for incident and/or recurrent CVD events during nearly 20 years of follow-up compared with women with the lowest tertile of potassium intake, with a smaller but still significant CVD benefit observed for men.
Read more in Healio.

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Founder of UCLA’s liver transplant program reflects on 40 years of saving lives

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‘It was an incredible span and an incredible career,’ says Dr. Ronald Busuttil. ‘I couldn’t be happier’

Dr. Ronald Busuttil remembers the day he performed his first liver transplant at UCLA Health as if it were yesterday. It was mid-afternoon, and he was at his accountant’s office doing his taxes when he received a phone call that a donor organ was available at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

In the early days of liver transplantation, there was a short window to recover an organ and transplant it successfully into a patient. He needed to be at St. Joseph no later than 6 p.m. Busuttil set out with two of his colleagues for the 17-mile drive. But first, they had an errand to run. Read the full story from the UCLA Newsroom.

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Longtime HIV patient is effectively cured after stem cell transplant

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The man is among a handful who have gone into remission after the procedure, but it is not an option for most people with the virus

A 66-year-old man with HIV is in long-term remission after receiving a transplant of blood stem cells containing a rare mutation, raising the prospect that doctors may someday be able to use gene editing to re-create the mutation and cure patients of the virus that causes AIDS, a medical team announced Wednesday.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.

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Anemia Following Pediatric Kidney Transplant

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Among recipients of pediatric kidney transplantation, the prevalence of posttransplant anemia (PTA) ranges from 22% to 85%. PTA is defined as early (within 6 months of following transplant) or late (>6 months following transplant). In Frontiers in Pediatrics, Anne Kouri, MD, MS, and colleagues in the department of pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, describe the etiologies and management of PTA [doi:10.3398/fped.2022.929504]. Read more in Nephrology Times.

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Patients who receive CKD education are likely to choose home dialysis at initiation

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Compared with patients who did not receive chronic kidney disease education, those who did were more likely to choose home dialysis and a permanent vascular access at initiation.

“Treatment options for kidney failure are complex, and the majority of patients who develop kidney failure lack important information about treatment options and are not prepared to make informed decisions about their care,” Katherine Mckeon, MSPH, from DaVita Clinical Research in Minnesota, and colleagues wrote.  Read more in Healio.

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