A new report on lung transplantation success rates confirms that Cedars-Sinai patients experienced one-year survival outcomes of 91.49%, an achievement above the national average of 89.46%.
The data-; compiled by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients-; provides a hopeful prognosis-; and options-;for patients requiring the complex yet lifesaving surgery.
Read more in News Medical Life Sciences.
(SACRAMENTO) Do pediatric kidney transplant patients have better long-term outcomes when their kidney comes from living, biologically unrelated donors compared to deceased donors?
A new UC Davis Health study finds that they do. The study reviewed data from the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network database from Jan. 1, 2001 to Sept. 30, 2021. Researchers compared the rates of graft failure (when the organ is rejected by the recipient) and death, as well as long-term outcomes of children who received kidney transplants from living related donors, living unrelated donors and deceased donors.
Read more from UC Davis Health News.
Salt substitutes consistently improved BP and lowered risk for mortality, CV mortality and CV events, according to a meta-analysis published in Heart.
“These findings are unlikely to reflect the play of chance and support the adoption of salt substitutes in clinical practice and public health policy as a strategy to reduce dietary sodium intake, increase dietary potassium intake, lower blood pressure and prevent major cardiovascular events,” the researchers wrote. Read more in Healio.
Researchers have successfully altered the blood type of donor kidneys in a discovery that could increase the supply of the organs for transplant.
The breakthrough has particular implications for minority groups, who often find it harder to find a match.
A kidney from someone with blood type A cannot be given to someone with type B, and vice versa. Read more in BBC News.
A growing body of evidence suggests cancer survivors face elevated risk for cardiovascular disease years after diagnosis.
Now, findings from analysis of data on about 12,000 people followed over decades have strengthened the evidence indicating a strong link between cancer survival and cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly heart failure. Read more in Healio.
As a twentysomething fitness instructor, it was admittedly a little disconcerting for Kristy Sidlar when she passed out in front of a class she was teaching back in 1996. She initially chalked it up to not having eaten enough, but she was soon diagnosed with an arrhythmia, given some medication and told not to exercise so much. “That is the kiss of death – to tell that to someone who loves to exercise,” says Sidlar, who is now 53.
Three years passed and Sidlar, true to form, was training for a triathlon when she experienced another episode; she was riding her bike to the gym to swim and run, but she never made it there. Fortunately, another cyclist found her fading in and out of consciousness and called 911 (this was before the age of cell phones). Read the full story on CareDx.com.
For many patients who are on dialysis or have had a kidney transplant, the ability to travel is important to their self-esteem and lifestyle. Working patients may need to attend business meetings or conferences. Older patients may have dreamed of traveling during their retirement. A family event such as a wedding, graduation or family reunion may require travel away from home. At times, emergencies such as illness or a death in the family may require travel. Read more from the National Kidney Foundation.
I grew up with cystic fibrosis, so I am no stranger to hospital stays, downswings in my health, and everything that goes along with that. But facing transplants presented me with an entirely new set of challenges.
My background is fairly normal – I grew up in a large family in Brooklyn, NY, where my parents encouraged my siblings and me to get involved in sports. Little did they realize, that would help save my life. Living with cystic fibrosis meant that my lungs constantly built up with mucus and bacteria, but exercise helped my body become strong and to clear my lungs. Read the full story on UNOS.com.
Diet is one of many challenges that patients face post-transplant – the combination of requirements and restrictions can be difficult to navigate. To help, CareDx partnered with Molly Chanzis, a Registered Dietitian at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center specializing in medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling specifically for transplant patients.
We hosted a webinar with Molly focused on diet and nutrition post-transplant; this article has been adapted from Molly’s presentation. Read the full story on CareDx.com.
Lifestyle modification, including increased physical activity and a healthy diet, is the “most important step” in the management of cardiometabolic risk factors driving hypertension in children and teens, according to a consensus statement.
The new consensus statement focusing on hypertension in children aged 6 to 16 years, published in European Heart Journal, notes that inactivity, diets high in sugar and sodium, and excess weight account for nine in 10 cases of hypertension in children and adolescents. Read more in Healio.