Nearly 20 percent of kidneys that are recovered from deceased donors in the U.S. are refused for transplant due to factors ranging from scarring in small blood vessels of the kidney's filtering units to the organ going too long without blood or oxygen. But, what if instead of being discarded, these organs could be "recycled" to help solve the critical shortage of donor organs?
[More]
Obese patients who received robotic kidney transplants had fewer wound complications than patients who received traditional "open" transplant surgery, according to surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System.
[More]
Transplant researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine challenge a long-held assumption about how biologic pathways trigger immune system rejection of donor organs in a report published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
[More]
While the percentage of kidney transplants involving live donors has remained stable for other minority populations, African Americans have seen a decline in live donors even as more of them receive kidney transplants, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
[More]
In a study that included more than 20,000 patients, there was a significant decrease in the United States in mortality rates over time among children and adolescents initiating end-stage kidney disease treatment with dialysis between 1990 and 2010, according to a study in the May 8 issue of JAMA.
[More]
Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S today announced that it has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency seeking approval to market LCP-Tacro for the prevention of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients in the European Union.
[More]
The suit accuses the drugmaker of giving pharmacies discounts and rebates to promote the use of the drug Myfortic.
[More]
Today's headlines include stories about the health law's implementation as well as health policy developments from Capitol Hill.
[More]
At the end of life, black patients with kidney failure receiving chronic dialysis are less likely to be referred to hospice and to discontinue dialysis compared with white patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
[More]
Johns Hopkins scientists have created a free, Web-based tool to help patients decide whether it's best to accept an immediately available, but less-than-ideal deceased donor kidney for transplant, or wait for a healthier one in the future.
[More]
Vitamin D deficiency may decrease kidney function in transplant recipients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The finding suggests that vitamin D supplementation may help improve the health of kidney transplant recipients.
[More]
Race and geographic area play important roles in determining whether a patient with chronic kidney disease receives optimal care before developing kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
[More]
An additional 1,000 patients could undergo kidney transplants in the United States annually if hospitals performed more transplants using paired kidney exchanges, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
[More]
A guidance cue that helps kidneys form may also be a red flag that they are in danger, researchers report.
[More]
OPKO Health, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cytochroma Inc. Cytochroma's lead products include CTAP101 Capsules, a vitamin D prohormone to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and vitamin D insufficiency, and Fermagate Tablets, a new and potent non-absorbed phosphate binder to treat hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients on chronic hemodialysis.
[More]
A team led by Dr. Marie-Jos-e H-bert from the University of Montreal Hospital* Research Centre (CRCHUM) has discovered a new cause of organ rejection in some kidney transplant patients. Her team has identified a new class of antibodies - anti-LG3 - which when activated lead to severe rejection episodes associated with a high rate of organ loss.
[More]
Certain gene mutations affect individuals' risk of developing a serious kidney condition, as well as their prognosis after being diagnosed with the disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
[More]
Novartis announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress (everolimus) for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a liver transplant.
[More]
Liver transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a liver (or part of a liver) is removed from a donor and placed into a recipient. Although some transplants use a portion of the liver of living donors, the vast majority of donors are deceased.
[More]
African-Americans and individuals without private health insurance are less likely than others to receive a kidney transplant before requiring dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).
[More]