Lung Transplant News and Research

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A pulmonary transplant (or lung transplant) is a surgical procedure in which a diseased lung is removed and replaced with a healthy lung from a donor. A lung transplant will often be recommended if a person has advanced lung disease that is unresponsive to other treatments and/or when a person's life expectancy is likely less than 2-3 years. A lung transplant is considered for those suffering from the following conditions:

Northwestern Memorial Hospital completes its first robotic-assisted minimally invasive tracheoplasty

A well-known thoracic surgeon successfully completed Northwestern Memorial Hospital's first robotic-assisted minimally invasive tracheoplasty using the da Vinci Xi Surgical System to help repair the collapse of the central airway including the trachea and bronchi.

3 Jul 2018

Investigational technology could increase donor organ supply for lung transplants

As many as 80 percent of lungs from organ donors are not used, either because they are not in good enough condition to transplant, or there are doubts about their quality and there is no way to verify their condition.

23 May 2018

Researchers uncover clues to early lung transplant failure

Among organ transplant patients, those receiving new lungs face a higher rate of organ failure and death compared with people undergoing heart, kidney and liver transplants. One of the culprits is inflammation that damages the newly transplanted lung.

22 May 2018

Antibacterial substance found in toothpaste may fight against life-threatening lung disease

Michigan State University researchers have found that when triclosan, a substance that reduces or prevents bacteria from growing, is combined with an antibiotic called tobramycin, it kills the cells that protect the CF bacteria, known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, by up to 99.9 percent.

17 May 2018

Study: Alcohol use prolongs hospital length of stay after lung transplant

Lung transplant patients who showed evidence of alcohol use before their transplants spent more time in the hospital and on the ventilator, according to a study by Loyola University Chicago and Loyola Medicine researchers.

16 May 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Nothing in health care ever goes away

Congressional Republicans have struck a decidedly different tone when talking about the Affordable Care Act, and the Democrats have introduced a new Medicare expansion bill.

20 Apr 2018

'Molecular microscope' system for transplant biopsy more effective than conventional methods

A transplant biopsy system that uses gene chips to read molecules is far safer and more effective than existing approaches used for heart transplant biopsies and is showing promising results for lung transplant biopsies, new University of Alberta-led research shows.

13 Apr 2018

New system promises greater accuracy in determining heart transplant rejection and injury

The results of an international clinical trial for a new system of diagnosing heart transplant rejection and injury will be presented publicly for the first time at the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation annual meeting, which will take place on April 11 and 12 in Nice, France.

10 Apr 2018

NYU Langone Health surgeons successfully perform first lung transplant procedure

Shortly after receiving final regulatory approval to launch a new lung transplant program, NYU Langone Health surgeons successfully performed the institution's first procedure, giving two new lungs-;and a new lease on life-;to a Brooklyn woman with a complicated form of pulmonary fibrosis.

2 Apr 2018

Johns Hopkins researchers make great strides in understanding biology behind pulmonary hypertension

Working with cells that line the innermost layer of the blood vessels, Johns Hopkins investigators say they have made a leap forward in understanding the underlying biology behind pulmonary hypertension, a dangerous type of high blood pressure in lungs that ultimately leads to right heart failure and death.

27 Mar 2018

Lung transplant drug enters clinical trial after decades of research

In the culmination of decades of research at the University of Virginia Health System, doctors have begun human testing of a drug they hope will one day save many lives among lung transplant recipients.

26 Mar 2018

Dentists mysteriously succumbing to lung disease finds the CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found nine dentists and dental healthcare workers with a progressive lung disease of which seven died. This was published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report yesterday (8th March 2018).

8 Mar 2018

Survival of transplant candidates found to be better than predicted by BODE score

COPD remains the leading indication for lung transplantation worldwide and accounts for one third of all lung transplants performed.

7 Mar 2018

Restoring lipid synthesis could slow progression of pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary fibrosis, an ongoing process of scarring that leaves patients chronically short of breath, can progress in severity until the only course of treatment is lung transplant.

6 Mar 2018

NYU Langone Health introduces new lung transplant program

The Transplant Institute at NYU Langone Health has launched a new lung transplant program, the third program of its kind in the greater New York City area, expanding regional access to this specialized level of care.

30 Jan 2018

Scientists use nanoparticles to fight Mucoviscidosis

Scientists of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany succeeded in developing an efficient method to treat Mucoviscidosis. Crucial are nanoparticles that transport the antibiotics more efficiently to their destination.

15 Dec 2017

Researchers identify promising solution for improving cystic fibrosis treatments

Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre have identified a promising solution to improving treatments offered to patients with cystic fibrosis.

12 Dec 2017

ATS and JRS publish new guidelines for diagnosis and management of LAM

The American Thoracic Society and the Japanese Respiratory Society have published additional clinical practice guidelines regarding four specific questions related to the diagnosis of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and management of pneumothoraces in patients with LAM.

15 Nov 2017

Researchers find rare genetic variants that may help explain longevity in some CF patients

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder caused by genetic mutations that disrupt the normal movement of chloride in and out of cells. Among other health problems, cystic fibrosis compromises the lungs' ability to fight infection and breathe efficiently, making it the most lethal genetic disease in the Caucasian population. Patients have an average lifespan of just 30 to 40 years.

25 Oct 2017

Antibody therapy found effective in subgroup of patients with treatment-resistant COPD

An antibody treatment reduces the rate of flare-ups by nearly 20 percent in patients with a subgroup of treatment-resistant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the results of two large international trials presented today at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Sep 2017