Transplant News and Research

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Study addresses critical GVHD complication - limitations of bone marrow transplants

Together with 16 other institutions in the United States, University of Minnesota researchers led the largest study to date in patients with leukemia and related disorders undergoing bone marrow transplantation from unrelated donors.

2 Aug 2005

Carbon monoxide could turn out to be a life-saver for patients recovering from organ transplants

Carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that kills thousands of Americans every year, could turn out to be a life-saver for patients recovering from organ transplants, strokes or heart attacks, according to new research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

28 Jul 2005

Revolutionary finding on female reproductive function

Previously unrecognized stem cells found in the bone marrow and blood of mice can "restock" a depleted ovary with new egg cells within weeks, according to new research published in this week's issue of the journal Cell.

27 Jul 2005

New chemical compound can accelerate stem cell mobilization

The finding has led to the development of a new chemical compound that can accelerate this process (called stem cell mobilization) in mice - which could eventually lead to more efficient stem cell harvesting for human use.

26 Jul 2005

Sunscreens may play an increasingly important role in defending the skin

The benefits of using sunscreen when heading outdoors are well established - protection from overexposure to the harmful effects of the sun, prevention of prematurely aging skin and defense against future skin cancer.

21 Jul 2005

Alendronate combined with calcium and vitamin D almost completely prevented further bone loss in the first 4 months afte liver transplant

A new study found that the drug used to treat osteoporosis, when used in combination with calcium and vitamin D, can prevent the additional bone loss that commonly occurs after liver transplants. The treatment also helped stabilize bone loss in patients who already had osteoporosis, and helped improve their bone mineral density (BMD).

20 Jul 2005

A study analyzes the most important factors leading to death or liver transplant in drug-induced liver disease

Drug-induced liver disease (DILD), a potential complication seen with some medications, is usually not life-threatening, but may occasionally be more severe with a high mortality, requiring a liver transplant in selected cases.

18 Jul 2005

Recipients of kidneys from living people are reluctant to accept them before discussions with their donors

Recipients of kidneys from living people are reluctant to accept them before discussions with their donors, new Cardiff University research has shown.

17 Jul 2005

Scientists have begun to clarify how one of the body's molecules controls the trafficking of T cells through the blood

...lymph nodes and on to tissues to fight infection -- a crucial response that sometimes goes awry, attacking the body's own tissues and causing autoimmune diseases.

17 Jul 2005

Researchers identify six genes associated with lymphocytic bronchitis - could mean new test, treatments

Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified six genes associated with lymphocytic bronchitis, which is thought to lead to obliterative bronchitis (OB), the most common cause of long-term failure of transplanted lungs.

13 Jul 2005

Researchers clarifiy role of Notch protein in T-cell development

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have recently clarified the role of the Notch protein in T-cell development. T cells are required for many aspects of immunity, including fighting viral infections, providing cancer surveillance, and regulating multiple aspects of the immune response.

6 Jul 2005

Researchers have identified a highly specific pathway that causes inflammation in lung tissue

...a discovery that could help in the design of more targeted treatments for patients with various lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis.

30 Jun 2005

Daclizumab effective at reducing organ rejection and risk of infection in heart transplant patients

A new study shows that a drug, called daclizumab, is effective at reducing organ rejection and risk of infection in heart transplant patients. The multi-center study by cardiologists from the United States, Sweden, Germany and Canada will be published in the June 30 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Jun 2005

Viagra's non-blood pressure effect successfully mimics vasopressin action

Normally your kidneys filter about 50 gallons of blood a day, remove such waste as salts and minerals, and concentrate it into urine. When you exercise or don't take in water, your blood "thickens" and instead of removing water, the kidney reverses the process, pulls in water from the body that would normally go into the urine, and puts it into the blood, thus maintaining water balance.

29 Jun 2005

If global efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS are to work long term, they must avoid suspicions of being unfair

Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialists who have spent more than two decades leading efforts to combat HIV and AIDS worldwide are warning that limited international relief supplies of antiretroviral therapies currently being distributed in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean will not get to those who can least afford to pay for them.

28 Jun 2005

Simple analysis of a bone marrow transplant patient's oral rinse indicates whether infection will develop

Simple analysis of a bone marrow transplant patient's oral rinse can give medical personnel a quick indication of the transplant's effectiveness and predict whether an infection will develop, says a University of Toronto researcher.

27 Jun 2005

Researchers develop method that can help doctors choose the best combination of drugs for fighting cancer

The method is based on a mathematical model that determines when a cancer becomes drug-resistant during therapy. It does this by estimating the probability of finding drug-resistant mutant cells at different stages of cancer progression and examining the fate of individual mutant colonies during therapy.

21 Jun 2005

Great Ormond Street Hospital celebrates 100th lung and 200th heart transplant

World famous Great Ormond Street Hospital is planning to officially mark its 100th lung and 200th heart transplant on this week.

21 Jun 2005

Thalidomide may be a potent anti-cancer treatment

When people hear "thalidomide," many think "birth defects," however, evidence has come to light that this once-banned drug can be used as a potent anti-cancer treatment.

20 Jun 2005

FDA grants Vical orphan-drug designation

Vical Incorporated today announced that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the company's bivalent (two-plasmid) formulation of the company's vaccine against cytomegalovirus (CMV) as an orphan drug for the prevention of clinically significant CMV viremia, CMV disease and associated complications in at-risk hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) and solid organ transplant (SOT) populations.

14 Jun 2005