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:

Inhalation of hydrogen can reduce hyperoxic lung injury

Inhaling small amounts of hydrogen in addition to concentrated oxygen may help stem the damage to lung tissue that can occur when critically ill patients are given oxygen for long periods of time, according to a rat model study conducted by researchers in Pittsburgh. The study also found hydrogen initiates activation of heme-oxygenase (HO-1), an enzyme that protects lung cells.

17 May 2011

Viewpoints: Ryan on 'shared scarcity'; Romney fallout; Baltimore's ambitious health plan

Too many in Washington remain fixated on the next election, at the expense of the next generation. But there is a hidden cost to the shared scarcity mentality — a cost measured in lost prosperity and lost freedom. We face a choice between two futures. We can continue to go down the path toward shared scarcity, or we can choose the path of renewed prosperity.

17 May 2011

Five Loyola employees donate kidneys to complete strangers

Loyola University Medical Center is believed to be the first organization in the country, and perhaps the world, in which five employees have each donated kidneys to complete strangers with no strings attached.

28 Apr 2011

Single donor gifts lungs for two lung transplants

The University of Michigan Transplant Center celebrated a milestone recently, performing its 500th lung transplant. But there's much more to this story than a number.

17 Feb 2011

bcl3 gene limits lung injury during acute stress from illness, trauma, transplant

Lung injury is a common cause of death among patients with pneumonia, sepsis or trauma and in those who have had lung transplants. The damage often occurs suddenly and can cause life-threatening breathing problems and rapid lung failure.

9 Feb 2011

First blood-based diagnostic test for LAM

Circadian Technologies has announced today that in conjunction with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center it has begun offering its LAM diagnostic, which is offered as a laboratory test compliant with CAP (College of American Pathologists) /CLIA regulations.

2 Feb 2011

Tampa Hospital associates receive Transplant Excellence Award for lung transplant program

New Lung Associates PA and the Lung Transplant Program at Tampa General Hospital have received HealthGrades 2011 Organ Transplant Excellence Award. The award places Tampa General Hospital among the top three lung transplant programs in the nation.

16 Dec 2010

Lung transplant saves economist from near-lethal bout of swine flu

According to the critical care experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital who treated him, Allen Bagents, 24, of Arlington, Va., is the least likely person anyone ever expects to get sick, let alone suffer a six-week, potentially fatal bout with the swine flu, better known as H1N1 influenza.

8 Dec 2010

Physician-scientists enroll patients with NSCLC cancer in MAGE-A3 Phase III trial

An experimental immunotherapy may someday become the newest weapon against lung cancer. Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center are enrolling patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as part of an ongoing Phase III trial.

1 Dec 2010

HealthGrades evaluates nation's top-performing hospitals in organ transplantation

HealthGrades, the nation's leading independent ratings organization, today made available to organ transplant patients a list of those hospitals with the best track record for survival and chances of receiving a donor organ. HealthGrades annual evaluation of the nation's top-performing hospitals in organ transplantation includes clinical quality data, based on patient outcomes, for each of the 210 adult acute care hospitals that perform transplants.

17 Nov 2010

Study suggests cross-infection with P aeruginosa occurs between CF centers in the UK and Canada

A common transmissible strain of the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been identified among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in Canada, suggesting that cross-infection has occurred widely between CF centers in the United Kingdom and Canada, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA. Infection with this strain among Canadian CF patients has been associated with an increased risk of death or lung transplantation.

17 Nov 2010

Alnylam third quarter revenue increases from $24.2 million to $27.7 million

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today reported its consolidated financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010, and company highlights.

4 Nov 2010

Memorial mass for former Loyola University Hospital cardiothoracic surgeon

A memorial Mass will be said on Friday, Nov. 12 for former Loyola University Hospital cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Roque Pifarré, who performed the first heart transplant in Illinois.

29 Oct 2010

Study indicates vitamin D deficiency may increase lung transplant rejection

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a significant increase in lung transplant rejection, according to research conducted at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). These data were presented Monday at The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2010 annual meeting in Toronto, Ontario.

19 Oct 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals publishes ALN-RSV01 Phase IIa study results

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a leading RNAi therapeutics company announced today that it has published results in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine from its double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized Phase IIa study of ALN-RSV01 in lung transplant patients naturally infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

30 Sep 2010

Circadian partners with Cincinnati Children's Hospital to develop blood test diagnostic for LAM, a serious lung disease

Circadian Technologies (ASX.CIR) has announced today that it has partnered with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre (CCHMC) to develop and market a blood test to diagnose LAM, a serious lung disease that strikes women, usually in their child bearing years.

29 Sep 2010

U.S. joins whistleblower suit against Pfizer for drug marketing

The Wall Street Journal: "The Justice Department is trying to take the lead in a lawsuit accusing Pfizer Inc.'s Wyeth unit of improperly promoting an organ-transplant drug for unauthorized uses and paying illegal kickbacks to doctors. The lawsuit was filed by two former Wyeth sales representatives who were responsible for promoting Rapamune, an immunosuppressant used to prevent the body's rejection of transplanted kidneys.

23 Sep 2010

Scientist develops new ETS procedure to treat hyperhidrosis

Millions of people in the United States suffer from a medical condition that can unpredictably cause them to begin sweating as if they had just finished running a marathon.Hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, is a common disorder that first becomes noticeable during childhood or adolescence. People with hyperhidrosis could be doing something as leisurely as lying down or watching television and sweat will still soak their bodies.

2 Sep 2010

Non-kidney transplant patients likely to undergo kidney transplant prior to dialysis: Study

Kidney failure may accompany or complicate transplantation of the liver, heart, or lung. Because increasing numbers of individuals are receiving non-kidney transplants, researchers have wondered whether more of such patients are being listed for kidney transplants.