Transplanting Muscle Mitochondria among Species May Create Opportunity for New Treatments

Article title: Muscle mitochondrial transplantation can rescue and maintain cellular homeostasis Authors: Debasmita Bhattacharya, Mikhaela B. Slavin, David A. Hood From the authors: “Our study illustrates the feasibility of using mouse skeletal muscle-derived mitochondria for transplantation in intraspecies- and interspecies-specific…

Partial Liver Transplants for Kids Key to Preventing Waitlist Deaths and Improving Outcomes

Dozens of children die each year in the U.S. while waiting for a new liver. A new analysis suggests that greater use of partial liver transplants — either from a living donor or by splitting a deceased donor’s liver for two recipients — could save many of these young lives.

UC San Diego Health Named Center of Excellence for Polycystic Kidney Disease

UC San Diego Health has been named a Center of Excellence for polycystic kidney disease (PKD) by the PKD Foundation – the leading advocacy group dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for PKD. UC San Diego Health is one of just 28 institutions nationwide to receive this designation.

In transplant recipients, COVID-19 vaccines reduce infection and mortality risks

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 substantially lowers the risks of “breakthrough” infections and death due to COVID-19 in adult organ transplant recipients, according to a pair of research letters in Transplantation, the official Journal of The Transplantation Society and the International Liver Transplantation Society. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Llama ‘nanobodies’ could hold key to preventing deadly post-transplant infection

Scientists have developed a ‘nanobody’ – a small fragment of a llama antibody – that is capable of chasing out human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as it hides away from the immune system. This then enables immune cells to seek out and…

Artificial sweeteners enable delivery of carbon monoxide to treat organ injury

ATLANTA–An oral prodrug developed by a team of scientists led by Binghe Wang, Regents’ Professor of Chemistry at Georgia State University, delivers carbon monoxide to protect against acute kidney injury, according to a new paper published in Chemical Science .…

New guidance on how to diagnosis and manage osteoporosis in chronic kidney disease

Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) typically suffer from impaired bone quality and quantity, with a non-vertebral fracture risk which is 4-to 6-fold higher than the fracture risk of matched controls. However, despite their high risk of fragility fractures,…

Direct flights save lives! New airline routes can increase kidney sharing by more than 7%

INFORMS Journal Management Science Study Key Takeaways: Lack of direct airline routes limit the flexibility of organ transplantation policies. A new airline route can increase the number of kidneys shared between different regions by more than 7% while also decreasing…

The ethics of split liver transplantation: Analyzing case studies to make the right decision

Split liver transplantation (SLT) provides an opportunity to divide a donor liver and offer transplants to two small patients, one or both of whom could be a child. SLT, which is underused in the United States, could be used more…

UCI-led team develops transplant biomaterial that doesn’t trigger immune response

Irvine, Calif., June 3, 2021 — A multidisciplinary research team led by Jonathan Lakey, Ph.D., professor of surgery and biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine, has developed a biomaterial for pancreatic islet transplants that doesn’t trigger the body’s immune response. Based on stem cell technology, hybrid alginate offers a possible long-term treatment for Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune reaction that destroys pancreatic islets’ beta cells, which regulate blood glucose levels.

Antibiotics no help for mysterious lung-scarring disease, large trial finds

Doctors have hoped that antibiotics could benefit patients with chronic lung diseases, but a new study has found no benefit for patients with life-threatening idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in preventing hospitalization or death. While there were no statistical benefits for patients…

NTU Singapore scientists turn aquaculture waste into new biomaterial for tissue repair

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new biomaterial made entirely from discarded bullfrog skin and fish scales that could help in bone repair. The porous biomaterial, which contains the same compounds that are predominant in…

Lehigh Engineering PhD students earn prestigious STEM research fellowships from NSF, DoD

Rossin College PhD students Mari-Therese Burton (materials science and engineering) and Nicole Malofsky (bioengineering) have been selected for prestigious national STEM research fellowships. Malofsky, who is advised by Lesley Chow , an assistant professor of bioengineering and materials science and…

How to manage osteoporosis in hematologic stem cell transplant recipients

IOF Cancer & Bone Disease Working Group summary and algorithm outlines main recommendations to maintain bone health in HSCT patients: includes guidance for bone assessment, management and treatment as well as dietary and lifestyle recommendations.

Researchers identify immune cells that contribute to transplant rejection

PITTSBURGH, March 19, 2021 – Non-circulating memory T cells, whose main function is to provide local protection against re-infection, contribute to chronic transplant rejection, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers reveal in a paper published today in Science Immunology.…