News by Subject Medicine & Health

Younger patients would benefit greatly from kidney transplantation. Their expected remaining lifetime may even be doubled by having a transplant. 'We have to do all we can to get young patients listed for transplantation as soon as possible, preferably pre-emptively', says Professor Luuk Hilbrands, Chair of the DESCARTES working group of the ERA-EDTA. A proposal for the work-up of low-risk kidney transplant candidates has now been published for that reason.

The proportion of liver transplants in the United States for alcohol-associated liver disease increased between 2002 and 2016, with much of the increase associated with a decrease in liver transplant for hepatitis C virus infection because of antiviral therapy. This observational study used data from the United Network for Organ Sharing for all liver transplants during the 15-year period and the national study group consisted of nearly 33,000 patients, including 9,438 patients with a diagnosis of alcohol-associated liver disease.

The proportion of US liver transplants for alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) has doubled in the last 15 years, in part due to broader acceptance of waiving the mandated period of sobriety before transplants for this population, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco, which showed ongoing regional geographic variations in liver transplant rates for ALD patients, whose long-term survival rate is slightly lower than other liver transplant patients. The study appears Jan. 22, 2019, in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Patients with lupus nephritis and end stage renal disease may benefit from timely kidney transplant, as transplantation was associated with a significant increase in survival in a nationwide cohort study. The main reason for the overall survival benefit was fewer deaths due to cardiovascular disease and infections. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Scientists at Newcastle University have developed a biological system which lets cells form a desired shape by molding their surrounding material -- in the first instance creating a self-curving cornea. The astonishing video shows the cornea molding itself into a bowl-like structure over the course of 5 days.

Children who receive solid organ transplants are hospitalized due to vaccine-preventable infections at rates that are significantly higher than the general population, according to a newly published study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers.