TWO STUDIES PRESENTED AT THE 37TH ANNUAL ISHLT MEE

San Diego, April 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at the 37 ^th Annual International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Meeting & Scientific Sessions, researchers shared results during Plenary Session 2: Early Graft Injury Measured by Donor-Derived Cell-Free DNA Predicts Early Mortality in Lung Transplant Recipients . The study showed lung transplant recipients have shorter median survival than other solid organ transplants and better tools to assess risk may allow clinicians to improve the long-term outcomes of patients.  The authors of this abstract compared early graft injury (EGI) with cumulative graft injury (CGI) using linear regression and donor derived cell-free DNA (dd-cf-DNA) in patients with and without bronchiolitis obliterans (BOS).  They found that elevated counts of dd-cf-DNA during the initial six months of a lung transplant is predictive of increased early mortality and the incidence of severe BOS.  Researchers believe dd-cf-DNA may be a method to risk stratify lung transplant recipients.

“Discovering tools that will help clinicians better assess lung transplant patients may have a significant impact,” said ISHLT 37 ^th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions Program Chair and Board Member Jeffrey Teuteberg, MD.

The fifty-six lung transplant recipients from the Genome Transplant Dynamics study were stratified for early death within two years (n=14), or survival beyond two years after transplant (n=42). Compared to low EGI, lung transplant recipients with higher EGI had eight-fold higher odds of early death, and a higher incidence of severe BOS.  

Hemocompatibility Related Outcomes in the MOMENTUM 3 Trial

A six month secondary analysis of the pivotal MOMENTUM 3 trial compares the novel HeartMate 3 to the HeartMate II pump to determine superiority in reducing blood compatibility related adverse outcomes in individuals implanted with a LVAS (left ventricular assist system). The late breaking clinical science data from the study will be presented today during the Meeting.

“In this study, we provide a new understanding of the burden of hemocompatibility between LVAS that can serve to standardize assessment of patient level outcome across various device platforms,” said Dr. Mandeep Mehra, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston MA, who is Chair of the publications committee for MOMENTUM 3. The data will be simultaneously published in Circulation . 

About ISHLT

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) is a not-for-profit professional organization with more than 2,700 members from over 45 countries dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies via research, education and advocacy. For more information, visit  www.ishlt.org .

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...bc965de51c

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...ddd942f20c

Stephen Chavez International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation 210-310-8215 stephen.d.chavez@gmail.com