New Blood Test Could Provide Timely Detection of Lung Transplant Rejections
Persistent transplant failure can be hazardous. Realizing this failure as early as possible is therefore very vital in achieving the best possible patient outcomes. The good news is that a new test has been discovered to help detect the symptoms of this condition in lung transplants. The test detects the signs before any outward symptoms start showing themselves, enabling physicians to act urgently to protect the lives of patients.
Detecting and treating organ transplant failure using the blood sample test
The test was discovered and developed by the Laboratory of Organ Transplant Genomics in the Cardiovascular Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (“NHLBI”). For the test to work, it requires a simple blood sample to detect early lung transplant failure. The test is also believed to have the potential to be used to identify other organ transplant failures by the researchers.
A blood sample is taken from a patient’s arm and put in a machine capable of sorting the DNA fragments in a blood sample. Computer analysis is then used to examine the number of DNA cells from the patient and those from the donor and if the donor’s DNA fragments are more than those of the patient, the risk of transplant failure is elevated.
The test was conducted on a sample of 106 patients for the first three months after being subjected to lung transplants. It was discovered that those patients who had a higher number of donor DNA fragments in their blood were six times more likely to have organ transplant rejection. Even without showing the outward signs, organ transplant failure was probably going to be high.
However, once the failure is discovered early through this blood sample test, physicians could increase the dosage of anti-rejection drugs. Furthermore, they could also add other new agents in medicine to reduce tissue inflammation in patients. The doctors could also take other intervention measures to ensure that they stop or lower the progression rate.
The test has been a significant and essential breakthrough in the medical field because lung transplants have the lowest survival rates in all organ transplant surgeries. Initially, the sole way to detect if the patient was undergoing rejection before the outward signs could be seen was by invasive-like lung biopsy. However, this method was not reliable and sensitive enough to detect the extremity of what the patient was undergoing. It even led to more organ transplant failures and fatalities in lung transplant patients.
Such breakthroughs, and others pioneered by entities like DarioHealth Corp. (NASDAQ: DRIO), are helping to give hope to lots of patients who may have given up of ever getting a new lease of life after being diagnosed with potentially life-threatening conditions.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
Persistent transplant failure can be hazardous. Realizing this failure as early as possible is therefore very vital in achieving the best possible patient outcomes. The good news is that a new test has been discovered to help detect the symptoms of this condition in lung transplants. The test detects the signs before any outward symptoms start showing themselves, enabling physicians to act urgently to protect the lives of patients.
Detecting and treating organ transplant failure using the blood sample test
The test was discovered and developed by the Laboratory of Organ Transplant Genomics in the Cardiovascular Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (“NHLBI”). For the test to work, it requires a simple blood sample to detect early lung transplant failure. The test is also believed to have the potential to be used to identify other organ transplant failures by the researchers.
A blood sample is taken from a patient’s arm and put in a machine capable of sorting the DNA fragments in a blood sample. Computer analysis is then used to examine the number of DNA cells from the patient and those from the donor and if the donor’s DNA fragments are more than those of the patient, the risk of transplant failure is elevated.
The test was conducted on a sample of 106 patients for the first three months after being subjected to lung transplants. It was discovered that those patients who had a higher number of donor DNA fragments in their blood were six times more likely to have organ transplant rejection. Even without showing the outward signs, organ transplant failure was probably going to be high.
However, once the failure is discovered early through this blood sample test, physicians could increase the dosage of anti-rejection drugs. Furthermore, they could also add other new agents in medicine to reduce tissue inflammation in patients. The doctors could also take other intervention measures to ensure that they stop or lower the progression rate.
The test has been a significant and essential breakthrough in the medical field because lung transplants have the lowest survival rates in all organ transplant surgeries. Initially, the sole way to detect if the patient was undergoing rejection before the outward signs could be seen was by invasive-like lung biopsy. However, this method was not reliable and sensitive enough to detect the extremity of what the patient was undergoing. It even led to more organ transplant failures and fatalities in lung transplant patients.
Such breakthroughs, and others pioneered by entities like DarioHealth Corp. (NASDAQ: DRIO), are helping to give hope to lots of patients who may have given up of ever getting a new lease of life after being diagnosed with potentially life-threatening conditions.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
