Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when fat builds up in the liver. This accumulation of fat damages the liver and leads to cirrhosis. NASH is rapidly increasing in the U.S. mainly related to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes. As a result, the proportion of liver transplantations performed for NASH cirrhosis rose dramatically from roughly 1% in 1997-2003 to more than 7% in 2010. However, according to new research published in Liver Transplantation, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, post-transplantation survival for NASH patients is excellent, with one year survival rates near 88%.

An HIV drug that redirects immune cell traffic appears to significantly reduce the dangerous complication graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in blood cancer patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT), according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that was presented at the 53rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Standard GvHD treatments suppress the immune system, reducing - but not eliminating - the risk of developing the common problem. In the current trial, treatment with the HIV drug maraviroc dramatically reduced the incidence of GvHD in organs where it is most dangerous - without compromising the immune system and leaving patients more vulnerable to severe infections.

1.- Finding a new immune function for NEMO

Ectodermal dysplasias are a group of inherited conditions in which there is abnormal development and function of the skin, hair, nails, teeth, and/or sweat glands. Individuals with ectodermal dysplasia with immune deficiency (EDI) also have a dysfunctional immune system that renders them susceptible to severe infections.

EDI is caused by mutations in the NEMO gene that reduce but do not abolish expression of NEMO protein. Now, a team of researchers led by Ashish Jain, at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, has identified two patients with EDI caused by genetic mutations that are not within the NEMO gene but do markedly reduce the level of expression of NEMO.

German researchers have determined that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) - a flavonoid found in green tea - inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from entering liver cells. Study findings available in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, suggest that EGCG may offer an antiviral strategy to prevent HCV reinfection following liver transplantation.

A new study recently published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that the ability to successfully carry a pregnancy after kidney transplantation is very high, with 73.5% live birth rates.

Researchers led by Dorry Segev, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles published between 2000 and 2010 that reported pregnancy-related outcomes among KT recipients.

Results found that a successful pregnancy is possible after receiving a kidney transplant, although the relatively high rate of medical complications of the pregnancy motivates very careful monitoring.

Although replacing lost teeth often involves artificially building up the jaw, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, are now showcasing a new method whereby teeth are instead moved into the toothless area using a brace, giving patients the chance of having more teeth.

When we lose our teeth, perhaps because of illness or injury, the jaw in the toothless area also decreases in volume. This reduction makes it difficult to carry out dental implants, often leaving just one option for replacing lost teeth: building up the jaw with bone transplant.

Alternative method

Health care providers assess blood and tissue type as well as organ size and health to enhance transplant success. New research indicates that checklist might also need to include the circadian clock.

While some human studies have shown the time of day transplant surgery is performed can influence the outcome, this study of mice with dysfunctional internal clocks is the first correlating circadian clocks with transplant success, said Dr. Daniel Rudic, vascular biologist at Georgia Health Sciences University and corresponding author of the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Surgery to correct gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, can preserve lung function in patients with end-stage pulmonary disease both before and after transplantation, according to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, published in the Archives of Surgery, suggest that esophageal testing should be performed more frequently among these patients to determine if anti-reflux surgery is needed.

Patients who receive kidney transplants must take lifelong medications that, while preventing organ rejection, can also compromise other aspects of health. Immunosuppresive drugs called calcineurin inhibitors protect transplanted organs from being rejected, but they can be toxic to the kidneys over the long term and can make patients susceptible to infection, cancer, and other threats.

A new analysis has found that transplant patients can safely minimize or avoid using calcineurin inhibitors. The study, conducted by Richard Borrows, MD and his colleagues at the Renal Institute of Birmingham, in England, appears in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN), a publication of the American Society of Nephrology.

Up to 30 percent of all patients develop diabetes mellitus within the first year after a kidney transplantation. This high rate could soon fall rapidly. A Medical University of Vienna research team at Vienna General Hospital’s University Department of Internal Medicine III has discovered in the context of a study that pre-emptive insulin therapy drastically reduces this rate.