http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The U.S. government sued Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. again on Friday, saying it paid kickbacks for a decade to doctors to steer patients toward its drugs, sometimes disguising fishing trips off the Florida coast and trips to Hooters restaurants as speaking engagements for the doctors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-sues-novartis-ny-cites-doc.html Medications Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:04:16 EST news286221850 The U.S. government sued Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Tuesday, claiming it gave kickbacks to pharmacies to switch kidney transplant patients from competitors' drugs to its own. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-ny-lawsuit-accuses-novartis-health.html Medications Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:40:02 EST news285996589 A team led by Dr. Marie-Josée Hébert from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) has discovered a new cause of organ rejection in some kidney transplant patients. Her team has identified a new class of antibodies – anti-LG3 – which when activated lead to severe rejection episodes associated with a high rate of organ loss. This discovery, which holds promise for organ recipients, was published in the online version of the American Journal of Transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-breakthrough-transplant-patients.html Surgery Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:30:01 EST news281184112 In a research review article published in the American Journal of Nephrology, Saint Louis University investigators examined data from multiple studies to better understand how obesity, an epidemic in the U.S., impacts kidney transplant patients. The authors report that, even as some connections between weight and health outcomes are unknown or contradictory, there is evidence that obese kidney transplant patients don't do as well after surgery, experiencing more adverse outcomes, including wound infections, delayed graft function, graft failure, cardiac disease and increased costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-patients-heavy-kidney.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:44:20 EST news277389754 (HealthDay)—Kidney transplant patients who receive mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors after transplant have a greater probability of death or transplant failure than patients receiving calcineurin inhibitors, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in the American Journal of Transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-drug-class-linked-worse-outcomes.html Surgery Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:30:01 EST news269414813 (Medical Xpress) -- A one-day coordinated evaluation can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to be put on a kidney transplant waitlist, according to a new study from Yale School of Medicine. The study appears in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-quick-physical-exam-transplant-year.html Other Fri, 03 Aug 2012 07:56:42 EST news263199394 (HealthDay) -- The first DNA test to help doctors treat a common viral infection in people who have had a solid organ transplant has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-common-infection-transplant-patients.html Medications Thu, 05 Jul 2012 18:00:01 EST news260726189 Among patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing living-related kidney transplants, the use of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal (cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) stem cells instead of antibody induction therapy resulted in a lower incidence of acute rejection, decreased risk of opportunistic infection, and better estimated kidney function at 1 year, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-stem-cells-adults-donor-kidney.html Medical research Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:29:21 EST news251479748 Rapid discontinuation of the immunosuppressive steroid prednisone after a kidney transplant can help prevent serious side effects, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Also, doing so does not appear to jeopardize the long-term survival of transplant patients and their new organs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-steroids-kidney-transplant-recipients-long-term.html Other Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:00:05 EST news246806737 A new large, international study finds that the immunosuppressant drug mycophenolate mofetil is superior to azathioprine, an older immunosuppressant, as a maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mycophenolate-superior-azathioprine-treatment-lupus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:39:38 EST news240687558 A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that substitution of a brand name immunosuppressive drug with a generic (manufactured by Sandoz) for preventing rejection of transplanted organs appears to be safe for transplant recipients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-substitution-brand-drug-safe-transplant.html Medications Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:28:01 EST news235132066 For the thousands of patients who receive kidney transplants in the United States each year, preventing organ rejection without compromising other aspects of health requires a delicate balance of medications. Immunosuppresive drugs that protect transplanted organs can also cause serious side effects, including compromising patients' immunity to infection, cancer, and other threats. Finding the best combination and dosage of drugs has often proved difficult for physicians. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-post-transplant-drug-regimen-patients-kidneys.html Other Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:17:05 EST news231128211 Avoiding HLA-DR mismatching appears to be beneficial in pediatric kidney transplant patients, however the likelihood of finding a matching donor must be considered against the wait time for a possible donation, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-factors-pediatric-kidney-transplant.html Other Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:40:04 EST news230225991 A new study from Mayo Clinic, the largest long-term study of kidney transplant recipients published to date, demonstrates that progressive damage to kidney transplants may be less common and less severe than previously reported. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-long-term-kidney-transplants-faring-previously.html Other Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:22:21 EST news221408523