http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Identifying a suitable donor for leukemia and lymphoma patients who need bone marrow transplants may be far easier now that results of two clinical trials show transplant results with half-matched bone marrow or umbilical cord blood are comparable to fully matched tissue, thanks in large part to the availability of effective antirejection drugs and special post-transplant chemotherapy. The finding means that nearly all patients in need of a transplant can find donors, according to Johns Hopkins scientists who participated in the trials. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-half-matched-transplants-widen-pool-donors.html Cancer Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:34:32 EST news229257242 Researchers at the John Theurer Cancer Center recently published a study delineating the connection of social support to distress after stem cell transplants. Scott Rowley, M.D., Chief, Blood & Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Program, the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center contributed to the study which was led by Larissa E. Labay from Mt. Sinai. The study was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, a peer-reviewed publication produced by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-cancer-highlight-importance-social.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:02:32 EST news229183339 A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that there is a significant risk of serious skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, in heart transplant patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-heart-transplant-patients-skin-cancers.html Cardiology Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:44:09 EST news228660230 Four patients now have new lungs thanks to a purpose-built machine used for the first time worldwide by Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Acquired for research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, the new machine will contribute to more lung transplants in the long term. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-lungs-suitable-transplantation.html Other Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:42:50 EST news228652964 Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-drugs-block-hepatitis-virus-tracks.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:17:09 EST news228474968 A small, retrospective study determined that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was safe in patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) who were referred for liver transplantation. Larger studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of angioplasty in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Details of the study are available in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-angioplasty-feasible-liver-transplantation-candidates.html Cardiology Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:33:51 EST news227954020 Patients with a very aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma who receive a stem cell transplant after standard chemotherapy during their first remission have comparable survival rates to those who receive the same standard therapy alone and, if needed, a transplant when they relapse. These findings from a U.S. and Canadian clinical trial of 370 patients conducted at 40 clinical institutions were presented today by Patrick Stiff, MD, lead investigator and director, Loyola Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, at the annual meeting for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-early-transplants-chemotherapy-transplant-nhl.html Cancer Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:32:22 EST news226571528 An analysis of data on heart and lung transplant recipients indicates that patients who had transplant surgery performed at nighttime did not have a significantly different rate of survival up to one year after organ transplantation, according to a study in the June 1 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-nighttime-transplant-surgery-poorer-survival.html Other Tue, 31 May 2011 16:26:31 EST news226077965 Tacrolimus, a drug that is commonly used to prevent organ transplantation rejection, inhibits breast cancer growth in pre-clinical studies. The finding from UNC scientists was reported in the May 26th PLoS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-common-transplant-drug-inhibits-breast.html Cancer Thu, 26 May 2011 13:45:19 EST news225636304 Johns Hopkins researchers have demonstrated that human liver cells derived from adult cells coaxed into an embryonic state can engraft and begin regenerating liver tissue in mice with chronic liver damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-adult-stem-cells-root-livers.html Medical research Wed, 11 May 2011 14:00:07 EST news224338920 Older, sicker heart-transplant recipients are significantly more likely to be alive a year after their operations if they have their transplants at hospitals that do a large number of them annually new Johns Hopkins research suggests. These patients fare less well at low-volume centers, the research shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-older-heart-transplant-patients-hospitals-yield.html Cardiology Mon, 09 May 2011 11:10:11 EST news224158190 'Healthy' smokers experience changes in the gene expression of their lungs similar to that suffered by smokers who have developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This is the conclusion of a new study, led by Catalan researchers, which confirms the crucial role that smoking plays in causing these alterations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-smokers-gene-patients-copd.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 09 May 2011 10:27:05 EST news224155602 A discovery by Johns Hopkins scientists about how a single-celled fungus survives in low-oxygen settings may someday help humans whose immune systems are compromised by organ transplants or AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-simple-fungus-reveals-clue-immune.html Medical research Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:38:42 EST news222608301 Studies of the small sea squirt may ultimately help solve the problem of rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants in humans, according to scientists at UC Santa Barbara. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-marine-animals-aim-transplanted.html Medical research Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:11:40 EST news222019885