Organ donation after circulatory death (DCD), in which transplant organs are taken from donors after ay period of no blood circulation or oxygenation, is often considered inferior to donation after brain death, in which circulation and oxygenation are maintained until organs are removed for transplantation. Currently, the use of livers from DCD donors remains controversial, particularly with donors with advanced age.
A new study of DCD liver transplantations conducted at the Cleveland Clinic from 2005 to 2014 found no significant correlation between donor age and organ survival, however. The results suggest that stringent donor and recipient selection may ameliorate the negative impact of donor age in DCD liver transplantation.
“Aged DCD organs are generally underutilized by many transplant surgeons because of the higher risk of transplant organ failure; however, by eliminating other risk factors, aged DCD organs can greatly help expand the donor pool for life-saving liver transplantation,” said Dr. Koji Hashimoto, co-author of the Liver Transplantation study.
Source: http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-120486.html
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
What’s behind Hepatitis C increase in Franklin County?
GREENFIELD — As Hepatitis C rates have risen sharply in Franklin County, neighboring Hampshire County has seen a slower trend and a lower rate, tempered perhaps by prevention efforts.
Franklin County’s rate of 131 newly discovered Hepatitis C cases per 100,000 residents in 2014 was just under the statewide rate of 134, while Hampshire County trailed with a rate of 73. This is a population-adjusted measure, using numbers collected by the Mass. Department of Public Health. In simple numbers, Franklin County had 94 new cases in 2014 and Hampshire County 116.
Greenfield saw 40 newly discovered cases of the blood-borne liver disease in 2014, while its larger sister to the south saw 29. Northampton’s population of 28,549 at the last census outnumbered Greenfield 3 to 2.
Read more....
Franklin County’s rate of 131 newly discovered Hepatitis C cases per 100,000 residents in 2014 was just under the statewide rate of 134, while Hampshire County trailed with a rate of 73. This is a population-adjusted measure, using numbers collected by the Mass. Department of Public Health. In simple numbers, Franklin County had 94 new cases in 2014 and Hampshire County 116.
Greenfield saw 40 newly discovered cases of the blood-borne liver disease in 2014, while its larger sister to the south saw 29. Northampton’s population of 28,549 at the last census outnumbered Greenfield 3 to 2.
Read more....
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Australia: Region has third highest hepatitis C numbers in NSW
"Only an estimated 1.7% of the population living with the blood-borne virus have accessed treatment."
THE Northern Rivers continues to have one of the highest number of hepatitis C cases in the state with 233 new notifications last year.
Figures from the NSW Hepatitis B and C Strategies 2014 annual data report rank the Northern NSW Local Health District third in the state with 79 hepatitis C notifications per 100,000 people.
Northern NSW Local Health District HIV and related programs manager Jenny Heslop said most of the 233 people notified had likely been living with hepatitis C for many years.
Read more...
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Anger at hepatitis C trial with call for money to be spent on cures
A MEDICAL trial to teach hepatitis C sufferers how to avoid infecting their children with the virus has been criticised as fearmongering and a waste of desperately needed health funding.
The State Government will partly fund the trial, called Families Living Healthily with hepatitis C, which aims to teach sufferers how to better prevent transmission of the bloodborne virus.
More than 5000 Tasmanians have been diagnosed with hep C, but medical experts believe many more people unknowingly carry the liver-destroying virus in their blood.
Read more....
Friday, September 4, 2015
Diabetes and Fatty Liver Associated with Further Liver Problems--- Adding liver fibrosis to the long list of diabetic complications under consideration...
A recent study published in Hepatology evaluated various risk factors for liver fibrosis in a Dutch population. The call for concern is the prevalence of liver fibrosis in a patient population with low prevalence of hepatitis—the usual suspect of causation.
Some links have shown non-alcoholic liver disease has a connection to liver fibrosis. Certainly, identifying modifiable risk factors and their impact in developing liver problems can be important to targeting change.
The prospective cohort study was conducted over two years in Rotterdam on 3,041 patients, 45 years or older. Abdominal ultrasounds were used to scan their livers and evaluate liver stiffness to characterize potential fibrosis. Further collections of blood, anthropometric measures, medical history, demographics, drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking history and comorbidities were evaluated.
Just over one-third (35.5%) of the patients had the presence of fatty liver and 5.6% of the patients had a liver stiffness over 8 kPa or clinically relevant for liver fibrosis. Not surprisingly, having the presence of positive surface antigens for hepatitis B or C resulted in a five-fold increased chance in also having liver fibrosis
Read more.....
Some links have shown non-alcoholic liver disease has a connection to liver fibrosis. Certainly, identifying modifiable risk factors and their impact in developing liver problems can be important to targeting change.
The prospective cohort study was conducted over two years in Rotterdam on 3,041 patients, 45 years or older. Abdominal ultrasounds were used to scan their livers and evaluate liver stiffness to characterize potential fibrosis. Further collections of blood, anthropometric measures, medical history, demographics, drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking history and comorbidities were evaluated.
Just over one-third (35.5%) of the patients had the presence of fatty liver and 5.6% of the patients had a liver stiffness over 8 kPa or clinically relevant for liver fibrosis. Not surprisingly, having the presence of positive surface antigens for hepatitis B or C resulted in a five-fold increased chance in also having liver fibrosis
Read more.....
D.C. Needle Policy Change Led to Massive HIV Infection Decline in 2 Years
Syringe exchange programs for injection drug users have proved successful at decreasing rates of needle sharing without increasing rates of illegal drug use. But for years, a policy shortcoming made Washington, D.C., the only city in the country that could not fund them. Caught between federal and local jurisdiction, the District has long faced issues regarding its autonomy. And according to research published Thursday, those policy issues can cost lives.
In 1998, the federal government banned the use of federal funding for syringe exchange programs. State and local governments could fund them, but the District could not. In 2007, the federal government altered that policy, and the District's municipal government began funding programs in 2008.
In a new study in the journal AIDS and Behavior, researchers used mathematical modeling to calculate how many HIV infections the policy change prevented and how much money it saved. The researchers found that in the two years after the municipal money started flowing following the policy change, there were 176 new HIV cases reported in the District involving injection drug use. Without that policy change, the researchers estimated, the number would have been 296 cases. The policy change had helped avert 120 cases.
Read more.....
In 1998, the federal government banned the use of federal funding for syringe exchange programs. State and local governments could fund them, but the District could not. In 2007, the federal government altered that policy, and the District's municipal government began funding programs in 2008.
In a new study in the journal AIDS and Behavior, researchers used mathematical modeling to calculate how many HIV infections the policy change prevented and how much money it saved. The researchers found that in the two years after the municipal money started flowing following the policy change, there were 176 new HIV cases reported in the District involving injection drug use. Without that policy change, the researchers estimated, the number would have been 296 cases. The policy change had helped avert 120 cases.
Read more.....
First-ever World Hepatitis Summit calls for national programmes-- Follows rise in hepatitis deaths for fifth consecutive year
The first World Hepatitis Summit is being held this week in Glasgow to urge countries to develop national programmes to help eliminate viral hepatitis.
Deaths from the disease have increased for a fifth year running and there are currently 400 million people living with the condition as it now claims an estimated 1.45 million lives each year, making it one of the world's leading causes of death.
Policymakers and stakeholders at the three-day meeting will discuss the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, which sets targets for 2030.
Read more.....
Deaths from the disease have increased for a fifth year running and there are currently 400 million people living with the condition as it now claims an estimated 1.45 million lives each year, making it one of the world's leading causes of death.
Policymakers and stakeholders at the three-day meeting will discuss the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, which sets targets for 2030.
Read more.....
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