Due to her end-stage kidney disease, the 62-year-old resident of Weymouth, Massachusetts, had few options left.
When his kidney from a human donor failed in 2023, he was put on dialysis but had problems that needed constant hospitalization. The kidney had been donated around five years earlier.
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Accompany Now At that point, his physicians at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital recommended a test kidney transplant from a pig.
These are just a few instances of the revolutionary medical advancements that may one day benefit a great number of senior citizens.
A deeper look at it and two other recent discoveries that were revealed in the first half of 2024 are provided here.
Kidney transplant from pig to patient: This procedure, known as xenotransplantation, involves taking an organ from one species and placing it in another. Steven Potter, M.D. is referred to as “one of the holy grails in transplantation science.”.
One of the main causes is that there aren’t enough human organ donors available to satisfy demand.
The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that 17 people pass away every day while waiting for an organ transplant.
Since end-stage kidney disease is expected to increase in the United States, demand for kidney transplants—the most frequently required organ—is only anticipated to rise. S.
About 808,000 individuals in the U.S. s. have kidney disease that is in its final stages.
The majority of kidney transplant recipients, according to Cleveland Clinic, are in the age range of 45 to 65.
The best course of action for these patients is a transplant, as directed by Potter, director of pancreas transplantation at Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute, which can significantly enhance a person’s quality of life.
The alternative is dialysis, a costly treatment in which a machine acts as the kidneys’ work force.
As stated in a news release by Massachusetts General, the pig kidney that Slayman was given underwent genetic editing “to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans”.
It was also “advancing on multiple fronts,” according to Potter, because the groundbreaking procedure made use of a novel class of immunosuppressant drugs that aid in preventing organ rejection.
The colorectal cancer blood test Colorectal cancer trends in the U.S. S. are concerning, as are the screening percentages.
Incidence of the cancer, which is most frequently diagnosed in older adults, is rising, according to a 2024 report from the American Cancer Society.
(People 50 years of age and older account for more than 80% of cases of colorectal cancer). ).
The death rate for those under 55 is also rising.
During this time, slightly more than half of adults who ought to be screened for colorectal cancer actually do.
According to William M. Dot Grady, M.D., co-author of the study, “that’s similar to what we see for routine stool-based colorectal cancer screening tests.”. a gastroenterologist working at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute.
Grady explains that a blood test can identify specific cancer signals in DNA exuded from a tumor.
The next course of action is to perform a colonoscopy to determine whether cancer is present if tumor material is discovered in the blood.
Increasing treatment options and improving recovery chances may be possible with earlier detection.
Doctors can currently order the blood test for their patients, but many insurance companies don’t cover it, according to Grady.
This year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may formally approve it, which would change everything.
The likelihood that insurance would pay for the $895 test would increase with an official FDA approval, according to Grady.
Grady says that before choosing a screening test, patients should discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each one with their doctors if the test is approved and becomes a more common screening tool.
People are more likely to choose one of the options when they are presented with them, according to Grady.
Therefore, our hope in this instance is that the blood-based test will lead to a higher level of compliance. “3.
Parkinson’s disease diagnosis via skin biopsy: Diagnosing Parkinson’s disease is more complicated than diagnosing certain other medical conditions.
Physicians frequently use a patient’s symptoms, medical history, and results from lab work or brain scans to rule out other conditions.
“When we first see a patient, it can be very evident that they do, in fact, have Parkinson’s disease,” says Christopher Gibbons, MdotD. for instance, if they have a tremor, see Dr., an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a neurologist at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Certain cases are less evident than others, and the patient might need to wait a while to receive a conclusive diagnosis.
Gibbons, that can be a frustrating process.
March 16th, Richard “Rick” Slayman became the first human being to receive a genetically modified kidney, taken from a pig.
With end-stage kidney disease, the 62-year-old resident of Weymouth, Massachusetts, was at the end of his treatment options. He had received a kidney from a human donor approximately five years prior, and that kidney began to fail in 2023. He was put on dialysis, but the complications led to frequent hospital stays.
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At that point, the medical professionals at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital recommended an experimental kidney transplant from pigs. In a statement issued by Massachusetts General, the hospital where the transplant was carried out, Slayman said, “I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.”.
Just a few examples of the revolutionary medical advancements that may one day benefit a great number of senior citizens are provided here. Here’s a closer look at it along with two other recent discoveries that were revealed in the first half of 2024.
1. pig kidney transplantation on an individual.
Steven Potter, M.D., practices xenotransplantation, which is the transplantation of an organ from one species into another. referred to as “one of the holy grails in transplantation” science. One major factor is that there isn’t enough supply of human organ donors to satisfy demand. The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that 17 people pass away every day while waiting for an organ transplant.
Since kidney transplants are the most frequently required organs, demand for them is only anticipated to rise as end-stage kidney disease rates in the U.S. s. At present, approximately 808,000 individuals in the U.S. S. have kidney disease that is in its final stages. Based on information from Cleveland Clinic, the majority of kidney transplant recipients are between 45 and 65 years old. According to Potter, director of pancreas transplantation at Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute, a transplant is the best course of treatment for these patients because it can significantly enhance a person’s quality of life. The other option is dialysis, a costly treatment in which a machine performs the functions of the kidneys.
According to a news release from Massachusetts General, Slayman’s pig kidney underwent genetic editing “to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans.”. Potter adds that the groundbreaking procedure was “advancing on multiple fronts,” including the use of a novel class of immunosuppressant drugs that aid in preventing organ rejection.
While doctors have successfully transplanted a pig heart into a living human, Potter believes that Slayman’s surgery on March 16 is still “a big step forward” and that it may be some time before xenotransplantation is more frequently performed in operating rooms across the nation. “.
2. an examination via blood for colorectal cancer.
U.S. trends in colorectal cancer. S. concern me, as do screening rates.
Incidence of the cancer, which is most frequently diagnosed in older adults, is rising, according to a 2024 report from the American Cancer Society. Individuals aged 50 years and above account for over 80% of cases of colorectal cancer. Additionally, the death rate for those under 55 is rising. Nevertheless, slightly more than half of adult individuals who ought to be screened for colorectal cancer actually do so. A new screening option with less obstacles and less of an ick factor is something some scientists are hoping will increase that share among people who are unable or unwilling to have a colonoscopy or take part in any of the other recommended screenings.
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While colonoscopies are still the gold standard, a blood test created by Guardant Health was able to identify colorectal cancer in 83% of patients, according to a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. According to co-author of the study William M. Grady, M.D, “that’s similar to what we see for routine stool-based colorectal cancer screening tests.”. , the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s gastroenterologist.
In DNA that has been released from a tumor, the blood test finds specific cancer signals, according to Grady. The next course of action is to perform a colonoscopy to determine whether cancer is present if tumor material is discovered in the blood. Improved chances of recovery and more treatment options may result from earlier detection.
Although many insurance companies don’t cover the blood test, doctors can currently order it for their patients, according to Grady. With official approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which may occur this year, that could change. According to Grady, there is a greater chance that insurers would pay for the $895 test if it has official FDA approval.
Grady says it will be crucial for patients to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each screening test with their doctors before selecting one, should the test be approved and become a more common screening tool.
“We know that when people are presented with options, the likelihood that they will choose one increases,” says Grady. Therefore, our hope in this instance is that the blood-based test will lead to a higher level of compliance. “.
Three. a skin biopsy to diagnose Parkinson’s illness.
Not all diagnoses are as straightforward as those for other medical conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. Physicians frequently use a patient’s symptoms, medical history, and results from lab work or brain scans to rule out other conditions.
According to Christopher Gibbons, M.D, “in some cases, it can be very clear when we first see a patient that, yes, they have Parkinson’s disease.”. for example, if they have a tremor, see Dr., an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a neurologist at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The patient might have to wait a while for a conclusive diagnosis in other cases because they are less evident.
Gibbons claims that this procedure can be quite annoying. Additionally, it may postpone therapy. As a result of damage or death to brain nerve cells, there is currently no medication that can stop the disease’s progression or reverse it. However, there are some drugs that can treat Parkinson’s symptoms. ).
Yet, a recent study that was published in JAMA indicates that some medical professionals might find that a skin biopsy is useful for making a diagnosis. For those with a confirmed case, the test’s accuracy in identifying Parkinson’s disease was about 93%.
The test can detect alpha-synuclein, a misfolded protein that is a defining feature of Parkinson’s disease. It is currently commercially available for doctors to order, though it is not commonly used. Additionally, it is able to identify this protein in patients with associated neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia with Lewy bodies.
According to Gibbons, a coauthor on the JAMA study, this misfolded protein spreads throughout the nervous system, including to the nerves in the skin. According to Gibbons, the researchers removed three punch biopsies from study participants, each of which was about one-eighth the size of a pencil eraser. In 92.7 percent of the study’s patients with confirmed Parkinson’s disease, the biopsy revealed misfolded alpha-synuclein.
Recently, a test for misfolded alpha-synuclein in spinal fluid was created by researchers. According to Gibbons, the use of these tests will become more crucial, particularly in the process of developing new drugs and recruiting participants for clinical trials. He says there are a lot of possible treatments being researched, and when one of them is made available, it will be crucial to know which people have the protein and how they would react to a treatment. “.
