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In Memoriam
AST
With deep sadness we announce the passing of Dr. Vincent Armenti on Sept. 4. Dr. Armenti was a pioneer in transplantation, an active AST member, and a wonderful collaborator to many investigators in the field of transplantation.
Dr. Armenti was a trail-blazer. He changed the paradigm for clinical approaches to reproduction in transplant recipients and their donors. In 1991 he established the National Transplant Pregnancy Registry, the largest registry in the world publishing reproductive outcomes in female and male transplant recipients. His registry led to guidelines for the care of the pregnant transplant recipient and data published from his registry confirmed risks of fetal exposure to mycophenolate, leading to major practice changes.
For more than 12 years he was an active member of the AST and gave tirelessly of himself to educating our community through his numerous publications and lectureships. He was a highly sought after national and international speaker, an active member of the AST’s Women’s Health Community of Practice, and received numerous awards and accolades for his work over the past twenty years. In addition to being a valued colleague, he was a friend to so many of us. Our hearts go out to his family.
Read more about Dr. Armenti and services here.
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Deadline approaching for 2015 research grant applications
AST
Researchers have 3 days left to submit their applications for basic, clinical, and translational science faculty and fellowship grants. The AST will also be awarding a two-year, $10,000 Transplant Nursing Grant, funded by the Wood-MacMillan Foundation. Click here for more information and to complete your application.
Now accepting nominations for 2015 AST Achievement Awards
AST
The American Society of Transplantation (AST) is proud to announce our call for nominations for the 2015 AST Achievement Awards. Each year, the AST sponsors a variety of Achievement Awards in recognition of our members' achievements and contributions to the field of transplantation. All nominations must be submitted by Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. Click here for more details and to submit your nomination.
Registration Now Open for CEOT 2015
The Cutting Edge of Transplantation
Immunity and Inflammation: Engineering Cell, Gene, and Drug Therapies
AST
Feb. 5-7, 2015
Sheraton Wild Horse Pass – Chandler, Arizona
Click here to register for CEOT 2015 and take advantage of early registration discounted rates! Make plans to attend this high-energy, intimate meeting where expert clinicians, leading diagnosticians, and world class scientists will address the field’s cutting edge challenges together with an engaged audience. This year’s CEOT will feature sessions on:
- A Critical Review of Cell Therapies
- Whatever Happened to Gene Therapy?
- Organ Repair and Regeneration, and Organ Generation
- Drug Development and Rediscovering Pathways
Click here to submit your basic, clinical or translational abstract.
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Raptor's mission is to develop and commercialize life-altering therapeutics that treat rare, debilitating, and often fatal diseases.
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To find out how to feature your company in the AST eNewsletter and other advertising opportunities, Contact Tom Crist at 972-402-7724.
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WTC OnDemand
AST
OnDemand is your online portal to education information from a variety of sessions from the World Transplant Congress. This is available free to ASTS, TTS and AST members. Non-members can purchase a two-year subscription. Learn more here.
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UPCOMING EVENTS IN TRANSPLANTATION
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Register now for ESOT + AST Joint Meeting
AST
Personalized Transplantation: From New Diagnostics to New Therapeutics
Oct. 17-19, 2014
Madrid, Spain
Register by Sept. 7 to take advantage of early registration and a discounted rate. Join the ESOT and AST in beautiful Madrid, Spain as together we explore:
- New Options to Improve Immunosuppressive Therapy
Belatacept, Anti CD40 trial (ASKP1240), Anti- IL-6 and Tacrolimus formulations
- Novel Diagnostics
Donor DNA - Biomarker of Graft Injury, In vivo Live Imaging of the Immune Response and Tolerance Profile
- Novel Targets for Immunosuppression
B-cells, Plasma Cells and Complement
- Personalized Medicine: Technique and Technology
Sequencing for TCR Repertoire, Pharmacogenetics, Epigenetics and Mixed Chimerism
- Cellular Strategies to Optimize Long Term Outcomes
T-regs, Mesenchymal Cells, Facilitator Cells
Click here to learn more about this enlightening meeting, or view the full program.
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
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The UCLA Immunogenetics Center (UIC) provides comprehensive testing for organ and tissue transplantation. Transplant testing has a long history at UCLA. HLA typing was pioneered here in the 1960's. The development of the microcytoxicity test in 1964 marked the beginning of international testing and standardization of HLA typing. The UCLA Immunogenetics Center has retained its leadership position in HLA research, and in the development of accompanying diagnostic testing. MORE
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Sirolimus conversion after heart transplant: Risk factors for acute rejection and predictors of renal function response
American Journal of Transplantation
In a randomized, comparative study of cardiac transplant patients with mild-to-moderate renal insufficiency, conversion from calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) to sirolimus improved renal function at 1 year versus continuing CNIs, with an attendant risk of biopsy-confirmed acute rejection (BCAR). Post hoc analyses were conducted to identify predictors of BCAR and GFR improvement associated with conversion.
Population income and longitudinal trends in living kidney donation in the United States
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology via PubMed
Living kidney donation is declining in the United States. We examined longitudinal trends in living donation as a function of median household income and donor relation to assess the effect of financial barriers on donation in a changing economic environment. The zip code-level median household income of all 71,882 living donors was determined by linkage to the 2000 US Census. Longitudinal changes in the rate of donation were determined in income quintiles between 1999 and 2004, when donations were increasing, and between 2005 and 2010, when donations were declining.
Institutional volume of heart transplantation with left ventricular assist device explantation influences graft survival
The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
There are increasing numbers of patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) with left ventricular assist device (LVAD) explantation (LVAD explant-OHT). We hypothesized that LVAD explant-OHT is a more challenging surgical procedure compared to OHT without LVAD explantation and that institutional LVAD explant-OHT procedural volume would be associated with post-transplant graft survival. We sought to assess the impact of institutional volume of LVAD explant-OHT on post-transplant graft survival.
Bronchial artery revascularization in lung transplantation: Revival of an abandoned operation
Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation
Current results of lung transplantation still lag behind those of other solid-organ transplants. Although bronchial dehiscence was the main cause of early mortality in the past, modern-day operative techniques and immunosuppression regiments have decreased, but not eliminated, this complication. Current barriers to long-term survival are chronic lung allograft dysfunction and infection. Bronchial artery revascularization was effective in decreasing bronchial anastomotic complications, but it was largely abandoned because of technical challenges.
Prevalence and predictors of diabetes mellitus after lung transplantation: A prospective, longitudinal study
Diabetes Care
The purpose of this study is to determine incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) after lung transplantation (LTx), identify risk factors for persistent DM after LTx, and determine its effect on survival. This was a prospective, longitudinal study comparing DM status before and after LTx using oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs). DM prevalence and changes in metabolic control over time were determined. Risk factors for persistent DM and survival differences by DM status were assessed.
Liver transplantation in the management of porphyria
Hepatology
Porphyrias are a group of eight metabolic disorders, each resulting from a mutation that affects an enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway. Porphyrias are classified as hepatic or erythropoietic, depending upon the site where the gene defect is predominantly expressed. Clinical phenotypes are classified as follows: (1) acute porphyrias with neurovisceral symptoms: acute intermittent porphyria; delta amino-levulinic acid hydratase deficiency porphyria; hereditary coproporphyria; and variegate porphyria and (2) cutaneous porphyrias with skin blistering and photosensitivity: porphyria cutanea tarda; congenital erythropoietic porphyria; hepatoerythropoietic porphyria and both erythropoietic protoporphyrias: autosomal dominant and X-linked.
Functional capacity after pediatric liver transplantation: A pilot study
Pediatric Transplantation
The prospective cross-sectional study investigated the 6MWT performance in pediatric group of liver transplant recipients (6–17 yr, median post-transplantation time of 22 months) and compared to the normal values obtained in healthy children as well as evaluated the reproducibility of the 6MWT. We analyzed the relationship between walked distance and the 6MWw, distance walked × body weight) with the anthropometric, clinical, and pulmonary functions. In post-transplanted group, the average walked distance was significantly shorter compared with control (687 ± 80 m vs. 511 ± 72 m, p < 0.001).
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in two pediatric lung transplant patients on prolonged voriconazole treatment
Pediatric Transplantation
Oral voriconazole is commonly used for treatment and prophylaxis of invasive fungal disease post-LTx. Development of cutaneous SCC has been described in adult LTx recipients, although it is extremely rare in children. We describe two Caucasian children who developed cutaneous SCC beyond three yr post-LTx. Both developed severe photosensitivity, actinic keratosis and required curative surgical excision of the cutaneous SCC lesions. Neither patient developed metastatic lesions nor had allograft dysfunction as a result of the SCC or the change in medical treatments. The effect of voriconazole on the development of malignant skin lesions is discussed and a recommendation on dermatologic surveillance, preventive measures against phototoxicity and early treatment of SCC are provided.
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