Mike O'Hara
507-284-9522 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Treatment Cuts Cytomegalovirus Infection, Disease in Liver Transplant Patients
ROCHESTER, MINN. -- A two-drug combination significantly reduced infections and disease from cytomegalovirus (CMV) among a group of liver transplant patients, reports a recent study. The study compared the effectiveness of sequential administration of ganciclovir and acyclovir with acyclovir alone in 170 patients followed for one year. CMV infections were 20% less and CMV disease 12% less in the combination group compared to the acyclovir group. The combination drug regimen was also effective in patients at high risk for CMV (patients who received organs from donors infected with CMV); this group had less than half as much CMV disease as the acyclovir group. This high-risk group also had three times fewer infections by the fungus Candida albicans among those treated with the combination drug than in the one-drug group.
CMV is a major cause of complications and death in transplant patients, affecting between 8% and 60% of patients (depending on the type of organ and method of immunosuppression). Fungal infections are another common complication of transplant patients. The study, which involved patients at Mayo Clinic and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, was published in the July 15 issue of Transplantation.
Promising New Molecular Targets Found for New Therapies
Rapamycin is a new drug that holds great promise for fighting organ rejection in transplant patients and tumors in cancer patients. Mayo researchers investigating how the drug works have discovered a new set of molecular targets for new therapies. Rapamycin was originally isolated from a strain of bacteria found in a soil sample collected from the Easter Islands. Studies showed it to be a potent suppressor of the immune system. But understanding of its mode of action has lagged. In an article in Science, Dr. Robert Abraham and colleagues report that rapamycin targets a protein called mTOR, which is a member of a novel family of signaling proteins known as PIKs. The mTOR's function is to stimulate the synthesis of other proteins, which in turn orchestrate the molecular events required for DNA replication and cell division. "These findings set the stage for the development of novel inhibitors of mTOR kinase activity, like rapamycin, which may provide clinicians with new tools for their battles against organ transplant rejection and cancer," says Dr. Abraham.
Headache Warning Signs That Shouldn't Be Ignored
Headaches are usually not serious. But they can be ominous signs of major problems. Headaches are present in 60% of patients with brain tumors, 70% of brain abscesses, and a third of stroke cases, writes Dr. David Dodick in a recent article in Postgraduate Medicine. "Warning leak" headaches precede about half of brain hemorrhages and headaches are the single most common symptom of a subdural hematoma and inflammation of the temporal artery in the face, which can lead to permanent blindness. Only rarely does a serious condition give rise to a headache that exactly mimics a migraine or tension headache. Inevitably atypical features or warning signals are present, including:
--a new or different headache from usual, usually resistant to relief by pain relievers
--nausea or vomiting present
--headache occurs at night or upon awakening in the morning
--headache brought on or worsened by changes in position
--confusion, seizures or weakness
--any abnormal neurological symptom, such as numbness or tingling
--fever
Any of these symptoms should be a red flag to see your doctor soon.
###
RSS