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DNA Deletion Makes Swedish Chlamydia 'Invisible'
New sequencing and analysis of six strains of Chlamydia will result in improved diagnosis of the sexually transmitted infection. This study provides remarkable insights into a new strain of Chlamydia that was identified in Sweden in 2006 after spreading rapidly across the country by evading most established diagnostic tests.

Number Of Black Organ Donors Increases In Michigan, Many Blacks Still Reluctant To Donate Organs
Although the number of blacks who are registered as organ donors in Michigan has increased in the last 15 years, many are still reluctant to be organ donors, the Detroit News reports. According to Remonia Chapman, director of Gift of Life Michigan"s minority organ tissue transplant education program, many blacks are hesitant to participate with the organ donor registry because they have inadequate access to health care.Chapman said that increased awareness and education about organ donation and the diseases that lead to the need for donated organs, as well as partnerships with minority donors, black ministers and community groups, have encouraged more blacks to be organ donors. In the last 15 years, the percentage of black Michigan residents who are registered organ donors has increased from 10.8% to 21%, with overall minority registration at 24%. Chapman noted that about 41.3% of people on Michigan"s transplant waiting list and about 46% of people in need of a kidney are minorities.According to the News, minority donors are the best matches for minority organ recipients because the genetic profiles of the donor and recipient will have more similarities. Chapman added that the best matches for kidney recipients are donors from the recipient"s family or from the recipient"s ethnic group if a family donor is not available (Stolarz, Detroit News, 5/19).
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As Patients Age, Future Physicians Develop End Of Life Skills
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation"s oldest and largest, independent association for physicians-in-training, is pleased to present the graduates of the AMSA Foundation-VITAS End of Life Education Fellowship Program. Five medical students have spent the past six weeks immersing themselves in end of life (EOL) care issues.
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Early Switch From Cyclosporine To Sirolimus After Renal Transplantation Produces Sustained Improvement In Renal Function

BOSTON - Favorable 12-month outcomes are maintained through 30 months of follow-up when renal transplant patients are converted from a cyclosporine (CsA)-based regimen to a sirolimus (SRL)-based regimen three months post-transplant, according to results of the CONCEPT study announced here at the American Transplant Congress (ATC) 2009. Yvon Lebranchu, MD, from the University FranÃýois Rabelais in Tours, France, reported 30-month results in patients who were initially treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) plus cyclosporine (CsA) and then randomized three months later to continue this regimen, or CsA therapy was stopped and replaced by SRL. The trial included 192 first-time renal allograft recipients at 16 centers throughout France. "Long term use of CsA may contribute to the development of chronic allograft nephropathy," Dr. Lebranchu pointed out. "While earlier trials have demonstrated a positive impact of de novo SRL on renal function at one year post transplantation, adverse effects have limited the use of this approach." An analysis at 12 months in 181 patients found that glomerular filtration rate (GFR), as estimated by the simplified MDRD formula, was significantly better in the SRL group (61.9 mL/min versus 53.8 mL/min, p=0.0002). Improvement in renal function occurred without a significant increase in acute rejection. Thirty-month results in 152 patients in the intent-to-treat population showed an MDRD GFR of 58.3 mL/min and 52.6 mL/min in the two groups, respectively, p=0.027. This difference was more pronounced in patients on treatment: 64.4 mL/min and 53.8 mL/min in the two groups, respectively. Graft loss and patient survival were similar in the two treatment groups. One patient in the SRL/MMF group had developed a malignancy versus six patients in the CsA group. "Long-term maintenance of renal function is a challenge in renal transplant recipients, and the use of CNIs is associated with chronic long-term graft dysfunction," Dr. Lebranchu said. "The identification of strategies of CNI avoidance or elimination is extremely important." Sandi See Tai, MD, Director, Global Medical Affairs, Transplantation, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, said that the data are encouraging "because they indicate better long-term outcomes for kidney transplant patients." Wyeth Pharmaceuticals markets sirolimus under the trade name RAPAMUNE®. "Overall, the interim results of CONCEPT show that a sirolimus-based regimen may provide lasting benefits in renal transplant patients," Dr. Lebranchu added. Written by Jill Stein Jill Stein is a Paris-based freelance medical writer. jillstein03(at)gmail.com Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


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