Cynthia Smetanka

TL;DR: Inhibition of complement activation by the expression of hCD46 on the pig islets did not substantially reduce the initial loss of islet mass, but was effective in limiting antibody‐mediated rejection, which resulted in a reduced need for immunosuppression to maintain normoglycemia long‐term.

TL;DR: The Charlson Comorbidity Index was used to assess the comorbid conditions of 715 patients who underwent kidney transplantation at the Starzl Transplant Institute between January 1998 and January 2003 and found the number of patients with highComorbidities has increased significantly over time and was found to be associated with an increased risk for patient death.

TL;DR: Emerging evidence of the ability to reestablish endogenous insulin production in the pancreas even after the diabetic damage occurs envisions the exogenous supplementation of islets to patients also as a temporary therapeutic aid, useful to buy time toward a possible self-healing process of the pancreatic islets.

TL;DR: The transplantation data indicated that the degree of graft function necessary to normalise blood glucose in the recipient was determined by the recipient levels rather than by the donor levels, which need to be considered when assessing graft function in xenotransplantation models.

TL;DR: To limit the costs involved in the logistics and health care of pigs for clinical xenotransplantation, it is studied whether younger, rather than older, pigs that are typically preferred can be used as islet donors.