New treatment could increase number of lung donors

Donated lungs in vast quantities cannot be transplanted. Researchers at Skane University Hospital and Lund University in Sweden completed an animal study that raises the possibility of using more donor lungs in the future. To determine whether the treatment will have the same favourable impact on people, the researchers have started a pilot trial. The findings demonstrate that the lower levels of cytokines were responsible for the lung function returning to a higher level than previously. The findings of the study, which were published in Nature Communications, served as the foundation for a recent clinical pilot study. At Skane University Hospital in Lund, we have begun enrolling the first patients in the pilot trial. The total number of transplants in the trial is 20, half of which will receive treatment to lower cytokine levels while the other half will receive standard care. The trial will be expanded to include 120 transplants nationwide if we see promising results, Sandra Lindstedt said. The findings of the study, which were published in Nature Communications, served as the foundation for a recent clinical pilot study. (ANI)