High blood sugar linked with higher mortality for lung transplant patients

Dr Kathryn Hackman, lead author of the study, explaining how
diabetes halves survival after lung transplant. 2013 Video

by Anne Crawford

Lung transplant recipients with hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) face a significantly greater risk of mortality than those with normal glucose levels, a study by Monash University, Central Clinical School (CCS) and Alfred Hospital researchers has found.

Natural Killer cells in lung transplantation

Aislin Meehan, PhD student in Medicine, is first author on a paper published in PLOS One, investigating the effect of Natural Killer (NK) cells in lung transplantation. NK cells have the potential to be alloreactive, and cause a problem with the transplant. Their research elucidated pathways of NK cell activation, and showed that various transplant immunosuppression regimes and post transplantation events have different effects on NK cell function.