At the point a patient with advanced lung disease is considered for transplant, he or she is severely ill. While all transplants are challenging, patients who undergo lung transplant can face a particularly rough road. To gain a more in-depth understanding of the patient under consideration, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas (Baylor Dallas), part of Baylor Scott & White Health, has embedded supportive palliative care into the lung transplant program.
Concurrent radiation therapy and chemotherapy, known as chemoradiation, is a common treatment for locally advanced cancers. Adding concurrent chemotherapy can improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy but can also enhance the appearance of toxic side effects. This means that some cancer patients, especially those with comorbidities or poor health status, are ineligible for concurrent chemoradiation. Researchers at Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) are contributing to critical clinical trials to improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy for cancer patients, including those who are not eligible for concurrent chemoradiation.
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) is well known for its diverse research portfolio. The program actively maintains nearly 2,000 active and enrolling projects across more than 50 medical specialties each year, including initiatives supported by its translational research program. The program is focused on driving innovation by working with clinical teams across the Baylor Scott & White Health System to develop new medicines and diagnostic tests. The translational research team’s approach to discovery of “bench-to-bedside- and- back-to-bench” allows BSWRI to continue to be a major contributor to advancements in medical science.
Achalasia is a serious motility disorder of the esophagus that impacts more than 5,000 people in the US each year. Patients with achalasia experience damage to muscle and nerve cells in the esophagus, resulting in a loss of the peristaltic activity that normally pushes food through the esophagus into the stomach, and failure of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to relax with swallowing, which further blocks the transit of food. Thus, achalasia patients experience severe swallowing difficulty that adversely impacts their quality of life. Because the etiology of achalasia is not known, current therapies do not cure the disease and only address its symptoms. Exciting new research from Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) shows that LES muscle in achalasia exhibits profound mast cell degranulation, a hallmark of allergy-induced inflammation. This work adds support to the novel hypothesis developed by BSWRI researchers that achalasia might be an allergic disorder.
It is again a great honor and pleasure to introduce this latest issue of the Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute Abdominal Transplant Update.
Almost 40 years ago, our abdominal transplant team began to deliver transplant care to some of the sickest patients in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The vision was to provide innovative therapeutic options that would save lives, as well as improve the quality of life, for patients in need. Building on that vision, what is now the Simmons Transplant Institute continues to innovate by adding new technologies, like robotic-assisted living donor hepatectomy, and liver pumps like normothermic perfusion that will allow us to accept more donor organs. Most recently, we have expanded our services to the Austin area, established new patient care models, and, most importantly, we have recruited and promoted to leadership roles some of the best talent in the world.
Please let us know how we can be of service to you and your patients, or if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Giuliano Testa, MD, MBA, FACS
Chairman and Chief of Abdominal Transplantation,
Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute
