Transplantationskirurgi

A transplant surgeon''s “visceral tale of hearts and bones, surgical bravura, and the ‘web of transplantation’ that binds people who might never meet” (Nature).

At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, transplanting organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he illuminates the extraordinary field of transplantation that enables this kind of miracle to happen every day. Mezrich examines more than a hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this history with the inspiring and heartbreaking stories of his transplant patients. He introduces the maverick surgeons who made transplantation a reality. And he takes us inside the operating room and unlocks the wondrous process of transplant surgery, a delicate, intense ballet requiring precise timing, breathtaking skill, and at times, creative improvisation.

When Death Becomes Life also engages in fascinating ethical and philosophical debates: How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? What defines death, and what role did organ transplantation play in that definition? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich’s riveting book is a poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.

“Outstanding … . . . Medical memoirs have become a significant genre over the past two decades, and this one ranks near the top, in a class that includes the best.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Braids unflinching medical history with frank clinical memoir. . . . there are no demigods in the world of transplant, just especially ambitious and unqueasy humans.” — Wall Street Journal

“A clear and compelling account of the grueling daily work, the spellbinding history and the unsettling ethical issues that haunt this miraculous lifesaving treatment. Mezrich''s compassionate and honest voice, punctuated by a sharp and intelligent wit, render the enormous subject not just palatable but downright engrossing.” —Pauline Chen, author of Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality

“Fascinating . . .Mezrich weaves in the history, ethics, and technical grit of how doctors and patients navigate this miraculous second chance at life.” — Danielle Ofri, M.D., Ph.D., author of What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear

There have been tremendous strides in cellular transplantation in recent years, leading to accepted practice for the treatment of certain diseases, and use for many others in trial phases. The long history of cellular transplantation, or the transfer of cells from one organism or region of the body to another, has been revolutionized by advances in stem cell research, as well as developments in gene therapy.

Cellular Transplants: From Lab to Clinic provides a thorough foundation of the basic science underpinning this exciting field, expert overviews of the state-of-the-art, and detailed description of clinical success stories to date, as well as insights into the road ahead. As highlighted by this timely and authoritative survey, scale-up technologies and whole organ transplantation are among the hurdles representing the next frontier.

The contents are organized into four main sections, with the first covering basic biology, including transplant immunology, the use of immunosuppressive drugs, stem cell biology, and the development of donor animals for transplantation. The next part looks at peripheral and reconstructive applications, followed by a section devoted to transplantation for diseases of the central nervous system. The last part presents efforts to address the key challenges ahead, such as identifying novel transplantable cells and integrating biomaterials and nanotechnology with cell matrices.

Regenerative Medicine Applications in Organ Transplantation illustrates exactly how these two fields are coming together and can benefit one another. It discusses technologies being developed, methods being implemented, and which of these are the most promising. The text encompasses tissue engineering, biomaterial sciences, stem cell biology, and developmental biology, all from a transplant perspective. Organ systems considered include liver, renal, intestinal, pancreatic, and more. Leaders from both fields have contributed chapters, clearly illustrating that regenerative medicine and solid organ transplantation speak the same language and that both aim for similar medical outcomes. The overall theme of the book is to provide insight into the synergy between organ transplantation and regenerative medicine.

Recent groundbreaking achievements in regenerative medicine have received unprecedented coverage by the media, fueling interest and enthusiasm in transplant clinicians and researchers. Regenerative medicine is changing the premise of solid organ transplantation, requiring transplantation investigators to become familiar with regenerative medicine investigations that can be extremely relevant to their work. Similarly, regenerative medicine investigators need to be aware of the needs of the transplant field to bring these two fields together for greater results.

Personalized Immunosuppression in Transplantation: Role of Biomarker Monitoring and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring provides coverage of the various approaches to monitoring immunosuppressants in transplant patients, including the most recently developed biomarker monitoring methods, pharmacogenomics approaches, and traditional therapeutic drug monitoring.

The book is written for pathologists, toxicologists, and transplant surgeons who are involved in the management of transplant patients, offering them in-depth coverage of the management of immunosuppressant therapy in transplant patients with the goal of maximum benefit from drug therapy and minimal risk of drug toxicity.

This book also provides practical guidelines for managing immunosuppressant therapy, including the therapeutic ranges of various immunosuppressants, the pitfalls of methodologies used for determination of these immunosuppressants in whole blood or plasma, appropriate pharmacogenomics testing for organ transplant recipients, and when biomarker monitoring could be helpful.

Mathematical Approaches to Liver Transplantation provides mathematical approaches to the optimization of liver graft distribution. Through mathematical and computational methods, several aspects related to organ allocation are tackled, with possible solutions presented. The book discusses topics such as patient selection for liver transplantation, transplantation procedures, dynamics of organs waiting list, improvement on grafts allocation, live donors and MELD scale. The content focuses on liver transplantation, however the mathematical approaches presented can be successfully replicated to different organs. This book is a valuable source for mathematical biologists, bioinformaticians, and several members of biomedical field who are involved in decision-making related to organs transplantation.

Biomarkers in Kidney Transplantation: Clinical Aspects and Laboratory Determination provides a focused study on traditional and emerging biomarkers to predict early rejection of kidney transplants supporting appropriate therapeutic interventions. Coverage includes predictive and diagnostic biomarkers for different types of rejections, including biomarkers of acute, chronic/sub chronic rejection or clinical rejection, T-cell mediated rejection, antibody mediated rejection and mixed rejection. Comparisons are provided for broad classification of pharmacokinetic versus pharmacodynamic biomarkers, and differentiation is shown between the susceptibility, diagnostic, predictive, prognostic and monitoring biomarkers.Coverage of the analytical aspects of biomarker measurement, the process of biomarker discovery and their clinical validation addresses both the clinical features of biomarkers as well as the pitfalls of determining such biomarkers in clinical laboratories. By combining all current markers known for kidney transplant in one collection, this easy-to-use reference is perfect for pathologists, clinical pharmacologists, clinical laboratory scientists and all physicians involved in organ transplantation, including immunologists and transplant surgeons.