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Scientists at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, have developed a new MRI technique that could help heart transplant survivors undergoing invasive biopsy that has been proven to be safe and effective. According to scientists, the new technology has been proven to be safe and effective and it reduces complications and hospitalization. The study’s findings were published in the journal Circulation and showed that the new test was just as effective at detecting rejection.
Researchers from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney hope that the new virtual biopsy, designed to detect any signs of a heart failure, will be adopted by physicians around the world. According to scientists, around 3500 people worldwide undergo heart transplant every year. However, most patients experience some form of organ rejection and while survival rates are high, a small percentage will die in the first year after surgery.
“It is essential that we can monitor these patients closely and with high accuracy; we now have a new tool that can do this without the need for a highly invasive procedure. This new virtual biopsy takes less time, It is non-invasive, more cost-effective, uses no radiation or contrast agents, and most importantly, patients love it very much,” says Andrew Jabbor, associate professor, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and consultant cardiologist. , St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney.
This invasive procedure involves placing a tube in a jugular vein and allows surgeons to insert biopsy equipment into the heart to remove multiple samples of heart tissue. According to the team, it can cause rare but serious complications if the heart is punctured or valves are damaged. In addition, patients usually undergo biopsies about 12 times in the first year after transplantation.
However, the new MRI technique has proven to be accurate in detecting rejection and works by analyzing the level of cardiac edema that the team has demonstrated is closely linked to inflammation of the heart.
During the study, 40 heart transplant patients from St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney were randomized to receive either conventional biopsy or new MRI technology. The study also showed that despite similarities in immunosuppression requirements, kidney function, and mortality, hospitalization and infection rates decreased for those who underwent an MRI procedure versus a biopsy.
Dr Chris Anthony, fellow author and cardiologist who helped lead the study, said in a statement: “This technique is now frequently used at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, and I expect more clinics around the world to do this. Will adopt new technology.”
Reportedly, the institute and the team of researchers from St. Vincent are now planning a larger multi-centre trial to broaden the applicability of the findings and include pediatric transplant recipients. In the meantime, they are also developing new genetic tests to be used with MRI, which will hopefully detect signs of rejection through the identification of genetic signs of donor-specific inflammation in the bloodstream.
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