U.S. researchers will soon test whether livers from a gene-edited pig could treat people with sudden liver failure — by temporarily filtering their blood so their own organ can rest and maybe heal. The first-of-its-kind clinical trial has been cleared by the FDA, according to pig producer eGenesis, which announced the step Tuesday with its partner OrganOx. An estimated 35,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized each year when their liver suddenly fails. There are few treatment options and death rates as high as 50%. Many don’t qualify for a liver transplant or can't get a match in time.
Experts warn the boarding issue will worsen as the number of people 65 and older in the U.S. with dementia grows in the coming decades. Hospital bed capacity in the U.S. may not keep up. Between 2003 and 2023, the number of staffed hospital beds was static, even as emergency department visits shot up 30% to 40% over that same period.
Immunization programs nationwide have been left brittle by years of stagnant funding by federal, state and local governments. In Texas and elsewhere, this helped set the stage for the measles outbreak and fueled its spread. Now cuts to federal funding threaten efforts to prevent more cases and outbreaks.
While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak concentrated in the small, dusty towns of West Texas, cases of pertussis have skyrocketed by more than 1,500% nationwide since hitting a recent low in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Deaths tied to the disease are also up, hitting 10 last year, compared with about two to four in previous years. Cases are on track to exceed that total this year.
DaVita says it was hit by a ransomware attack that encrypted certain elements of its network, and some of its operations remained disrupted despite interim measures. While the dialysis service provider continued to provide patient care as it took measures to restore certain functions, it could not 'estimate the duration or extent of the disruption at this time', DaVita said in a regulatory filing.