New Test Assesses Heart Transplant Patients
A new, non-invasive test developed by XDx, Incorporated allows clinicians to evaluate patients following a heart transplant. The AlloMap, a molecular expression test, examines the potential of organ rejection, reported by the FDA.
The test quantifies the genetic information carried by white blood cells, specifically considering gene expression. Twenty different genes are considered. Analysis results yield a score indicating the likelihood that patients are rejecting the new heart.
The AlloMap test was developed by XDx based on research conducting on biopsy and blood samples from heart transplant recipients from nine different centers across the U.S. All of those facilities were participating in the Cardiac Allograft Rejection Gene expression Observational study.
Specimens required for analysis are simple blood samples. Currently available means to identify risk of rejection generally require heart biopsy, a significantly more invasive diagnostic approach. This means to assessment is additionally more technically challenging.
Monitoring risk of rejection is critical because it is one of the primary causes of mortality among heart transplant recipients. Rejection results when the body recognizes the newly transplanted organ as foreign and launches an immune attack. The risk of rejection is marked around one quarter during the first year post transplant, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
August 28, 2008 Related topics: Product Approval & Certification, Diagnostic, Cardiology