Research Group
- Dr David Wang, Principal Investigator
- Dr Daniel Brennan, Co-Investigator
- Dr Steven Lawrence, Co-Investigator
Location
- Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Title
- Identifying Viral Infections in Kidney Transplant Patients
Transplant patients frequently suffer viral infections after receiving their transplants. A side effect of the drug therapies that enable the patient to tolerate the transplanted organ is that the patient is at increased risk of developing viral infections. These infections in turn, can lead to significant disease, rejection of the organ or even death. The types of virus infections that can occur in transplant patients are not completely understood. In many instances, no known virus can be detected; thus, the goal of this project is to use state-of-the art technologies to identify all viral infections in a cohort of kidney transplant recipients. These sophisticated new technologies have never previously been used to analyze infections in transplant patients. Kidney transplant recipients will be enrolled in a clinical study and clinical specimens (urine, blood, stool, and nasal secretions) will be collected and then scrutinized for the presence of novel viruses. If novel viruses are discovered, the frequency at which they occur in diseased cases will be compared to the frequency at which they occur in asymptomatic control patients. In the long term, these studies will lead to a better understanding of the types of viruses that affect transplant patients, and ultimately may lead to the development of diagnostic, preventative or therapeutic options.
Progress Report
Final Report
