Successful Reuse of Kidney Graft After Early Recurrence of Primary Focal and Segmental Glomerulosclerosis.

Primary focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) frequently recurs after transplantation and is associated with a poor prognosis. We describe here the successful kidney graft reuse in an adult recipient, 8 months after early primary FSGS recurrence resistant to all available therapeutics. Patient 1, a 23-year-old man, followed for kidney failure secondary to primary FSGS, was first transplanted in 2018 with a deceased donor graft. Unfortunately, we observed an immediate recurrence of biopsy-proven primary FSGS. After 4 lines of treatment (intravenous cyclosporine+corticosteroids, plasma exchanges, immunoadsorption, and rituximab), the patient was still highly nephrotic and kidney function was slowly deteriorating. After approval from both the patient and the health authority (Biomedicine Agency), the graft was detransplanted 8 months after transplantation and reimplanted in patient 2, a 78-year-old nonimmunized and anephric recipient (bi-nephrectomy 2 years previously for bilateral renal carcinoma). We observed immediate kidney function and progressive resolution of proteinuria (serum creatinine of 1.2mg/dL and proteinuria of 0.1 g/d 1 year later). Biopsies performed after surgery showed persistent FSGS lesions with a decrease in overall foot-process effacement. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case showing that kidney graft transfer may still be a viable option for refractory primary FSGS several months after transplantation.

Organ Procurement in Forensic Deaths: Specific Features of Nonheart-Beating Donors.

The need for organs has increased in the recent years, and this shortage will only worsen. In addition to the organs procured from brain-dead donors, a procedure for non-heart-beating donors was therefore developed. When deaths involve legal proceedings, the medical examiner makes the decision of whether or not to remove organs. To assist medical examiner in their decision-making, a number of forensic scientific societies aimed to develop recommendations, and legal adjustments were adopted. Nevertheless, these do present certain limits in special cases of procurement: Maastricht class I and II non-heart-beating donors. The peculiarity of this procedure stems from the urgency of the process. Compliance with temporal criteria would require that the deceased subject be removed from the crime scene even before the arrival of the authorities. This is extremely problematic legally and technically because forensic teams must collect evidence at crime scenes. Developments will have to be made to further minimize the restrictions on donations in forensic deaths.

[Recommendations for the organ donation from patients with brain or medullary primitive tumors on behalf of the Association of the Neuro-oncologists of French Expression (ANOCEF) and the Club of Neuro-oncology of the French Society of Neurosurgery]. / Recommandations pour le don d'organes issus de patients porteurs de tumeurs primitives cérébrales ou médullaires de la part de l'Association des neuro-oncologues d'expression française (ANOCEF) et le Club de neuro-oncologie de la Société française de neurochirurgie.

Requests of organs to be transplanted increase. As a matter of urgency, it is not always easy to decide if a patient carrier of a brain tumor can be candidate in the donation. After a review of the literature, the members of the Association of the Neuro-oncologists of French Expression (ANOCEF) and the Club of Neuro-oncology of the French Society of Neurosurgery propose consensual recommendations in case of donor carrier of primitive tumor intra-cranial or intra-medullary. A contact with the neuro-oncologist/neurosurgeon will allow to discuss the indication in case of glioma of grade I/II/III, according to the grade, the current status (absence of progressive disease), the number of surgeries and of lines of treatment. The taking is disadvised in case of glioma of grade IV (glioblastoma), of lymphoma or meningioma of grade III. No contraindication for the meningiomas of grade I, and individual discussion for the meningiomas of grade II. It is advisable to remain careful in case of hemangiopericytoma and of meningeal solitary fibrous tumor. The patients in first complete remission of a medulloblastoma or intra-cranial primitive germinoma seem good candidates for the taking of organ if the follow-up is of at least 10 years (3 years for non germinomas). In every case, a multidisciplinary discussion is desirable when it is materially possible.

Organ procurement in forensic deaths: French developments.

Organ procurement and transplantation have grown steadily, and the need for organs will only rise in the future. Increasing the number of potential donors is therefore paramount. However, transplant coordination teams face refusals that can be linked to the contexts of the deaths, especially when they involve legal issues. In France, deaths involving legal proceedings are not uncommon (7-10%). In these cases, the prosecutor is immediately contacted, and makes the decision of whether to remove the involved organs. Refusals of this type represent 4% (approximately 30 cases per year) of obstacles to organ removals, and are governed by specific legislation. Thus, the prosecutor must arrange contact with a forensic pathologist and with the organ transplant teams to assemble all of the necessary elements for him to take the decision. To assist prosecutors in their decision making and to ensure them scientific rigour, the French Society of Forensic Medicine sought to develop a national recommendation to harmonise practices; it emerged in early 2013. The guideline makes practical recommendations, including among others: nominating local referents; writing regional protocols between judicial authorities, forensic pathologists and transplant teams; establishing terms for the forensic pathologist's intervention on the donor's body before and after a procurement. This recommendation by the French Society of Forensic Medicine aimed to combine two interests: addressing the shortage of organs, and fulfilling the requisites of a criminal investigation by standardising practices and encouraging communication.

Immediate treatment with propranolol decreases posttraumatic stress disorder two months after trauma.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the efficacy of propranolol prescribed shortly after trauma exposure in the prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and diagnosis. METHODS: Eleven patients received 40 mg of propranolol 3 times daily for 7 days, followed by a taper period of 8-12 days. They were compared with eight patients who refused propranolol but agreed to participate in the study. Though nonrandomized, the two groups did not differ on demographics, exposure characteristics, physical injury severity, or peritraumatic emotional responses. RESULTS: Posttraumatic stress disorder rates were higher in the group who refused propranolol (3/8) compared with those who received the medication (1/11), as were the levels of PTSD symptoms (U = 85, p =.037). CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with earlier findings and suggest that propranolol may be useful for mitigating PTSD symptoms or perhaps even preventing the development of PTSD.