Cylex Study of Pediatric Immune Systems Will Improve Treatments for Young Transplant Patients
Posted on: Monday, 11 April 2005, 12:00 CDT
COLUMBIA, Md., April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Cylex Corporation, a life science company that is the developer and manufacturer of ImmuKnow(TM), the first patented, FDA-cleared cellular assay that measures the vitality of a patient's immune system from a single drop of blood, today announced findings from a collaborative study that for the first time establishes immune system function levels for children under 18 years old.
The findings provide vital information for doctors treating pediatric transplant patients whose immune systems, as in adult transplant patients, must be suppressed to prevent organ rejection, yet not suppressed to the point where potentially deadly infections can flourish. However, Harmon et al. have reported (N.Eng. J. Medicine, 2000) that infections now outpace rejection as the reason for hospital admissions in pediatric transplant patients. The implications of this study are that children less than 12 may in fact be more suppressed than they need to be and therefore, more likely to suffer life-threatening infections.
The Cylex study, conducted in collaboration with Martin A. Turman, M.D. Ph.D., Kim C. Brooks, R.N. and Elizabeth Hooper, at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Section of Pediatric Nephrology, demonstrated that healthy children 12 and older showed immune function levels indistinguishable from adults, while healthy children under 12 had significantly lower immune function levels than adults. Thus the study helps to re-define, from an immune-system perspective, the meaning of the term "pediatric." In addition, the study found that transplant recipients under 12 years of age have statistically lower immune function values than transplanted adults.
"By combining pediatric immune-system function information from our study with the cost-effective and accurate measurement of the immune system that ImmuKnow(TM) provides, pediatric transplant doctors now have powerful quantifiable tools for guiding these patients' treatments," said Judith Britz, Ph.D., CEO of Cylex.
"With the ImmuKnow(TM) assay, doctors are now provided an additional adjunct tool for deciding on how aggressively to immunosuppress their patients to both avoid the risks of rejection and infection, thereby improving outcomes. By frequent monitoring they can be sure the child's immune responsive is remaining in their immunologcially stable zone as medicines are altered due to side effects, concurrent illnesses or other changes." Dr. Turman concluded.
Similar studies establishing adult immune system target ranges were established in support of an FDA submission by Cylex in collaboration with transplant doctors and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland and the University of Alabama.
About Cylex
Cylex is a life science company and a leader in the development and manufacture of unique products that use the immune system for predicting and managing human health. It is the first company to offer a patent-protected, FDA-cleared cellular assay of immune system function, ImmuKnow(TM), which measures the vitality of a patient's immune system.
The company's products enable physicians to better manage and personalize the treatment of life-threatening diseases, such as HIV, HCV, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune and other disorders, as well as serious conditions associated with organ transplantation.
ImmuKnow(TM) is currently being incorporated into patient protocols at leading U.S. hospitals and clinics. It is the only standardized cellular assay, easily performed in the lab on a single drop of blood, that provides quick and accurate results. By optimizing therapy, ImmuKnow(TM) helps the physician lower the cost of treatment and improve treatment outcome, reduce the side effects of drugs, and enhance the patient's prospects for long term quality of life.
Cylex is a privately held company having raised $12.4 million in total funding to date. Cylex's management team members have extensive experience in the development, manufacture and marketing of clinical-use products and in the development and management of life science companies.
Cylex Corporation
CONTACT: David Kalson of RF|Binder Partners, +1-212-994-7513, ordavid.Kalson@rfbinder.com, for Cylex Corporation
Source: PRNewswire
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