The May issue of the McEwen Monthly is now available online!

Read about a new study published by McEwen Centre Director Dr. Gordon Keller that provides new insight into blood cell development.

Also featured are the latest stem cell research publications, seminars and events.

Long-term survival after lung transplantation remains severely limited, primarily due to a post-transplant immune response that leads to chronic rejection and a consequent obstruction of the airways of the lungs.

Previously, TGRI Senior Scientists Drs. Shaf Keshavjee and Mingyao Liu and OCI Senior Scientist Dr. Jeffrey Medin demonstrated in an experimental tracheal transplantation model that interleukin(IL)-10—an anti-inflammatory protein—gene therapy after transplant could significantly reduce the obstruction of lung airways. While promising, the mechanism underlying this protective effect is still unknown. A more recent study from these researchers has shed light on this mystery.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an enlargement of the prostate that can cause lower urinary tract symptoms. These symptoms include bladder problems as well as frequent and urgent urination. However, many men do not display these symptoms despite having an enlarged prostate, a condition known as asymptomatic BPH. Although they do not display symptoms initially, asymptomatic BPH patients could develop them at a later date. OCI Clinician-Scientist Dr. Neil Fleshner examined the effect of dutasteride, a treatment for BPH that reduces the size of the prostate, in preventing the development and worsening of symptoms in asymptomatic BPH patients.