Researchers may have found a way to predict which lung transplant patients will develop serious complications before symptoms appear. In a study titled “Increase in Alveolar Septal Width Is a Histological Predictor of Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction and Survival in Lung Transplant Recipients—A Longitudinal Study” the authors measure the thickness of air sac walls in lung tissue samples under a microscope. Patients who later developed lung failure had thicker air sac walls from the start (5.46 vs 4.59 micrometers). These walls continued thickening over time in problem cases but stayed stable in healthy patients. This simple test could lead to earlier treatment and better outcomes, though the findings need confirmation through larger studies at multiple medical centers.
Summary by Suzanne Lea, volunteer with the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension
Citation
Kuhnert, S.; Rotert, A.M.; Sommerlad, J.; Yogeswaran, A.; Reichert, M.; Askevold, I.; Hecker, A.; Koch, C.; Bräuninger, A.; Gattenlöhner, S.; et al. Increase in Alveolar Septal Width Is a Histological Predictor of Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction and Survival in Lung Transplant Recipients—A Longitudinal Study. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 6368. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186368
Read more at this link on the Journal of Clinical Medicine