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Five children who were born completely deaf have had some reversal of hearing loss after receiving a "groundbreaking" gene therapy. The clinical trial, which was co-led by Mass Eye and Ear in Boston and the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, was the first in the world to apply gene therapy to children in both ears, according to the researchers. The research has just been published in Nature Medicine on June 5. (Rudy, 6/5)

Surgeons removed the kidney of a genetically engineered pig from a critically ill patient last week after the organ was damaged by inadequate blood flow related to a heart pump that the woman had also received, according to officials at NYU Langone Transplant Institute. The patient, Lisa Pisano, 54, who is still hospitalized, went back on kidney dialysis after the pig’s organ was removed. She lived with the transplanted organ for 47 days, Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the institute, said. The kidney showed no signs of organ rejection. (Rabin, 6/4)

A novel approach to organ transplantation allowed patients to wean off anti-rejection drugs after two years, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial presented Monday. The drugs, called immunosuppressants, are an essential part of any transplant recipient’s life: They help ensure that the immune system doesn’t attack the donated organ as a “foreign” object, leading to rejection. In doing so, however, they come with a host of toxic side effects, including harming the donated organ and increasing the recipient’s risk of infection and cancer. (Syal and Herzberg, 6/4)

A Michigan company is recalling its ground black pepper product that was distributed throughout the U.S. because it could be contaminated with salmonella, health officials announced. UBC Food Distributors in Dearborn is recalling a ground black pepper product under the Baraka brand name. The product comes in 7-ounce plastic containers with an expiration date of January 2026, and it was distributed to retail stores nationwide. (Powers, 6/4)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Listen To The Latest '�鶹Ů�� Health News Minute'

“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the �鶹Ů�� Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week. (6/4)