Background: Thymus Function in Adulthood and Health Implications

Apuntes

Thenewenglandjournalofmedicinenengljmed389; 5nejm. orgAugust3, 2023406FromtheCentersforRegenerativeMedi- cine (K. A. K. , D. B. S. , K. G. , D. T. S. ) andSystemsBiology (B. H. F. ), MassachusettsGeneralHospital, theHarvardStemCellInstitute (K. A. K. , K. G. , D. T. S. ), theDe- partmentofStemCellandRegenerativeBiology, HarvardUniversity (K. A. K. , K. G. , D. T. S. ), andHarvardMedicalSchool (K. A. K. , B. H. F. , D. B. S. , K. G. , D. T. S. ) — allinBoston. Dr. Scaddencanbecontactedatdscadden@mgh. harvard . eduorattheCenterforRegenerativeMedicine, MassachusettsGeneralHos- pital, 185CambridgeSt. , Boston, MA02114-2696. Drs. GustafssonandScaddencontributedequallytothisarticle. NEnglJMed2023; 389: 406-17. DOI: 10. 1056/NEJMoa2302892Copyright © 2023MassachusettsMedicalSociety. BACKGROUNDThefunctionofthethymusinhumanadultsisunclear, androutineremovalofthethymusisperformedinavarietyofsurgicalprocedures. Wehypothesizedthattheadultthymusisneededtosustainimmunecompetenceandoverallhealth. METHODSWeevaluatedtheriskofdeath, cancer, andautoimmunediseaseamongadultpa- tientswhohadundergonethymectomyascomparedwithdemographicallymatchedcontrolswhohadundergonesimilarcardiothoracicsurgerywithoutthy...