Anemia News and Research

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Anemia is a decrease in normal number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin deficiency. The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely such as a hemorrhage or chronically through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction (hemolysis) or deficient red blood cell production (ineffective hematopoiesis). Anemia is the most common disorder of the blood. There are several kinds of anemia, produced by a variety of underlying causes. Anemia can be classified in a variety of ways, based on the morphology of RBCs, underlying etiologic mechanisms, and discernible clinical spectra, to mention a few.

Common form of thalassaemia can be managed without blood transfusion

Haemoglobin E â thalassaemia - the commonest form of severe thalassaemia in many Asian countries - can be managed without transfusion in many patients, suggests a research letter published online today (Thursday September 29, 2005) by The Lancet.

28 Sep 2005

Mutations in the gene, called PIG-A may help identify individuals at high risk for cancer

A new study to detect an elevated rate of mutations in a gene on the X chromosome holds promise for developing a test that could identify individuals at risk for developing cancer.

26 Sep 2005

Adult sickle cell drug hydroxyurea proves effective in young children

A drug used for the treatment of sickle cell anemia in adults has now been shown to cause significant improvements in very young children with the disorder.

20 Sep 2005

Heart failure patients are "a country" in Europe, there are so many

The number of hospitalizations for heart failure is about the same as for acute myocardial infarction. Our knowledge over acute heart failure patients treated at hospitals for heart failure is based on surveys. In Europe the information is still scarce but emerging especially through the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Euroheart survey program.

5 Sep 2005

Parasite could help prevent asthma

Asthma in Britain has reached epidemic proportions and the country now has one of the highest numbers of sufferers of the allergy in the world; in Ireland alone it is reported that as many as 30% of all schoolchildren have symptoms of the disease.

5 Sep 2005

Can a new combination treatment prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia?

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will lead a national Phase III clinical trial to investigate whether a new combination treatment can prevent a secondary stroke in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and eliminate the need for nightly injections with a drug that reduces iron overload in these patients.

1 Sep 2005

Toxic flame retardants known as PBDEs are becoming a major environmental health concern

An analysis of persistent chemicals in the breastmilk of Pacific Northwest mothers, released today at an international scientific conference in Toronto, “Dioxin 2005,” found that levels of the toxic flame retardants PBDEs may be overtaking those of PCBs, an industrial chemical banned in the late 1970s.

30 Aug 2005

Dental problems caused by radiation, chemotherapy should be treated before a child undergoes immunosuppression as part of bone marrow transplantation therapy

Many children who undergo bone marrow transplantation (BMT) as part of cancer treatment already have dental abnormalities that leave them vulnerable to potentially life-threatening bacterial infections, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A report on this study appears in the prepublication online edition of Bone Marrow Transplantation.

29 Aug 2005

High-dose anticancer chemotherapy and total body irradiation during childhood can damage developing teeth

Research published by the University of Helsinki, Finland, indicates that cytostatic and radiation therapies administered before stem cell transplantation often damage children's permanent teeth.

29 Aug 2005

Unique blood test detects iron deficiency in infants earlier

A unique blood test detects iron deficiency in infants earlier and more accurately than the commonly used hemoglobin screening test, according to a study in the August 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Aug 2005

First proof of how the rare disorder Fanconi anemia causes chromosomal instability

The scientists found a gene mutation not previously known to be related to Fanconi anemia, and they say that BRIP1 is the first gene associated with the disease whose protein has a known function.

22 Aug 2005

Discovery of new gene FANCM sheds light on repair of damaged DNA

National Institute on Aging (NIA) researchers have discovered a new gene, FANCM, which sheds light on an important pathway involved in the repair of damaged DNA.

22 Aug 2005

Defects in newly discovered pathway may be an overlooked cause of anemia

Researchers studying zebrafish that die from anemia have discovered a new pathway for the synthesis of heme, the deep red, iron-containing molecule that is a component of hemoglobin and myoglobin.

18 Aug 2005

Low hemoglobin levels are a predictor of increased risk of death among heart failure patients

Hemoglobin (Hgb) is the major substance in red blood cells, and its level indicates the blood's ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Studies have shown that low hemoglobin, which may result in anemia, is more common among patients with heart failure than it is among people in the general population.

17 Aug 2005

Successful visceral leishmaniasis vaccine trial in dog

Visceral leishmaniasis, which is the most severe form of that group of diseases, affects 500 000 people in the world each year. It is caused by a protozoan, Leishmania infantum, transmitted by sand fly bites.

2 Aug 2005

Elderly need to make sure they get enough vitamin B12

These days, most health warnings about vitamins focus on the danger of overdose. For vitamin B12, though, it's more likely that people are getting too little. In fact, B12 deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the developing world and possibly in the United States as well, reports the August issue of the Harvard Health Letter.

2 Aug 2005

Heparinase I is not a suitable replacement for protamine

The results of an international clinical trial led by Duke University Medical Center researchers has shown that a new drug is not a suitable replacement for protamine, a drug that has been used for more than 40 years after coronary artery bypass surgery to return thinned blood to its normal state.

1 Aug 2005