Red Blood Cells News and Research

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NIH funds $1.5M for research into prediction of stroke risk in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease

A researcher from the biomedical engineering department operated by Georgia Tech and Emory University has received a $1.5 million NIH Director's New Innovator Award to support a project aimed at reducing the incidence of stroke in children with sickle cell disease. Manu Platt, an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to develop models for identifying which children with the disease are at risk for stroke.

1 Oct 2010

McLean Researchers receive award to create first clinic-ready human induced iPS cells

Belmont, MA-Researchers at Harvard Affiliated McLean Hospital have been awarded a $1.9 million National Institutes of Health Director's Opportunity Award to continue their research into creating human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells using a method aimed at eliminating the risk of cancer and other problems associated with other options such as genome-integrating viral methods.

30 Sep 2010

Key pathway used by malaria parasite to infect human cells identified

Development of an effective vaccine for malaria is a step closer following identification of a key pathway used by the malaria parasite to infect human cells. The discovery, by researchers at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, provides a new vaccine target through which infection with the deadly disease could be prevented.

24 Sep 2010

Cerus receives $1.4 million to support development of INTERCEPT red blood cell system

Cerus Corporation announced today that it has received an additional $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to support advanced development of the company's pathogen inactivation technology for red blood cells. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is a pathogen inactivation product Cerus is developing to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases through red blood cell transfusions.

24 Sep 2010

CSI to present CALCIUM 360° Study results at TCT symposium

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., announced today that its CALCIUM 360° Study, the first-of-its kind prospective, randomized feasibility study, demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of plaque modification with the Diamondback 360 PAD System versus the standard of care treatment (balloon angioplasty) in below-the-knee arteries.

23 Sep 2010

Weight-based taribavirin reduces anemia, increases sustained virologic response

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and 50 other centers found that weight-based dosing of taribavirin reduces rates of anemia while increasing sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). Full details of this study are available in the October issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

23 Sep 2010

New anti-pathogenic drugs render MRSA harmless without killing bacteria

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor and researcher in the department of biochemistry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has identified new anti-pathogenic drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

17 Sep 2010

Acceleron Pharma named as one of "Fierce 15" for 2010

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, today announced that it has been selected by the editors of FierceBiotech as one of the "Fierce 15" for 2010, an annual list of the top 15 most promising companies in the biotech industry.

15 Sep 2010

AABB to honor blood-collection professionals worldwide

Blood collection professionals are the connection between blood donors and the life-saving blood therapies people rely on every day. Blood-collection professionals will be recognized in communities worldwide September 12-18, 2010, as part of the 6th Annual Blood Collectors Week, sponsored jointly by Fenwal Inc. and AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks).

13 Sep 2010

Acceleron Pharma and Shire announce joint development of ACE-031 for DMD

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, and Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced a joint development and commercialization agreement for ACE-031 and other novel molecules targeting the activin receptor type IIB (ActRIIB) pathway. This pathway plays critical roles in regulating the growth of skeletal muscle.

9 Sep 2010

Johns Hopkins Children's Center urges new screening program to improve sickle cell trait

The Johns Hopkins Children's Center top pediatrician is urging a "rethink" of a new sickle cell screening program, calling it an enlightened but somewhat rushed step toward improving the health of young people who carry the sickle cell mutation.

9 Sep 2010

Avoidance of fluoride reduces anemia in pregnant women and decreases pre-term births

Fluoride avoidance reduced anemia in pregnant women, decreased pre-term births and enhanced babies' birth-weight, concludes leading fluoride expert, AK Susheela and colleagues, in a study published in Current Science (May 2010).

3 Sep 2010

Scientists develop direct method to detect gene doping

Scientists at the universities in Tübingen and Mainz have developed a test that can provide conclusive proof of gene doping. "For the first time, a direct method is now available that uses conventional blood samples to detect doping via gene transfer and is still effective if the actual doping took place up to 56 days before," Professor Perikles Simon, MD, PhD from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany explained on Thursday.

3 Sep 2010

H1N1 flu increases complication in children with sickle cell anemia: Study

Children with sickle cell disease are especially hard-hit by the H1N1 flu strain, causing more life-threatening complications than the seasonal flu, according to a study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

27 Aug 2010

Octapharma completes clinical development of Uniplas human pooled plasma

Octapharma AG, one of the largest private manufacturers of plasma products in the world, announced today that the clinical development for Uniplas® has been successfully completed. The product has been filed for registration in Europe and will be submitted later in the USA.

26 Aug 2010

Cerus to acquire BioOne's commercialization rights for INTERCEPT Blood System

Cerus Corporation announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire BioOne Corporation's commercialization rights for the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma, subject to approval of the transaction by BioOne's shareholders. In 2004 and 2005, Cerus and its partner at the time, Baxter International, licensed the commercialization rights for INTERCEPT platelets and plasma to BioOne for an Asian territory, which included China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

25 Aug 2010

FDA grants Acceleron's ACE-031 orphan designation for treatment of DMD

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, today announced the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan designation for ACE-031 for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a fatal neuromuscular disease in which patients experience a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. ACE-031 is an investigational protein therapeutic being developed to increase muscle mass and strength.

20 Aug 2010

CaridianBCT releases version 6.0 of Trima Accel Automated Blood Collection System

CaridianBCT, the leading global provider of technology, products and services in the blood banking, transfusion medicine and cell therapy industries, announced the global release of the Trima Accel® Automated Blood Collection System Version 6.0. The latest version of the flagship automated blood collection platform provides streamlined operations and potentially increased cost savings for customers worldwide.

18 Aug 2010

Scientists identify possible therapeutic strategy for reducing leukemia risk from chemotherapy

A UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia. Their finding also may explain, they say, why some other age-related hematological disorders develop.The study, reported in "Cell Stem Cell" and reviewed in Cell Stem Cell and Cell, opens a new frontier for studying the molecular underpinnings of adult leukemia.

17 Aug 2010

Liverpool scientists create new drug for malaria

As part of the -1.5 million project, researchers are now testing the drug to determine how the treatment could progress to clinical trials. The drug is made from simple organic molecules and will be cheaper to mass produce compared to existing therapies.

16 Aug 2010