Blood News and Research

RSS

Study identifies gene that causes eye loss in cavefish

Mexican cavefish spend their entire lives in the dark. With no need for vision, many of them lost functional eyes.

2 Jun 2020

Data provides a baseline understanding of the eating habits of older adults before COVID-19

Most people in their 50s and older were capable home cooks just before COVID-19 struck America, but only 5% had ordered groceries online, according to a new national poll.

2 Jun 2020

Spleen plays a dual role in malaria vivax

Plasmodium vivax is the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, mostly outside sub-Saharan Africa, and responsible for millions of clinical cases yearly, including severe disease and death. The mechanisms by which P. vivax causes disease are not well understood.

2 Jun 2020

Alternative model addresses the shortcomings of neutrophil-depletion model

s the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, researchers are turning their attention to the virus' biology, mechanism of action, and possible treatments. One of the targets are a group of immune cells called "neutrophils", which have been reported to infiltrate the respiratory tract of patients who have died from COVID-19.

2 Jun 2020

New project investigating role of B cells in cardiovascular disease receives $6.5 million grant

Christoph Binder, Professor of Atherosclerosis Research at MedUni Vienna, is to coordinate an international research network investigating the role of B cells in cardiovascular disease.

2 Jun 2020

Does interferon therapy work in COVID-19?

A new study published on the preprint site medRxiv in May 2020 reports on the efficacy of interferons in treating COVID-19. The research could help evaluate the place of such therapy in the management of this disease.

2 Jun 2020

At-home finger prick COVID-19 antibody testing

The best way to estimate the actual prevalence of COVID-19 in the population is by antibody testing. A new study by scientists at Enable Biosciences and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports the development of fast and sensitive antibody testing kits designed for at-home use. This could significantly boost the measurement of population prevalence of this infection and help understand whether it confers immunity to reinfection.

2 Jun 2020

A cytokine pattern that predicts adverse outcomes in COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reports the discovery of a predictive pattern of cytokines in COVID-19 infection that could guide clinical management if validated.

2 Jun 2020

Specific immune suppression leads to severe COVID-19 disease

A new study published online on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reports that specific changes in the way the human immune system responds to COVID-19 determine whether the individual develops moderate or severe illness.

2 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 started spreading in the United States in January, CDC says

The United States has reported the highest number of infections across the globe, with more than 1.81 million confirmed cases and at least 105,000 deaths. The magnitude of the novel coronavirus spread hints that the virus may have started earlier than previously thought.

2 Jun 2020

Blood test may predict a patient’s response to prostate cancer treatment

A team of researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London found that the test can detect traces of cancer DNA in the bloodstream. The liquid biopsy could also identify the patients who are more likely to relapse.

1 Jun 2020

Study maps novel coronavirus infection in cells of nasal cavity, airway and lungs

In a major scientific study published in the journal Cell, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have characterized the specific ways in which SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – infects the nasal cavity to a great degree – replicating specific cell types – and infects and replicates progressively less well in cells lower down the respiratory tract, including the lungs.

1 Jun 2020

Update on PALLAS triaI evaluating adjuvant palbociclib for early breast cancer

The Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group, Alliance Foundation Trials, the Breast International Group, PrECOG, LLC, the German Breast Group, and the NSABP Foundation today announced that the independent Data Monitoring Committee for the global Phase 3 early breast cancer PALbociclib CoLlaborative Adjuvant Study trial determined that the study is unlikely to show a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of invasive disease-free survival following a preplanned interim analysis.

1 Jun 2020

Stem cell model sheds new light on the devastating process of neurodegeneration

A new study published today in Neuron led by The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute's Valentina Fossati, Ph.D., creates astrocytes - an integral support cell in the brain - from stem cells and shows that in disease-like environments, these normally helpful cells can turn into neuron-killers.

1 Jun 2020

Cancer clusters' resistance to natural killer cell immunosurveillance favors metastasis

Scientific evidence suggests that cancer can metastasize to other organs when either a single cell or a cluster of cells detaches from the original tumor and travels through the blood to another location, where it grows into a new tumor.

1 Jun 2020

Reducing inflammation improves stroke recovery, may extend window for therapy

Reperfusion therapy, the gold standard for stroke treatment, helps restore blood flow after a stroke caused by a clot, preventing loss of brain tissue. However, only about 10% of stroke patients qualify, in part because of reperfusion therapy's narrow treatment window.

1 Jun 2020

Dogs could help monitor how environmental chemicals impact human health

Man's best friend may also be man's best bet for figuring out how environmental chemicals could impact our health.

1 Jun 2020

Cone snail insulin research could jumpstart the development of better diabetes treatments

Nearly a century after insulin was discovered, an international team of researchers including University of Utah Health scientists report that they have developed the world's smallest, fully functional version of the hormone, one that combines the potency of human insulin with the fast-acting potential of a venom insulin produced by predatory cone snails.

1 Jun 2020

Study highlights potential benefits of new drug for inflammatory diseases

New research conducted by the University of Liverpool and AKL Research and Development Ltd, published in Inflammopharmacology, highlights the potential benefits of a new drug treatment on the human body's immune response in inflammation.

1 Jun 2020

Out-of-pocket health care costs for patients with type 1 diabetes is $2,500 a year, study reveals

Adults and children with type 1 diabetes will spend an average of $2,500 a year out-of-pocket for health care - but insulin isn't always the biggest expense - new research suggests.

1 Jun 2020