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Study assesses evidence of immunosuppression in sepsis

An analysis of lung and spleen tissue from patients who died of sepsis revealed certain biochemical, cellular and histological findings that were consistent with immunosuppression, according to a study in the December 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Dec 2011

BMDCs can contribute to olfactory neurons through plasticity mechanism

Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDCs) have been recognized as a source for transplantation because they can contribute to different cell populations in a variety of organs under both normal and pathological conditions.

20 Dec 2011

Immunosuppressant combination improves survival of human spinal stem cells in ALS rat model

A team of researchers grafting human spinal stem cells into rats modeled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," a degenerative, lethal, neuromuscular disease, have tested four different immunosuppressive protocols aimed at determining which regimen improved long-term therapeutic effects.

20 Dec 2011

Cutting cardiac sympathetic nerve may help control heart rhythms

What do sweaty palms and abnormal heart rhythms have in common? Both can be initiated by the nervous system during adrenaline-driven "flight or fight" stress reaction when the body senses danger.

20 Dec 2011

FDA nod for pediatric Berlin heart

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Berlin Heart for pediatric patients waiting for heart transplants. The ventricular assist device is similar to the one worn by former Vice President Dick Cheney but scaled down in size for children and babies.

19 Dec 2011

New procedure helps reconstruct cricoid cartilage in a cancer patient

When Sherry Wittenberg was diagnosed with a rare cancer in the cricoid cartilage of her larynx, doctors told her the only way to treat the condition was to remove her voice box. The operation would leave her unable to speak normally and would require her to breathe through a hole in her neck for the rest of her life.

17 Dec 2011

Berlin Heart receives FDA approval for EXCOR Pediatric System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a medical device that supports the weakened heart of children with heart failure to help keep them alive until a donor for a heart transplant can be found.

17 Dec 2011

TJC approves UCSD's DSC Certification for Ventricular Assist Device

The Joint Commission (TJC) has approved UC San Diego Health System's Disease-Specific Care (DSC) Certification for Ventricular Assist Device.

16 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Wyden and Ryan on their Medicare plan; Frist on the need for international health aid

Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc, and both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of exploiting Medicare to frighten and entice voters. But turning discussions of Medicare's future into the third rail of American politics does nothing to guarantee that Medicare will continue to be a lifeline for America's seniors.

16 Dec 2011

First Total Artificial Heart implant performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center performed the first Total Artificial Heart implant in the New York City area to replace a patient's dying heart.

15 Dec 2011

Liver transplantations for NASH-Cirrhosis increase dramatically

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when fat builds up in the liver. This accumulation of fat damages the liver and leads to cirrhosis. NASH is rapidly increasing in the U.S. mainly related to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

15 Dec 2011

Maraviroc reduces incidence of GvHD in blood cancer patients after ASCT

An HIV drug that redirects immune cell traffic appears to significantly reduce the dangerous complication graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in blood cancer patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT), according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented today at the 53rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.

14 Dec 2011

Promising results from Fate Therapeutics' ProHema Phase 1b trial on hematologic malignancies

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. announced today promising clinical results from a Phase 1b trial of ProHema (FT1050-enhanced umbilical cord blood) as part of double-umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplants in adult patients with hematologic malignancies who have undergone reduced-intensity conditioning therapy.

14 Dec 2011

NYUCI experts present latest research findings about hematologic cancers at 53rd ASH meeting

Experts from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, presented their latest research findings about hematologic cancers at the 53rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition held December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego, California.

14 Dec 2011

Study demonstrates that bone marrow and PBSC result in similar patient survival

Patients who receive a blood stem cell transplant from a donor outside of their family to treat leukemia and other blood diseases are more likely to have graft failure but less likely to experience graft-versus-host disease if the transplanted blood cells come directly from a donor's bone marrow, rather than from circulating peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs), according to new research.

13 Dec 2011

Ruxolinitib reduces spleen size by 35% in patients with myelofibrosis

In a major advance in treatment, a multicenter study found that ruxolinitib did a better job than off-label chemotherapy drugs reducing the terrible symptoms associated with myelofibrosis, including pain, enlarged spleen, anemia, fever, chills, fatigue, and weight loss.

13 Dec 2011

'Twinning' team approach improves pediatric lymphoma outcomes

In an African county lacking any specialists in children's cancers, a team approach that "twins" Rwandan physicians with Boston-based pediatric oncologists has shown it can deliver expert, curative care to young patients stricken with lymphoma.

13 Dec 2011

Combination of bortezomib and panobinostat shows promise against advanced MM

When the targeted drug bortezomib stops working in patients with advanced multiple myeloma, the patients survive only an average of five months longer. But a phase 2 clinical trial has shown that pairing bortezomib with an experimental drug, panobinostat, may be a promising new treatment for such patients, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers say.

13 Dec 2011

Study describes new method that synthesizes novel anti-HIV protein

The most abundant and important molecules in all living organisms are proteins; after all they manage to participate in every single one of life's essential reactions. So it is easy to see why scientists have been making such a fuss trying to learn how to synthesise them in laboratory as this would provide them with a tool of extraordinary potential. Unfortunately, this has not proved easy.

13 Dec 2011

Three-drug combination therapy appears to be effective for newly diagnosed MM patients

A three-drug combination treatment for the blood cancer multiple myeloma compares favorably to the best established therapy for newly diagnosed patients, according to a multi-center study led by Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the multiple myeloma program at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

13 Dec 2011