Blood News and Research

RSS

First heart surgery using MECC system completed

MAQUET Cardiovascular announced today that Johannes Bonatti, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Director of Coronary Surgery and Advanced Coronary Interventions at the University of Maryland Heart Center in Baltimore, has completed the world's first use of the MAQUET Minimized ExtraCorporeal Circulation (MECC) system during a successful robotic and fully endoscopic heart surgery. The new cardiopulmonary bypass technology is the first major advancement in perfusion technology in the last decade. It is designed to minimize the effects of traditional heart surgery and aid in minimally-invasive heart surgery without the need to stop the patient's heart from beating.

28 Sep 2009

Investigational vaccine regimen 31% effective in preventing HIV infection

In an encouraging development, an investigational vaccine regimen has been shown to be well-tolerated and to have a modest effect in preventing HIV infection in a clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adult participants in Thailand. Following a final analysis of the trial data, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, the trial sponsor, announced today that the prime-boost investigational vaccine regimen was safe and 31 percent effective in preventing HIV infection.

27 Sep 2009

Rosiglitazone slows progression of cachexia in cancer affected mice

Insulin resistance, the hallmark of type 2 diabetes and a condition often associated with obesity, is paradoxically also an apparent contributor to muscle wasting and severe fat loss that accompanies some cancers, according to new research.

27 Sep 2009

S&P Consultants and Vedant collaborate to increase patient safety in Cerner Millennium implementations

A new business partnership of S&P Consultants, Inc. and Vedant Incorporated will now offer the highest levels of quality- and patient-safety assurance to both standard and customized applications built on the Cerner Millennium® platform. Both companies have particular expertise in the Cerner Millennium® environment, with S&P providing a broad range of consulting services and Vedant offering TestStream®, a comprehensive suite of software testing and validation solutions for systems of all levels of complexity and scale.

26 Sep 2009

European CHMP recommends Merck's JANUVIA and JANUMET as add-on to insulin

Merck & Co., Inc., which operates in many countries as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for JANUVIA® tablets and JANUMET® tablets recommending their use as add-on to insulin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

26 Sep 2009

NIH grants $5 million to Pittsburgh researchers

Regenerative medicine researchers at the University of Pittsburgh received two grants totaling more than $5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore new methods for cultivating replacement cells from existing tissues and organs.

26 Sep 2009

Personal approach to psychological well-being

At the World Congress on Psychosomatic Medicine in Torino, Italy, Carol Ryff, Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, has described how, more than simply feeling happy, it is the personal approach to psychological well-being that matters.

26 Sep 2009

Stem Cell Therapy International merges with Histostem

Stem Cell Therapy International, Inc. is proud to announce the execution of the Reorganization and Stock Purchase Agreement ("the Agreement") with Histostem Co., Ltd., a Korean company ("Histostem" and together with SCII, "the parties").

25 Sep 2009

Researchers discover potential treatment for Friedreich's ataxia

Using clever chemistry, a Scripps Research team has pinpointed the enzyme target of a drug group that stops the progression of the devastating disease Friedreich's ataxia in mice and may do the same for humans. The findings, developed in collaboration with scientists from Repligen Corporation, help advance this treatment approach one step closer toward human clinical trials, which will be a welcome event for disease sufferers who currently have few treatment options.

25 Sep 2009

No medical errors in the month of July as widely believed: Study

New research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons challenges the widely held belief that more medical errors occur in teaching hospitals during the month of July due to the influx of new graduates from medical and nursing schools - also known as the "July Phenomenon." The study shows no differences in in-hospital mortality rates, number of days in the intensive care unit (ICU) or on ventilator support, or minutes spent undergoing resuscitation for trauma patients in July compared with results for other months of the year.

25 Sep 2009

Folotyn approved for the treatment of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Folotyn (pralatrexate), the first treatment for a form of cancer known as Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma (PTCL), an often aggressive type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

25 Sep 2009

Dental plaque increases neutrophil activity in black males

Will neglecting to brush your teeth damage more than just your smile? Can failing to attack dental plaque increase your risk of heart damage?

25 Sep 2009

Researchers to use Intravenous Immune Globulin for slowing AD progression

Researchers from the Memory and Cognition Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center will begin testing an intriguing new approach to slowing down the progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) using Intravenous Immune Globulin (IGIV), also known as gammaglobulin.

25 Sep 2009

Research to develop small-molecule drug that blocks excess iron absorption

Excess iron in the body, if left unchecked, can form toxic deposits in major organs leading to serious conditions including heart failure, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, arthritis, and even infertility. Iron overload can be a consequence of a genetically mutated gene known as hereditary hemochromatosis, or a consequence of red blood cell transfusions, required as life saving treatments, for patients with diseases such as thalassemia.

25 Sep 2009

Current stem cell applications to be discussed at NJIT

Stem cell researcher Treena Livingston Arinzeh will discuss current stem cell applications at NJIT, including the regeneration of bone and cartilage for bone fracture and osteoarthritis treatments, spinal cord repair, and liver regeneration at NJIT's first Research Caf.

25 Sep 2009

Results from COGENT clinical trial presented at TCT symposium

Results from a late breaking clinical trial called COGENT demonstrate that the combination of giving patients clopidogrel, a blood thinner commonly prescribed to patients with cardiovascular disease, and stomach medicines such as omeprazole, known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), did not lead to adverse events, as some prior studies had suggested.

25 Sep 2009

PROSPECT clinical trial results announced

Abbott today announced primary results from its groundbreaking PROSPECT (Providing Regional Observations to Study Predictors of Events in the Coronary Tree) clinical trial.

25 Sep 2009

Moderately elevated levels of ROS positive in fruit flies

It has been known for decades that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - ions or very small molecules that include free radicals - damage cells. But much to their surprise, Jonsson Cancer Center researchers found that in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, moderately elevated levels of ROS are a good thing.

25 Sep 2009

Phase III clinical trial of investigational HIV vaccine regimen complete

Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases (“GSID”) announced today that a Phase III clinical trial of an investigational HIV vaccine regimen has been shown to be safe and modestly effective in preventing HIV infection. The double-blind, placebo controlled study was conducted in Thailand among more than 16,000 volunteers.

25 Sep 2009

Qrxpharma forms an alliance with Liaoning Nuokang Medicines to commercialise its venomics assets

QRxPharma Limited,announced today a strategic alliance with Liaoning Nuokang Medicines Co. Ltd. ("Nuokang"), a Chinese biopharmaceutical company based in Shenyang, China, to develop and commercialise QRxPharma's venomics assets for the Chinese market.

25 Sep 2009