Blood News and Research

RSS

Pre-mRNA that codes for inflammatory protein identified

In a discovery that upends a longstanding tenet of human biology, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that a key process in gene regulation can occur in human platelets, unique cells that are unusual because they don't have a nucleus (anucleate).

11 Aug 2005

Plasma exchange treatment shown most helpful for severe attacks in subtype of MS patients

A Mayo Clinic study demonstrates that only those multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with evidence for antibody deposition or complement activation -- immune cells that can cause tissue destruction -- in their lesions are likely to respond to plasma exchange, a treatment for acute MS attacks.

11 Aug 2005

Specialist counselling does not help pregnant smokers quit

Motivational interviewing by specially trained midwives does not help pregnant smokers to quit, finds new research in this week's BMJ (British Medical Journal).

11 Aug 2005

New therapeutic approach that could help eliminate dormant HIV infection

US scientists have tested a new therapeutic approach that could help eliminate dormant HIV infection that current treatments miss. The researchers report these preliminary findings in a proof-of-concept study in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

11 Aug 2005

Genes interact with behavior to affect how well people move

Genes can keep elderly people from benefiting equally from exercise, no matter how much effort they expend, according to research findings published in today's (Aug. 10) Journal of the American Medical Association.

11 Aug 2005

Researchers find drug targets for treating metabolic syndrome

Ongoing studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and other institutions have uncovered the biochemical basis of many of the factors contributing to what is known as the metabolic syndrome, suggesting potential new drug targets for treating the condition.

11 Aug 2005

Early detection of Alzheimer's coming soon?

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of old-age dementia and has become the fourth most common cause of death in the USA. The cause of the disease is protein deposits, called amyloid plaques, in the brain.

11 Aug 2005

Alternative to Cox II inhibitors

After the failure of cox II inhibitors such as Vioxx, osteoarthritis patients and their doctors are faced with a lack of alternative therapies. The Orthokine-therapy means knee-injections of IL-1Ra protein, obtained from the patient's blood.

11 Aug 2005

Australian scientists rejuvenate the immune systems of mice and humans using a common hormone

The scientists, led by Associate Professor Richard Boyd and Dr Jayne Sutherland from the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, have revitalised the thymus which produces the T cells required to fight infection but which shuts down from early adulthood.

11 Aug 2005

Standardized guidelines for stroke care offer improved outcomes and fewer complications

Patients suffering from a stroke are more likely to have improved outcomes and fewer complications when hospitals use standardized guidelines for stroke care during a patient's admission and discharge from the hospital, according to a study led by researchers at UCSF Medical Center.

11 Aug 2005

Little convincing evidence that dietary antioxidant supplements such as vitamin E prevent heart disease

Instead there has been a surprise finding, which relates to a synthetic antioxidant, the drug Probucol, which is no longer prescribed in Australia.

11 Aug 2005

Researchers discover that tumors secrete fatty acids which inhibit the cytotoxic T lymphocytes' ability to kill tumor cells

Researchers have discovered that tumors release fatty acids that interfere with the cells that are trying to kill them. Consequently, strategies that reduce the amount of fatty acids surrounding the tumors may give a boost to anti-cancer therapeutics.

11 Aug 2005

Ground-breaking discoveries that provide hope of an alternative treatment option for haemophilia sufferers

Haemophilia is a hereditary blood disease, primarily affecting males, where the blood fails to clot causing potentially life-threatening 'bleeds'. About one in 6000 Australian males is born with haemophilia in severe, moderate or mild form. People with haemophilia rely on intravenous infusion of recombinant Factor VIII clotting protein.

11 Aug 2005

FDA approval sought for Pfizer's new cancer drug

Drug company Pfizer has announced it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for its cancer drug Sutent, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

11 Aug 2005

Expert warns of spread of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

An expert on infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is warning that humans can inadvertently help spread infectious organisms beyond traditional state boundaries.

11 Aug 2005

New prostate cancer test could save thousands from unnecessary surgery

Doctors at present lack a test that can distinguish fast-developing tumours that need urgent attention from slow-growing ones that are not a threat and need only watching, and as a result many men have operations that can leave them impotent and incontinent for prostate tumours that would never have killed them.

10 Aug 2005

Open nephron-sparing surgery remains the most desirable for the patients

Urologists often view less-invasive surgery techniques as more desirable for the patient, but in a study of open nephron-sparing surgeries (NSS) from 1985 to 2001 at Mayo Clinic, researchers found that the "gold standard" of open surgery for kidney tumors should remain the first choice for many patients. The study appears online today in The Journal of Urology.

10 Aug 2005

Quality of the doctor-patient relationship can greatly affect patients' medication use

Patients who trust their doctors are more likely to stick to their prescription medicines, even if they face high out-of-pocket costs, a new study finds. But patients who have lower levels of trust in their physicians, or who have depression-like symptoms, are much more likely to skip doses or refills when costs become a problem for them.

10 Aug 2005

Placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases as embryonic stem cells

Routinely discarded as medical waste, placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases and regenerate tissues as their more controversial counterparts, embryonic stem cells, suggests a University of Pittsburgh study to be published in the journal Stem Cells and available now as an early online publication in Stem Cells Express.

10 Aug 2005

High insulin levels increase inflammatory markers and beta-amyloids

Moderately elevated levels of insulin increase the levels of inflammatory markers and beta-amyloid in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid, and these markers may contribute to Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study posted online today from Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Aug 2005

Blood News and Research

Pre-mRNA that codes for inflammatory protein identified

Plasma exchange treatment shown most helpful for severe attacks in subtype of MS patients

Specialist counselling does not help pregnant smokers quit

New therapeutic approach that could help eliminate dormant HIV infection

Genes interact with behavior to affect how well people move

Researchers find drug targets for treating metabolic syndrome

Early detection of Alzheimer's coming soon?

Alternative to Cox II inhibitors

Australian scientists rejuvenate the immune systems of mice and humans using a common hormone

Standardized guidelines for stroke care offer improved outcomes and fewer complications

Little convincing evidence that dietary antioxidant supplements such as vitamin E prevent heart disease

Researchers discover that tumors secrete fatty acids which inhibit the cytotoxic T lymphocytes' ability to kill tumor cells

Ground-breaking discoveries that provide hope of an alternative treatment option for haemophilia sufferers

FDA approval sought for Pfizer's new cancer drug

Expert warns of spread of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

New prostate cancer test could save thousands from unnecessary surgery

Open nephron-sparing surgery remains the most desirable for the patients

Quality of the doctor-patient relationship can greatly affect patients' medication use

Placental tissue could feasibly provide an abundant source of cells with the same potential to treat diseases as embryonic stem cells

High insulin levels increase inflammatory markers and beta-amyloids

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Latest News