Platelets News and Research

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American Society of Hematology 2012 Scholar Awards announced

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announces the recipients of its 2012 Scholar Awards. The ASH Scholar Awards provide monetary support for fellows and junior faculty pursuing research careers to assist them during the critical period in which they must complete their training and achieve status as an independent investigator.

3 Dec 2011

Most autoimmune diseases associated with increased risk of blood clots on the lung

Autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system attacks the body, are fairly common. Thyroid diseases, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease are some examples. Autoimmune diseases are associated with increased inflammation in the tissue, which in some cases is linked to an increased propensity to develop clots in the veins.

29 Nov 2011

Serotonin instructs scar forming cells to switch off regeneration in chronic liver disease

In liver disease, extent of tissue damage depends on the balance between the generation of scar tissue and the regeneration of new liver cells. In a significant minority of people who get injury to their organs instead of repairing them, they form scars.

29 Nov 2011

Micromet commences blinatumomab phase 2 trial for r/r B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Micromet, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a phase 2 trial of its lead product candidate blinatumomab (MT103) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is the first of a new class of agents called BiTE® antibodies, designed to harness the body's T cells to kill cancer cells.

28 Nov 2011

Suppressing mosquitoes - the only way of controlling dengue

There is no vaccine against dengue, an emerging tropical disease regularly also hitting tourists, so the only way of controlling it is by suppressing the mosquitoes transmitting the disease.

28 Nov 2011

Just a few drugs responsible for majority of emergency hospitalizations

Latest research shows that just a few drugs are responsible for a majority of the emergency hospitalizations for bad events related to medication use in older U.S. adults.

24 Nov 2011

New 2-DG-ABT combination cancer therapy triggers apoptosis

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Kyushu University Medical School say a novel combination of a specific sugar molecule with a pair of cell-killing drugs prompts a wide variety of cancer cell types to kill themselves, a process called apoptosis or programmed cell death.

17 Nov 2011

New paper shows how platelets help promote cancer metastasis

About 90 percent of cancer deaths are caused by secondary tumors, known as metastases, which spread from the original tumor site. To become mobile and break free from the original tumor, cancer cells need help from other cells in their environment. Many cells have been implicated in this process, including immune system cells and cells that form connective tissue. Another collaborator in metastasis is platelets, the blood cells whose normal function is to promote blood clotting.

16 Nov 2011

Massive clotting can destroy placenta and cause miscarriages

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have identified a potential new cause for unexplained miscarriages in mice.

2 Nov 2011

Scripps researcher receives U-M's Eric J. Topol Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine

The University of Michigan Medical School today announced the establishment of the Eric J. Topol Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine. A world-renowned cardiologist, Dr. Topol is currently chief academic officer at Scripps Health and a senior cardiologist practitioner at Scripps Clinic.

27 Oct 2011

DFG announces establishment of twelve research units

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has established nine new Research Units and three Clinical Research Units. The decision was made by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation at its October meeting in Bonn.

22 Oct 2011

Electron-beam sterilized dialysis membrane may increase risk of thrombocytopenia

Patients who had undergone hemodialysis using dialyzers that had been sterilized with the use of electron beams were more likely to develop thrombocytopenia, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Oct 2011

New AAOS guideline recommends how to reduce DVT, PE after joint replacement surgery

An updated clinical practice guideline released last week by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Directors recommends how to reduce the likelihood of blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery, procedures that more than 800,000 Americans undergo each year. The new guideline suggests use of preventive treatments and advises against routinely screening patients after surgery using ultrasound imaging.

1 Oct 2011

G-Zero receives NIAID's Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant

G-Zero Therapeutics, an RTP company started in 2008 based on technologies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been awarded a $3 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

30 Sep 2011

Scientists identify a way that chemotherapy causes platelet numbers to drop

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified a way that chemotherapy causes platelet numbers to drop, answering in the process a decade-old question about the formation of platelets, tiny cells that allow blood to clot.

26 Sep 2011

Verax Biomedical receives FDA clearance for Platelet PGD test

A $30 test that takes fewer than 30 minutes to perform can prevent potentially deadly transfusions of bacterial contamination in platelets, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Transfusion. An early view of the study can be found at the journal's web site.

23 Sep 2011

HRPR before PCI procedures linked to increased risk of ischemic event in ACS patients

Among patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing a procedure such as angioplasty, those who received platelet function tests before receiving antithrombotic therapy to determine appropriate clopidogrel dosing and who had high residual platelet reactivity were at an increased risk of an ischemic event at short- and long-term follow-up of up to 2 years, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Sep 2011

Researchers use ultrasound to improve quality of blood stem cell transplant

Transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells is an effective treatment for patients with malignant blood diseases. The composition and quality of the transplanted cells are crucial to the outcome. Researchers from Lund University, Sweden, have now developed a method to improve the quality of the transplanted cells using ultrasound for cell separation.

7 Sep 2011

Valproic acid may increase survival for brain tumor patients

New research suggests brain tumor patients who take the seizure drug valproic acid on top of standard treatment may live longer than people who take other kinds of epilepsy medications to control seizures.

2 Sep 2011

Hurricane Irene affects supplies of several blood types

New York Blood Center (NYBC), serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and New Jersey, is following the emergency declarations of Mayor Bloomberg and other tri-state public officials with an emergency appeal for blood donors. The supply of several blood types, including O-negative ("universal donor") blood, which is normally maintained at the three-to-five-day inventory level, has dropped below the two-day minimum level.

29 Aug 2011