White Blood Cell News and Research

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Quizartinib shows promise against acute myeloid leukemia in Phase II trial

A new drug for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) marked by a specific type of genetic mutation has shown surprising promise in a Phase II clinical trial.

11 Dec 2012

GSK, MD Anderson partner to develop new therapeutic antibodies against cancer

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have signed a research collaboration and license agreement to develop new therapeutic antibodies that promote an immune system attack against cancer.

10 Dec 2012

Arthrobotrys oligospora produces nanoparticles that could kill tumors

Arthrobotrys oligospora doesn't live a charmed life; it survives on a diet of roundworm. But a discovery by a team led by Mingjun Zhang, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, could give the fungus's life more purpose-as a cancer fighter.

5 Dec 2012

Combination of chemotherapy and selumetinib shows promise against NSCLC

A new study by an international team of investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists is the first to demonstrate that chemotherapy and a new, targeted therapy work better in combination than chemotherapy alone in treating patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer.

30 Nov 2012

Rituximab may help patients with aPL-related clinical problems

Rituximab, a drug used to treat cancer and arthritis, may help patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) who suffer from aPL-related clinical problems that do not respond to anticoagulation, such as cardiac disease and kidney disease, according to a new study by rheumatology researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The study appears online ahead of print, in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

21 Nov 2012

Case Western Reserve dental and nursing students to treat patients in new 3-year test project

Patients in dental chairs at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine will see something new: a nurse.

21 Nov 2012

NIH-funded scientists develop new treatment to combat autoimmune disorders in mouse model

In a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed innovative technology to selectively inhibit the part of the immune system responsible for attacking myelin-the insulating material that encases nerve fibers and facilitates electrical communication between brain cells.

18 Nov 2012

Diabetics with low vitamin D levels more likely to develop clogged arteries

People with diabetes often develop clogged arteries that cause heart disease, and new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that low vitamin D levels are to blame.

14 Nov 2012

Band counts in infection diagnosis

Even when patients have normal white blood cell counts, elevated band counts may diagnose infection and prompt earlier initiation of antibiotics, report researchers.

8 Nov 2012

Regular blood test may help predict survival in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma

A routine blood test may help predict survival in patients with an aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma, according to new findings by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers. The results will be presented on Wednesday, October 31 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's 54th Annual Meeting.

1 Nov 2012

Researchers decode software instructions that drive 3 different forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

30 Oct 2012

Scientists decode epigenetic programming of three virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A team of national and international researchers, led by Weill Cornell Medical College scientists, have decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They discovered ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, chemical modifications of DNA and surrounding proteins, allowing the research team to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

29 Oct 2012

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Synribo to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Synribo (omacetaxine mepesuccinate) to treat adults with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a blood and bone marrow disease.

29 Oct 2012

Pleiotrophin protein may be long-sought growth factor for blood stem cells

Duke Medicine researchers studying the interaction of blood stem cells and the niche where they reside have identified a protein that may be a long-sought growth factor for blood stem cells.

24 Oct 2012

Study looks at DNA sequences for receptors in T lymphocytes

Our immune system must be tremendously complex to respond to the unending assault of viruses, bacteria and cancerous cells. One of the mechanisms used by the immune system to cope with the huge variety of possible threats is to randomly combine DNA segments for the production of receptors on lymphocytes - a type of white blood cell.

23 Oct 2012

Gravity changes affect immune system development

New research findings recently published in The FASEB Journal, show that immune system development is affected by gravity changes, as reported by researchers from the University of Lorraine and University of Luxembourg. Astronauts are exposed to stresses, during launch and landing, which disrupts their body's natural defenses against infection. Changes to the immune system need to be investigated before astronauts undergo longer space missions.

16 Oct 2012

White blood cell variation can help predict non-blood cancers

Postdoctoral Research Fellow Devin Koestler is a biostatistician in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He develops and applies statistical methods to large volumes of data, seeking new approaches for understanding disease, cancer in particular. Koestler and his colleagues are investigating the potential use of white blood cell variation as a diagnostic, predictive, and research tool in the study of non-blood cancers.

15 Oct 2012

High-fat Western diet could lead to development of atherosclerosis

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found that a diet high in saturated fat raises levels of endothelial lipase (EL), an enzyme associated with the development of atherosclerosis, and, conversely, that a diet high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fat lowers levels of this enzyme.

10 Oct 2012

Study sheds light on fundamental cellular process

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have mapped the precise frequency by which genes get turned on across the human genome, providing new insight into the most fundamental of cellular processes-and revealing new clues as to what happens when this process goes awry.

9 Oct 2012

Rare study highlights anal cancer prognosis risks

The presence of palpable, clinically involved inguinal lymph nodes and male gender are both independent risk factors for poor prognosis in anal cancer, confirm the results of a UK analysis.

3 Oct 2012