White Blood Cell News and Research

RSS

GWAS identifies 15 gene variants responsible for diversity of white blood cell counts

A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese.

1 Jul 2011

DMI completes rHEALTH sensor reduced-gravity experiments for NASA FAST program

In September 2010, the DNA Medicine Institute (DMI) successfully completed reduced-gravity experiments on its rHEALTH sensor for the NASA Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology (FAST) program. NASA recently followed that experiment with a $190,000 contract to DMI to analyze data from the parabolic flights.

29 Jun 2011

Health Canada approves Tasigna for newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML

Over a decade ago, Canadian patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), celebrated when PrGleevec (imatinib mesylate) was approved in Canada.

27 Jun 2011

Positive results from LCP-Tacro Phase III trial in stable kidney transplant recipients

LifeCycle Pharma A/S today reported that the company's lead product candidate, LCP-Tacro, successfully demonstrated non-inferiority compared to tacrolimus in its Phase III trial, Study 3001.

21 Jun 2011

Scientists discover new cell type in the immune system

A team of Australian scientists has discovered a new type of cell in the immune system. The new cell type, a kind of white blood cell, belongs to a family of T-cells that play a critical role in protection against infectious disease.

16 Jun 2011

Gleevec shows significant overall survival benefit for patients w/ GIST after 3 years of adjuvant treatment vs. 1 year

Novartis announced new data today showing a significant improvement in both recurrence-free survival and overall survival for patients taking Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate)* tablets for three years after surgery to remove KIT (CD117)-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (KIT+ GIST) compared to one year of treatment. These data will be presented at the 47th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) plenary session on Sunday, June 5.

6 Jun 2011

Peptide vaccine, Interleukin-2 show promise for patients with metastatic melanoma

For patients with advanced melanoma, which is the most lethal type of skin cancer, the results of a large clinical trial show that a vaccine combined with the immune-boosting drug Interleukin-2 can improve response rate and progression-free survival.

4 Jun 2011

Lymphocyte count serves as simple and effective prognostic indicator in renal cell carcinoma

Each year, kidney cancer is diagnosed in nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. Many of these patients undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney, but this procedure can be risky for the elderly and those who have other health problems. Unfortunately, the prognosis of kidney cancer patients often cannot be determined until tumor samples are surgically removed and evaluated.

2 Jun 2011

Lund University researcher discovers new sepsis biomarker in blood

Sepsis is the name of an infection that causes a series of reactions in the body, which in the worst case can prove fatal. The problem for both patients and doctors is that the early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from less dangerous infections such as a severe flu or winter vomiting disease.

23 May 2011

Simple lymphocyte count effectively identifies prognosis of renal cell carcinoma

19 May 2011

Abcc10 might help counter resistance and extend effectiveness of anticancer drugs

Today's anticancer drugs often work wonders against malignancies, but sometimes tumors become resistant to the effects of such drugs, and treatment fails. Medical researchers would like to find ways of counteracting such resistance, but first they must understand why and how it happens.

17 May 2011

Lower education leads to faster ageing: Study

According scientists, people who leave education with fewer qualifications are prone to age more quickly. The research was published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity on Wednesday.

15 May 2011

New study sheds light on origins of myeloid leukemia

A new study by the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center, sheds light on the origins of myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer that affects children and adults.

13 May 2011

Two DIFICID Phase 3 trial data in C. difficile presented at DDW conference

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of two abstracts at the 2011 Digestive Disease Week conference highlighting additional analyses of data from Phase 3 trials of DIFICID, an investigational product for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection.

11 May 2011

Zebrafish research identifies undiscovered high-risk genetic features in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia

Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer; it also occurs in adults. Now researchers working with zebrafish at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have identified previously undiscovered high-risk genetic features in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL), according to an article published online May 9, 2011, in the cancer research journal Oncogene.

11 May 2011

Scientists discover how immune cells recognize invading pathogens in the body

Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have discovered how a molecular receptor on the surface of white blood cells identifies when invading fungi have established direct contact with the cell surface and pose an infectious threat.

30 Apr 2011

Researchers develop new gene therapy technique for CGD treatment

Researchers have developed an effective technique that uses gene therapy on stem cells to correct chronic granulomatous disease in cell culture, which could eventually serve as a treatment for this rare, inherited immune disorder, according to a study published in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology.

29 Apr 2011

Researchers begin approved drugs screening for clinical use against rare diseases

Researchers have begun screening the first definitive collection of thousands of approved drugs for clinical use against rare and neglected diseases. They are hunting for additional uses of the drugs hoping to find off-label therapies, for some of the 6,000 rare diseases that afflict 25 million Americans.

28 Apr 2011

LMP1 viral protein needs TRAF6 cellular protein to promote B cell activation signaling pathways: Study

By identifying a surprising association of two intracellular proteins, University of Iowa researchers have laid the groundwork for the development of new therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and autoimmune disease.

20 Apr 2011

Chronic exposure to polluted air can lead to inflammation

Chronic inhalation of polluted air appears to activate a protein that triggers the release of white blood cells, setting off events that lead to widespread inflammation, according to new research in an animal model.

16 Apr 2011