Platelets News and Research

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Novel therapeutic approaches for various forms of thrombocytopenia

Four studies that highlight significant advances in treatment and survival outcomes for patients with various forms of thrombocytopenia, a group of bleeding disorders characterized by a low number of platelets in the blood, were presented December 6 during the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco, CA.

8 Dec 2008

Promacta (eltrombopag) shown to increase platelet counts and reduce bleeding in chronic immune thrombocytopenic

GlaxoSmithKline has announced positive safety and efficacy results from RAISE (RAndomized placebo- controlled ITP Study with Eltrombopag), a Phase III study of Promacta (eltrombopag) in adults with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who had received one or more prior ITP therapies.

7 Dec 2008

Scientists show that endothelial cells give rise to blood stem cells

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels.

3 Dec 2008

Nplate receives positive opinion for marketing authorisation in Europe

Amgen has announced that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation for Nplate (romiplostim) in the European Union (EU).

21 Nov 2008

FDA approves GSK's Promacta (Eltrombopag)

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for PROMACTA (eltrombopag) for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins or splenectomy.

20 Nov 2008

A new method to control bleeding in hemophilia

Investigators at Children's Research Institute, BloodCenter of Wisconsin's Blood Research Institute and the Medical College of Wisconsin have discovered a new way to help the blood clot by having the missing clotting factor packaged in the patient's own platelets.

13 Nov 2008

Medicine, math and engineering combine to reveal how sepsis and less severe infections occur

It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays and lost work time of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it.

11 Nov 2008

Tailored anti-clotting medications reduce adverse effects after percutaneous coronary intervention

Individually tailored anti-clotting medication dosing significantly cut the rate of adverse events after non-emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stenting, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. Results of the Tailored Clopidogrel Loading Dose According to Platelet Reactivity Monitoring to Prevent Stent Thrombosis study were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial.

11 Nov 2008

Rivaroxaban shows promise in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Researchers reported on a study of a new oral anti-clotting agent - rivaroxaban - designed to identify doses that would be safe to test in subsequent Phase III efficacy and safety trials. The results of ATLAS ACS-TIMI 46 were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

11 Nov 2008

Bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can lead to heart disease

Scientists are warning that bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can lead to heart disease.

11 Sep 2008

Bleeding gums increase risk of heart disease

Bad teeth, bleeding gums and poor dental hygiene can cause heart disease, Professor Howard Jenkinson from the University of Bristol will tell members of the Society for General Microbiology in Trinity College, Dublin today [Thursday 11 September].

10 Sep 2008

Researchers devise means to create blood by discovering earliest form of human blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the earliest form of human blood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonic stem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biological marker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitors for red blood cells and lymphocytes.

28 Aug 2008

FDA grants IND for Davanat to treat breast cancer patient

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for use of Davanat in combination with 5-FU to treat a breast cancer patient at the Brown Cancer Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Davanat also is being administered in Phase II clinical trials for first-line treatment of colorectal and biliary cancer patients.

28 Aug 2008

FDA approves Nplate (romiplostim), first bone marrow stimulator for chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Nplate (romiplostim), the first product that directly stimulates the bone marrow to produce needed platelets in patients with a rare blood disorder that can lead to serious bleeding.

24 Aug 2008

Scientists discover platelets play an important early role in promoting cerebral malaria

Platelets - those tiny, unassuming cells that cause blood to clot and scabs to form when you cut yourself - play an important early role in promoting cerebral malaria, an often lethal complication that occurs mostly in children.

18 Aug 2008

Aspirin, acid-blocker a-day keeps GI bleeding at bay

For patients with clogged heart arteries who take long-term, low-dose aspirin to prevent a cardiac event, adding a stomach acid-blocking drug to their daily routine has been shown to reduce their risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding - an infrequent, but serious side-effect of regular aspirin use.

11 Aug 2008

Findings may aid in bone marrow transplants, blood diseases

New research sheds light on the biological events by which stem cells in the bone marrow develop into the broad variety of cells that circulate in the blood. The findings may help improve the success of bone marrow transplants and develop better treatments for life-threatening blood diseases.

5 Aug 2008

Heat waves when in hospital

Deaths due to high temperatures occur so quickly that patients do not have time to be admitted to hospital. This is why prevention campaigns are necessary to try and reduce the negative effects of the heat on health. This is pointed out in new research undertaken at the Hospital Universitario Gregorio Maranon, Madrid.

10 Jul 2008

Farm-raised tilapia fish contains potentially dangerous fatty acid combination

"Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

8 Jul 2008

Like father like son - history of heart attacks in the family

Scientists know that heredity plays an important role in causing heart attacks. However the exact genetic mechanisms that transmit the risk of heart attacks from generation to generation still elude them.

17 Jun 2008