Red Blood Cells News and Research

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Cytheris broadens patent protection for recombinant human interleukin-7

Cytheris SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its patent application "Glycosylated IL-7, Preparation and Uses", US Patent Application Number 11/996,176. The Notice of Allowance is the USPTO’s official communication that the Company’s application has successfully completed examination and that a patent will be issued.

2 Feb 2010

Breakthrough in anti-malarial drug development

Malaria causes more than two million deaths each year, but an expert multinational team battling the global spread of drug-resistant parasites has made a breakthrough in the search for better treatment.

29 Jan 2010

Researchers discover new target for drugs to prevent common iron deficiency

The discovery of a major player in the body's regulation of iron levels should provide a new target for drugs that prevent common iron deficiency as well as rare, potentially deadly iron overload, researchers said.

29 Jan 2010

ERYtech Pharma receives ODD for its GRASPA from FDA

ERYtech Pharma announces that FDA has granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for GRASPA®, the company’s lead product in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

27 Jan 2010

Promising results in mice could prevent fatal iron buildup in humans

A new study shows that a protein found in blood alleviates anemia, a condition in which the body's tissues don't get enough oxygen from the blood. In this animal study, injections of the protein, known as transferrin, also protected against potentially fatal iron overload in mice with thalassemia, a type of inherited anemia that affects millions of people worldwide.

27 Jan 2010

Statins may protect SCD children from pneumococcal infection

New research suggests a family of widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs might help protect individuals from serious illness following bacterial infection, including the pneumococcal infections that pose a deadly threat to those with sickle cell disease.

20 Jan 2010

Media outlets examine efforts to develop malaria vaccines

Scientists have identified a group of proteins they say could form the basis of a malaria vaccine, Australia's ABC News reports. "However, they say more laboratory work and clinical trials need to be done, with a vaccine at least 10 years away," the news service reports (Macey, 1/19).

20 Jan 2010

Eating strategies can reduce cell damage and enhance sports performance

For a week Ms Gravina evaluated players from the first two Athletic teams (Superleague and National League), in order to observe their eating habits and where they could improve.

19 Jan 2010

New findings support the development of vaccine against malaria

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have uncovered a group of proteins that could form the basis of an effective vaccine against malaria.

19 Jan 2010

NYBC calls for blood donation in recognition of National Blood Donor Month

New York Blood Center (NYBC) and its divisions in Manhattan, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Brooklyn/Staten Island, and New Jersey call upon the community to please donate blood, in recognition of National Blood Donor Month, and to help save lives.

30 Dec 2009

ADA recommends the A1C test for diabetes screening and diagnosis

New official guidelines for diabetes screening and diagnosis now include a blood test that gives a person's average blood glucose level over the previous 2-3 months.

30 Dec 2009

Study suggests genetic variations predispose African-Americans to diabetes

For years, scientists have tried to determine the basis for discrepancies between race and the predisposition for development of diseases such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Could factors such as differences in lifestyle or access to health care play a role, or is there something else in play?

29 Dec 2009

Motility mechanism of malaria pathogens explained

How do one-celled parasites move from the salivary gland of a mosquito through a person's skin into red blood cells? What molecular mechanisms form the basis for this very important movement of the protozoa?

23 Dec 2009

Darbepoetin alfa does not reduce cardiovascular problem in anemic patients on dialysis

An international study authored by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has concluded that the anemia drug darbepoetin alfa works no better than a placebo in several other applications previously thought to be promising.

22 Dec 2009

Genes work together by huddling in clusters inside nucleus, research reveals

Research from the Babraham Institute has revealed for the first time that genes work together by huddling in clusters inside the nucleus - the information centre of a cell. These findings, published in the online edition of the journal Nature Genetics, represent a paradigm shift in our understanding of how the genome is spatially organised in relation to gene expression.

16 Dec 2009

Infectious virus particles can bind to the surface of red blood cells: MHRP researchers

Free infectious HIV-1 is widely thought to be the major form of the virus in the blood of infected persons. U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) researchers, however, have demonstrated that essentially all of the infectious virus particles can bind to the surface of red blood cells isolated from each of 30 normal (non-infected) human donors.

16 Dec 2009

Researchers develop new electrophoretic method for detecting MIRCERA and EPO in blood

Austrian researchers have successfully developed a new electrophoretic method for detecting MIRCERA® and other erythropoietins (EPO) in the blood. The technique, using SARCOSYL-PAGE, has specifically enhanced sensitivity for MIRCERA, but does not alter the performance characteristics of SDS-PAGE for detecting other EPOs.

16 Dec 2009

Study: Ethyl nitrite improves blood flow and organ status during laparoscopy

As good as laparoscopy is in preventing some of the stresses of open surgery on the body, it does have drawbacks, including reduced blood flow and organ dysfunction. Laparoscopy is a type of surgery in the abdomen done through small incisions.

14 Dec 2009

Modified blood adult stem-cell transplant regimen reverses sickle cell disease

A modified blood adult stem-cell transplant regimen has effectively reversed sickle cell disease in 9 of 10 adults who had been severely affected by the disease, according to results of a National Institutes of Health study in the Dec. 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

13 Dec 2009

Proteins from catfish venom glands could accelerate wound healing in humans

Lest anyone have concerns about attacks of killer catfish, rest assured that, at least in North America, these finned fatales use their venom mainly to defend themselves against predatory fish, though they can inflict a painful sting that many fishermen have suffered. In other parts of the world, some catfish do have extremely toxic venoms that can be deadly to humans.

11 Dec 2009