Anemia News and Research

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Anemia is a decrease in normal number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin deficiency. The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely such as a hemorrhage or chronically through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction (hemolysis) or deficient red blood cell production (ineffective hematopoiesis). Anemia is the most common disorder of the blood. There are several kinds of anemia, produced by a variety of underlying causes. Anemia can be classified in a variety of ways, based on the morphology of RBCs, underlying etiologic mechanisms, and discernible clinical spectra, to mention a few.

Breakthrough in sickle cell disease and thalassemia research

Researchers have identified a gene that directly affects the production of a form of hemoglobin that is instrumental in modifying the severity of the inherited blood disorders sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

5 Dec 2008

Genetic breakdown in Fanconi anemia may have link to HPV-associated cancer

A genetic malfunction that causes DNA instability in people with the blood disorder Fanconi anemia may put them at high risk for squamous cell carcinomas linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a study posted online ahead of print by Oncogene.

3 Dec 2008

Gene therapy used to alleviate sickle cell disease pathology

Using a harmless virus to insert a corrective gene into mouse blood cells, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have alleviated sickle cell disease pathology.

3 Dec 2008

New vaccine theory aimed at ticks and mosquitoes to prevent disease transmission

Most successful vaccines and drugs rely on protecting humans or animals by blocking certain bacteria from growing in their systems.

3 Dec 2008

FDA accepts Zevalin supplemental biologics license application

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and review, and has granted priority review status for, the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for use of Zevalin ([90Y]-ibritumomab tiuxetan) as consolidation therapy for patients with follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who achieve a response to first-line therapy. Priority review is granted by the FDA for a treatment that addresses a significant unmet medical need.

1 Dec 2008

New understanding of processes that regulate genes

Scientists at Penn State have shed light on some of the processes that regulate genes -- such as the processes that ensure that proteins are produced at the correct time, place, and amount in an organism -- and they also have shed light on the evolution of the DNA regions that regulate genes.

25 Nov 2008

New advance in the treatment of sickle cell anaemia

Sickle cell anaemia is a genetic disease characterised by the sickling of red blood cells in patients suffering from hypoxia (around 100,000 cases in Europe and North America).

25 Nov 2008

Blood transfusions increase clot risk in hospitalized cancer patients

Blood transfusions used to treat anemia in patients with cancer are associated with an increased risk of life-threatening blood clots, at a similar rate as other treatments for cancer-induced anemia, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

24 Nov 2008

Ortho Biotech submits NDA for Trabectedin in relapsed ovarian cancer

Ortho Biotech Products, L.P. has announced the submission of a new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for trabectedin when administered in combination with DOXIL (doxorubicin HCI liposome injection) for the treatment of women with relapsed ovarian cancer (ROC).

20 Nov 2008

Large analysis of granite countertops finds no health risks

The most comprehensive scientific study of health threats from granite countertops did not find a single stone slab that poses a health risk. Quantities of radon and radiation emitted by stones included in the analysis all fell well below average background levels commonly found in the United States.

17 Nov 2008

Antioxidants reduce the toxic effects of lead

A research study carried out by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) proves that administering natural antioxidants can reduce the effects of lead poisoning in animals during the gestation and lactation periods. The study suggests that it could also be effective in humans.

31 Oct 2008

GlaxoSmithKline believes there is no liver safety issue with Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate)

GlaxoSmithKline today issued the following response to a petition filed by Public Citizen to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate), a highly effective therapy for treating type 2 diabetes when used in the appropriate patient population.

31 Oct 2008

ZymoGenetics presents interim Interleukin 21 phase 2 results in renal cell cancer

ZymoGenetics, Inc. presented interim results today from a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating Interleukin 21 (IL-21) in combination with Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer.

22 Oct 2008

FDA approves new labeling for psoriasis drug Raptiva

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced labeling changes, including a Boxed Warning, to highlight the risks of life-threatening infections, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), with the use of Raptiva (efalizumab). The labeling changes are based on the FDA's post-market surveillance.

19 Oct 2008

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor may predict schizophrenia relapse

A factor that helps optimize brain formation and function may also provide clues about whether patients suffering with schizophrenia are headed toward relapse, researchers say.

16 Oct 2008

Inherited disorders and copy number changes in human alpha-globin genes

A researcher from the University of Leicester has shed new light on the way genetic material is exchanged between chromosomes, the effect this 'aberrant exchange' has had on inherited disorders like thalassaemia (a form of anaemia), and its link with malaria.

12 Oct 2008

On the trail of a targeted therapy for blood cancer

Investigators from the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine are focusing on a family of blood proteins that they hope holds a key to decreasing the toxic effects of chemotherapy in children and adults.

12 Oct 2008