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.

Vanilla may become a drug to treat sickle cell disease

In addition to its popular role in flavoring ice cream, fudge and cake frosting, vanilla may have a future use as a medicine. Recent laboratory research has strengthened the possibility that a form of vanilla may become a drug to treat sickle cell disease.

20 Sep 2004

Urgent measures need to be taken to protect the public from contaminated blood transfusions

In the Western Pacific Region, transmission of HIV/AIDS and other infections such as hepatitis B and C through blood transfusion remains a serious threat. It is particularly acute in areas where prevalence of these diseases is high and access to safe blood is limited.

16 Sep 2004

Potential new drug for the treatment of sickle cell disease

The results were published in the June 2004 issue of The British Journal of Haematology (BJH). MX-1520 is a prodrug of vanillin, a very popular food additive generally regarded as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

13 Sep 2004

Ambitious decades-long investigation into the causes of breast cancer aims to recruit 100,000 women

Details of a unique, ambitious and decades-long investigation into the causes of breast cancer - The Breakthrough Generations Study - were revealed today by Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK's leading breast cancer charity, and The Institute of Cancer Research, one of the world's leading cancer research organisations.

1 Sep 2004

Combination therapies improve prostate cancer survival rates

The addition of six months of androgen suppression therapy (AST) to radiation therapy improves survival of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer, according to a study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Aug 2004

WHO tackles the parasitic disease Leishmaniasis in Afghanistan

A rapid intervention by the World Health Organization and its partners, the Massoud Foundation and HealthNet International, in Kabul, Afghanistan, made possible by a donation from the Belgian government, should dramatically reduce the incidence of leishmaniasis in less than two years.

10 Aug 2004

Retinal findings in children with severe forms of malaria appear related to disease outcomes such as prolonged coma and death

Retinal findings in children with severe forms of malaria (with brain involvement and severe anemia) appear related to disease outcomes such as prolonged coma and death, according to an article in the August issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Aug 2004

Study shows safe, effective therapy for previously untreated patients with HIV & hepatitis C

An international study with nearly 900 patients co-infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) has shown that HCV can be treated effectively and safely, without compromising the patient’s HIV therapy.

29 Jul 2004

Thalidomide's role in fighting blood disorders, such as multiple myeloma

From the late 1950s to the end of 1961, thalidomide was a popular sedative and treatment for morning sickness until it was discovered to cause fetal malformations, which proved fatal within the first year of life in 40 percent of affected infants.

13 Jul 2004

Anabolic steroids may improve surgical repair of shoulder tears

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that treatment with anabolic steroids may improve surgical repair of massive or recurrent tears of the shoulder's rotator cuff tendons.

24 Jun 2004

World Blood Donor Day

The world today honours voluntary blood donors for their priceless contribution to their communities. However, while celebrations take place in many cities around the world, numerous patients and trauma victims in those same cities will be dying or suffering unnecessarily because of a shortage of blood.

11 Jun 2004

Expert to help WHO in Dili, East Timor with tropical diseases

A JCU public health expert is off to Dili, Timor Leste (formerly East Timor) to help the World Health Organisation address three serious tropical diseases: lymphatic filariasis, intestinal worms and yaws.

10 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Women with chest pain who have low hemoglobin levels are more likely to die or suffer a heart attack

Women with chest pain who have low hemoglobin levels are more likely to die or suffer a heart attack, heart failure, stroke or other cardiovascular event than women with normal hemoglobin levels, according to a new study in the June 2, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

2 Jun 2004

Incentive-based program in Mexico is appears to have improved child health

An incentive-based program that now reaches 4.5 million families in Mexico is associated with lowering the rate of anemia and improving growth in low-income, rural infants and children, according to a study in the June 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a theme issue on Global Health.

1 Jun 2004

Treatment helps 26% of black Americans with chronic hepatitis C

Twenty-six percent (26%) of black Americans (BA) with chronic hepatitis C who received treatment with Pegasys plus Copegus (peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin) achieved a sustained virological response (SVR), according to study results published in the June 2004 issue of Hepatology.

1 Jun 2004

Anemia is a major determinant of fatigue in patients with cirrhosis

Fatigue is a common complaint among patients with cirrhosis with many possible contributing factors, including severity of liver disease, anemia, and cardiopulmonary complications.

27 May 2004

Vasamed announces patent for a novel pulse oximeter

Vasamed, developer and supplier of hemodynamic monitoring products, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted it a method patent for a novel pulse oximeter that incorporates signals from a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) and an impedance cardiograph (ICG) to accomplish the measurement of oxygen saturation.

25 May 2004

UK pet owners who take their animals on holiday to Europe could bring back tropical diseases

UK pet owners who take their animals on holiday to Europe are being alerted to the fact that their pets could bring back some unwelcome souvenirs in the form of diseases more often associated with the tropics.

20 May 2004

FDA approves new drug for bone marrow disease

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the approval of Vidaza (azacitidine) injection, the first effective treatment for patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). The product was given Fast Track Status and a priority review.

19 May 2004