Blood Disorder News and Research

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Two studies show the benefit of collaborative research on childhood blood disorders

When a child has a rare blood disorder, clinicians can struggle to find the best diagnostic and treatment methods.

15 Oct 2020

Study finds more effective treatment for children with sickle cell anemia

A team of international researchers has learned that dose escalation of hydroxyurea treatment for children in Uganda with sickle cell anemia is more effective and has similar side effects than a lower fixed dose of the same drug.

25 Jun 2020

Rice University wins prestigious grant to develop new therapies for sickle cell disease

A Rice University lab has won a prestigious National Institutes of Health grant to pursue gene-editing research it hopes will lead to a cure for sickle cell disease (SCD).

25 Apr 2020

Her genetic test revealed a microscopic problem — and a jumbo price tag

Michelle Kuppersmith, 32, feels great, works full time and exercises three to four times a week. So she was surprised when a routine blood test found that her body was making too many platelets, which help control bleeding.

31 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover creeping, crawling origin of MYH9-related blood disorders

Ouch, you've cut your finger! As you fumble to grab a tissue, the paramedics in your blood are already rushing to the scene.

9 Mar 2020

Low folate levels associated with malnutrition in hospital patients

About 10% of patients who come to complex care hospitals may have low levels of folate and other indicators of malnutrition, investigators say.

18 Feb 2020

Pioneering CRISPR therapy leaves two patients free of blood disease symptoms

The first two clinical trials for CRISPR-based treatments for inherited blood disorders have been successful.

20 Nov 2019

Study provides insight into feasibility of improving quality of care for SCD patients

Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) face the burdens of chronic illness and often racial disparities, both of which may increase vulnerability to adverse social determinants of health (SDoH). For children with SCD, living in poverty is associated with lower quality of life, higher healthcare utilization and higher complication rates.

9 Oct 2019

Novel viral vector improves gene therapy for sickle cell disease

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a unique, improved lentiviral vector for use in gene therapy for sickle cell disease.

3 Oct 2019

Researchers make breakthrough in gene therapy for sickle cell disease

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a new and improved viral vector--a virus-based vehicle that delivers therapeutic genes--for use in gene therapy for sickle cell disease.

2 Oct 2019

Researchers develop world's first blood incubator using laser technology

Researchers from BioPRIA, based at Australia's Monash University, together with industry partner Haemokinesis, have developed the world's first blood incubator using laser technology.

20 Sep 2019

Researchers develop new way to measure how mechanical fatigue affects biological cells

Human red blood cells are extremely resilient and have the capacity to undergo cellular deformation as they navigate across various micro-vessels and capillaries.

17 Sep 2019

First ever American gene-editing treatment using CRISPR for genetic disease

In a pathbreaking experiment, a 34-year-old mother of four from Mississippi is in the limelight for volunteering to be the subject of CRISPR-mediated gene editing in the hope of achieving a cure for the painful sickle cell anemia with which she has suffered all her life.

30 Jul 2019

Study illuminates how hot spots of genetic variation evolved in the human genome

What makes one person different from one another, and how did these differences evolve? A study by University at Buffalo biologists is illuminating one aspect of this complicated question. The research examines hot spots of genetic variation within the human genome, examining the sections of our DNA that are most likely to differ significantly from one person to another.

20 Mar 2019

New method modifies blood stem cells to reverse genetic mutation that causes IPEX

UCLA researchers led by Dr. Donald Kohn have created a method for modifying blood stem cells to reverse the genetic mutation that causes a life-threatening autoimmune syndrome called IPEX.

11 Jan 2019

App that could detect level of anemia by looking at fingernails

Researchers from the Emory University have developed a new phone app that needs just a colour photograph of the nail beds of an individual to detect anemia in them. The results of the report titled, “Smartphone app for non-invasive detection of anemia using only patient-sourced photos,” were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

5 Dec 2018

Johns Hopkins researchers report challenges in treating severe crisis pain of sickle cell disease

In a study tracking the severe crisis pain of sickle cell disease and its management in 73 adults over a period of a year, Johns Hopkins researchers found that even among those on high doses of daily at-home opioids, a persistent subset was more likely to seek emergency hospital care for crisis pain and was less likely to have the pain controlled by intensive treatment.

27 Nov 2018

People overestimate benefits and underestimate risks of medical procedures, shows research

From major heart surgery to a course of minor drugs, people overestimate the benefits and underestimate the risks of a variety of medical procedures, according to new research.

25 Oct 2018

Study suggests new approach to treat life-threatening blood disorder in children

Pediatric researchers studying the life-threatening blood disorder Fanconi anemia have devised a method to block the abnormal biological signals that drive the disease.

12 Oct 2018

Therapy with L-Glutamine reduces pain in patients with sickle cell disease

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland clinical researchers, in conjunction with other sickle cell centers and scientists at Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc., have demonstrated that therapy with L-Glutamine reduced the frequency of pain episodes in both pediatric and adult patients with sickle cell disease.

27 Jul 2018