Bone Marrow Transplant News and Research

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Robo4 molecule may improve bone marrow transplants: Study

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have identified a key molecule for establishing blood stem cells in their niche within the bone marrow. The findings, reported in the January issue of Cell Stem Cell, may lead to improvements in the safety and efficiency of bone marrow transplants.

7 Jan 2011

Therapies to target self-renewing population of chemotherapy-resistant cells needed

Leukemia patients whose cancers express higher levels of genes associated with cancer stem cells have a significantly poorer prognosis than patients with lower levels of the genes, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding is among the first to show that the cancer stem cell hypothesis - which posits that some cancers spring from and are replenished by a small, hardy population of self-renewing cells - can be used to predict outcomes in a large group of patients and one day to tailor treatments in the clinic.

22 Dec 2010

Study aims to deliver safer bone marrow transplant treatment strategy in patients with multiple myeloma cancer

A national clinical trial, which opens imminently, will aim to assess the impact of a novel anti-cancer drug in the setting of donor bone marrow transplantation for myeloma.

21 Dec 2010

Study: Chemotherapy can improve survival rate in older adolescents with leukemia

Research led by St. Jude Children-s Research Hospital investigators will likely impact how acute lymphoblastic leukemia is treated in young adults and shows older adolescent age does not dictate worse outcomes against the most common childhood cancer.

21 Dec 2010

Three abstracts on Defibrotide presented at ASH Annual Meeting

Gentium S.p.A. today announced that three abstracts on Defibrotide were presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, December 4-7, 2010.

8 Dec 2010

Interim results from Cytheris CYT107 Phase I clinical trial in TCD bone marrow transplant patients

Cytheris SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced interim results from a Phase I clinical trial of its investigational drug candidate, recombinant human Interleukin-7 (CYT107), in the treatment of post-transplant patients with T-cell depleted (TCD) bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplants.

7 Dec 2010

National Marrow Donor Program adopts IBM's WebSphere Lombardi Business Process Management software

IBM announced today that the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) has adopted IBM's WebSphere Lombardi Business Process Management (BPM) software to help automate its donor and patient management process. Both processes are critical to facilitate the matching of donors to patients needing cellular transplants.

20 Nov 2010

Study finds arsenic improves survival rate in APL patients

Arsenic, a toxic compound with a reputation as a good tool for committing homicide, has a significant positive effect on the survival of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), when administered after standard initial treatment, according to a new, multi-center study led by a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

12 Nov 2010

Human blood from adult human skin

In an important breakthrough, scientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make human blood from adult human skin.

9 Nov 2010

Scientists discover new way to create human blood from adult skin

In an important breakthrough, scientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make human blood from adult human skin. The discovery, published in the prestigious science journal Nature today, could mean that in the foreseeable future people needing blood for surgery, cancer treatment or treatment of other blood conditions like anemia will be able to have blood created from a patch of their own skin to provide transfusions.

7 Nov 2010

Athersys secures three Therapeutic Discovery Project grants

Athersys, Inc. announced today that it has secured three Therapeutic Discovery Project grants as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. These grants were awarded related to Athersys' development of MultiStem® for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), also known as heart attack, and other forms of cardiovascular disease, as well as for the treatment of multiple diseases causing acute tissue damage and chronic inflammation.

4 Nov 2010

Systemic amyloidosis patient to receive triple organ transplant

In 2005, then 40-year-old Walt McGuire was playing hockey twice a week, working full-time and chasing his young daughter. Then one day, he noticed after one trip up the stairs to catch her, he couldn't catch his breath. A few days later his legs were swollen. After numerous trips to different doctors, McGuire finally was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called amyloidosis.

28 Oct 2010

UCLA researchers receive grant to develop medical products against radiation exposure

Researchers in the Radiation Oncology Department at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a $14 million grant to develop countermeasures that will help treat damage caused by radiological or nuclear threats such as a dirty bomb attack.

25 Oct 2010

Mesoblast broadens cancer indications for bone marrow transplant product

Australian regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB, USOTC: MBLTY) today announced that it is broadening the oncology applications of its "off-the-shelf" cell product for expansion of haematopoietic stem cells in patients with blood cancers. Building on the recent clinical success of Mesoblast’s proprietary cell product for expansion of cord blood, the Company will now address new markets where expansion of haematopoietic stem cells can make a meaningful impact on clinical outcomes, including diseases such as multiple myeloma.

13 Oct 2010

University of Colorado receives $6.3 million for umbilical cord blood bank

The University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank, a component of ClinImmune Labs and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has been awarded $6.3 million to collect and bank umbilical cord blood, with an emphasis on donors from minority groups.

8 Oct 2010

Calif. Governor signs law for oversight of CT scans; Ariz. man's transplant on hold because of Medicaid cuts; Texas pharmacies sue CVS Caremark

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed tough new legislation tightening oversight of diagnostic CT scans, largely in response to the overdosing of hundreds of patients who underwent brain scans for stroke in 2008 and 2009.

5 Oct 2010

Patients' right to be involved in own medical care

Twelve years ago, then 28-year-old graduate student Brian Zikmund-Fisher was forced into the toughest choice of his life: Die from a blood disorder within a few years or endure a bone marrow transplant that could cure him or kill him in weeks.

29 Sep 2010

Signaling pathway inhibition enhances autologous bone marrow transplant: Research

Identification of a molecular communications pathway that influences the mobilization of hematopoietic (blood) stem cells could lead to targeted therapies for improving bone marrow transplant success rates.

27 Sep 2010

G-CSF compound may activate virus, increases risk of infection: Research

Research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute may spur debate about the risks associated with administering a specific compound in some forms of bone-marrow transplantation. The research is published in the current edition of Cell Host and Microbe.

22 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

Athersys, Inc. announced today that MultiStem, Athersys' multipotent adult progenitor stem cell therapy, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of graft vs. host disease (GvHD).

21 Sep 2010