Platelets News and Research

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DFG announces establishment of twelve research units

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has established nine new Research Units and three Clinical Research Units. The decision was made by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation at its October meeting in Bonn.

22 Oct 2011

Electron-beam sterilized dialysis membrane may increase risk of thrombocytopenia

Patients who had undergone hemodialysis using dialyzers that had been sterilized with the use of electron beams were more likely to develop thrombocytopenia, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Oct 2011

New AAOS guideline recommends how to reduce DVT, PE after joint replacement surgery

An updated clinical practice guideline released last week by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Directors recommends how to reduce the likelihood of blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery, procedures that more than 800,000 Americans undergo each year. The new guideline suggests use of preventive treatments and advises against routinely screening patients after surgery using ultrasound imaging.

1 Oct 2011

G-Zero receives NIAID's Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant

G-Zero Therapeutics, an RTP company started in 2008 based on technologies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been awarded a $3 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

30 Sep 2011

Scientists identify a way that chemotherapy causes platelet numbers to drop

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified a way that chemotherapy causes platelet numbers to drop, answering in the process a decade-old question about the formation of platelets, tiny cells that allow blood to clot.

26 Sep 2011

Verax Biomedical receives FDA clearance for Platelet PGD test

A $30 test that takes fewer than 30 minutes to perform can prevent potentially deadly transfusions of bacterial contamination in platelets, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Transfusion. An early view of the study can be found at the journal's web site.

23 Sep 2011

HRPR before PCI procedures linked to increased risk of ischemic event in ACS patients

Among patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing a procedure such as angioplasty, those who received platelet function tests before receiving antithrombotic therapy to determine appropriate clopidogrel dosing and who had high residual platelet reactivity were at an increased risk of an ischemic event at short- and long-term follow-up of up to 2 years, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Sep 2011

Researchers use ultrasound to improve quality of blood stem cell transplant

Transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells is an effective treatment for patients with malignant blood diseases. The composition and quality of the transplanted cells are crucial to the outcome. Researchers from Lund University, Sweden, have now developed a method to improve the quality of the transplanted cells using ultrasound for cell separation.

7 Sep 2011

Valproic acid may increase survival for brain tumor patients

New research suggests brain tumor patients who take the seizure drug valproic acid on top of standard treatment may live longer than people who take other kinds of epilepsy medications to control seizures.

2 Sep 2011

Hurricane Irene affects supplies of several blood types

New York Blood Center (NYBC), serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and New Jersey, is following the emergency declarations of Mayor Bloomberg and other tri-state public officials with an emergency appeal for blood donors. The supply of several blood types, including O-negative ("universal donor") blood, which is normally maintained at the three-to-five-day inventory level, has dropped below the two-day minimum level.

29 Aug 2011

NeoStem featured on CBS's Eye on New York City

NeoStem, Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cell-based therapeutic development, today announced that the Company was featured on CBS's Eye on New York City on Wednesday evening, August 24, 2011.

26 Aug 2011

Study: Bone marrow transplantation may prolong period of cancer-free survival

Bone marrow transplantation with genetically modified cells may prolong the period of cancer-free survival, suggests a study led by Dr. Vivek Rangnekar, associate director of translational research for the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky.

25 Aug 2011

Radiolabeled protein reveals presence of S. aureus endocarditis in mouse model

A novel imaging probe developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators may make it possible to diagnose accurately a dangerous infection of the heart valves.

22 Aug 2011

ROTEM receives FDA clearance for new hemostasis analyzer

Surgical teams now can get faster and more complete information on the status of their patients' coagulation state from the ROTEM hemostasis analyzer, recently cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.

16 Aug 2011

W.M. Keck Foundation awards Jefferson scientists with $1M medical research grant

Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University have been awarded a $1 million medical research grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation for an ambitious project looking at the little explored 98 percent of the human genome and what role it may play in the onset and progression of diseases.

4 Aug 2011

Hopkins stem cell research to examine how gene variants cause blood clotting disorders

4 Aug 2011

Scientists look to create blood platelets from stem cells to study genetics of blood clotting disorders

Johns Hopkins scientists have launched a pioneering research program to create, for the first time, human platelet cells from stem cells in order to study inherited blood clotting abnormalities ranging from clots that cause heart attacks and stroke to bleeding disorders. The study is funded by a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of a nationwide initiative to examine how genetic variations cause heart, lung and blood diseases.

2 Aug 2011

CBS reviews KPMG report on New Brunswick blood options

Canadian Blood Services has reviewed the KPMG report entitled "Independent Review of New Brunswick Blood Options", commissioned by the Government of New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Medical Society.

30 Jul 2011

Researchers identify elusive gene responsible for Grey Platelet Syndrome

Researchers have identified an elusive gene responsible for Grey Platelet Syndrome, an extremely rare blood disorder in which only about 50 known cases have been reported. As a result, it is hoped that future cases will be easier to diagnose with a DNA test.

26 Jul 2011

Key finding sheds new light on common bleeding disorders

A simple cut to the skin unleashes a complex cascade of chemistry to stem the flow of blood. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have used evolutionary clues to reveal how a key clotting protein assembles. The finding sheds new light on common bleeding disorders.

21 Jul 2011