Spleen News and Research

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First robot-assisted distal pancreatectomy performed at TJUH

Eugene Allen, a retired police officer and teacher from Sicklerville, N.J., had a decision to make in February, after an MRI revealed a precancerous cyst in his pancreas. It had to be removed, but the question was how?

6 Jul 2012

Study suggests new treatment strategy for heart attacks and strokes

A heart attack doesn't just damage heart muscle tissue by cutting off its blood supply, it also sets off an inflammatory cascade that worsens underlying atherosclerosis, actively increasing the risk for a future heart attack. These findings from a study receiving advance online publication in Nature suggest an important new therapeutic strategy for preventing heart attacks and strokes, both of which are caused when atherosclerotic plaques rupture and block important blood vessels.

28 Jun 2012

Transplantation of tissue-engineered vein is a success and offers hope for patients who lack suitable veins for dialysis or bypass surgery

The first biologically tissue-engineered vein grown from a patient’s own stem cells has been successfully transplanted into a 10-year-old girl with portal vein obstruction, dramatically enhancing her quality of life.

15 Jun 2012

NIH awards $9 million grant to study aging and immunity to infections

The Trudeau Institute today announced that faculty member Laura Haynes, Ph.D., was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how aging impacts the immune system's response to influenza infection and vaccination.

15 Jun 2012

Rapid test to identify patients not responding to painkiller tramadol

French researchers have found a way to identify quickly the 5-10% of patients in whom the commonly used painkiller, tramadol, does not work effectively. A simple blood test can produce a result within a few hours, enabling doctors to switch a non-responding patient on to another painkiller, such as morphine, which will be able to work in these patients.

11 Jun 2012

Simple blood test can quickly identify 'poor metabolisers'

11 Jun 2012

Alnylam announces results from ALN-VSP Phase I study on liver cancers

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced results today from its Phase I extension study with ALN-VSP, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of advanced solid tumors with liver involvement.

5 Jun 2012

New knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria

Researchers from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Edinburgh have uncovered new knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria, concerning how malaria parasites are able to bind to cells in the brain and cause cerebral malaria - the most lethal form of the disease.

22 May 2012

First study to test safety of quantum dots in primates

A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.

21 May 2012

Naked mole rat's proteasome assemblies differ in composition from other short-lived rodents

The naked mole rat, a curiously strange, hairless rodent, lives many years longer than any other mouse or rat. Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio's Barshop Institute of Longevity and Aging Studies continue to explore this mystery.

14 May 2012

Positive long-term outcome data for chronic ITP patients treated with rituxamab

A new analysis concludes that rituximab, a drug commonly used to treat blood cancers, leads to treatment responses lasting at least five years in approximately one quarter of patients with low platelet counts and a risk of bleeding due to chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

7 May 2012

Alnylam first quarter revenues decrease to $20.6 million

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today reported its consolidated financial results for the first quarter 2012, and company highlights.

4 May 2012

Scientists identify first gene associated with congenital asplenia

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University have identified the first gene to be linked to a rare condition in which babies are born without a spleen, putting those children at risk of dying from infections they cannot defend themselves against. The gene, Nkx2.5, was shown to regulate genesis of the spleen during early development in mice.

4 May 2012

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Elelyso to treat Type 1 Gaucher disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa) for long-term enzyme replacement therapy to treat a form of Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder.

2 May 2012

Views on the Supreme Court review: No matter what the decision, reform will go on; The case threatens the court's legacy

Listening to the lawyers talking nonstop last week about health care gave me a headache, so I decided to consult one of the nation's top doctors. He offered a real-world diagnosis of what's happening in health care -; and a reminder of how much it's changing, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides about Obamacare. My medical guru is Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, chief executive of Cleveland Clinic, a $6 billion network that's one of the biggest and best providers in the country.

3 Apr 2012

Potential new way to treat rare inherited metabolic disorders

A University of Michigan cell biologist and his colleagues have identified a potential drug that speeds up trash removal from the cell's recycling center, the lysosome.

14 Mar 2012

Physicians study human stem cell use as possible treatment for ischemic stroke

Physicians at the Methodist Neurological Institute are studying the use of human stem cells as a possible treatment for acute ischemic stroke, a leading cause of death and disability. Each year, stroke affects more than 15 million people around the world.

7 Mar 2012

Ruxolitinib boosts QOL and survival for patients with myelofibrosis

A drug that relieves the severe symptoms of a life-threatening bone marrow cancer called myelofibrosis also improves the survival of patients with the disease, according to a phase III clinical trial published in the March 1 edition of New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Mar 2012

NEJM publishes results from two Jakafi Phase III studies on MF

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) today published results from two Phase III studies (COMFORT-I and COMFORT-II) of Jakafi (ruxolitinib), a JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis.

1 Mar 2012