White Blood Cell News and Research

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Vampire bat causes rabies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first death linked to a vampire bat. The victim’s mother reported that her son was bitten by a vampire bat on his heel while he was sleeping. At the time, the bite was not reported or treated in Mexico, where the bite occurred.

15 Aug 2011

Female sex hormone oestrogen could fight against cardiovascular disease

The sex hormone oestrogen could help protect women from cardiovascular disease by keeping the body's immune system in check, new research from Queen Mary, University of London has revealed.

12 Aug 2011

Scientists identify 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis

Scientists have identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of a very debilitating neurological disease. Many of the genes -implicated in the study are relevant to the immune system, shedding light onto the immunological pathways that underlie the development of multiple sclerosis.

11 Aug 2011

Researchers team up to combat age-related macular degeneration

A professor at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering has received a $100,000 grant to develop a new technique to fight a disease that gradually destroys vision.

8 Aug 2011

Possible new drug targets for treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have discovered a novel interaction between two proteins involved in regulating cell growth that could provide possible new drug targets for treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

20 Jul 2011

Scientists identify key immune system regulator in white blood cells

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists provide insight into immune system biology and identify the mechanism that keeps white blood cell activity at a minimum until the specific immune response is needed.

18 Jul 2011

Gene therapy may help prevent progression of type 1 diabetes

Increasing a specific protein in areas of the pancreas that produce insulin blocks the immune attack that causes type 1 diabetes, researchers reported in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, published early online.

7 Jul 2011

GWAS identifies 15 gene variants responsible for diversity of white blood cell counts

A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese.

1 Jul 2011

DMI completes rHEALTH sensor reduced-gravity experiments for NASA FAST program

In September 2010, the DNA Medicine Institute (DMI) successfully completed reduced-gravity experiments on its rHEALTH sensor for the NASA Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology (FAST) program. NASA recently followed that experiment with a $190,000 contract to DMI to analyze data from the parabolic flights.

29 Jun 2011

Health Canada approves Tasigna for newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML

Over a decade ago, Canadian patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), celebrated when PrGleevec (imatinib mesylate) was approved in Canada.

27 Jun 2011

Positive results from LCP-Tacro Phase III trial in stable kidney transplant recipients

LifeCycle Pharma A/S today reported that the company's lead product candidate, LCP-Tacro, successfully demonstrated non-inferiority compared to tacrolimus in its Phase III trial, Study 3001.

21 Jun 2011

Scientists discover new cell type in the immune system

A team of Australian scientists has discovered a new type of cell in the immune system. The new cell type, a kind of white blood cell, belongs to a family of T-cells that play a critical role in protection against infectious disease.

16 Jun 2011

Gleevec shows significant overall survival benefit for patients w/ GIST after 3 years of adjuvant treatment vs. 1 year

Novartis announced new data today showing a significant improvement in both recurrence-free survival and overall survival for patients taking Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate)* tablets for three years after surgery to remove KIT (CD117)-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (KIT+ GIST) compared to one year of treatment. These data will be presented at the 47th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) plenary session on Sunday, June 5.

6 Jun 2011

Peptide vaccine, Interleukin-2 show promise for patients with metastatic melanoma

For patients with advanced melanoma, which is the most lethal type of skin cancer, the results of a large clinical trial show that a vaccine combined with the immune-boosting drug Interleukin-2 can improve response rate and progression-free survival.

4 Jun 2011

Lymphocyte count serves as simple and effective prognostic indicator in renal cell carcinoma

Each year, kidney cancer is diagnosed in nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. Many of these patients undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney, but this procedure can be risky for the elderly and those who have other health problems. Unfortunately, the prognosis of kidney cancer patients often cannot be determined until tumor samples are surgically removed and evaluated.

2 Jun 2011

Lund University researcher discovers new sepsis biomarker in blood

Sepsis is the name of an infection that causes a series of reactions in the body, which in the worst case can prove fatal. The problem for both patients and doctors is that the early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from less dangerous infections such as a severe flu or winter vomiting disease.

23 May 2011

Simple lymphocyte count effectively identifies prognosis of renal cell carcinoma

19 May 2011

Abcc10 might help counter resistance and extend effectiveness of anticancer drugs

Today's anticancer drugs often work wonders against malignancies, but sometimes tumors become resistant to the effects of such drugs, and treatment fails. Medical researchers would like to find ways of counteracting such resistance, but first they must understand why and how it happens.

17 May 2011

Lower education leads to faster ageing: Study

According scientists, people who leave education with fewer qualifications are prone to age more quickly. The research was published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity on Wednesday.

15 May 2011

New study sheds light on origins of myeloid leukemia

A new study by the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center, sheds light on the origins of myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer that affects children and adults.

13 May 2011