White Blood Cell News and Research

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NCCN Guidelines for Acute Myeloid Leukemia updated

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently made updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) for Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a cancer that starts inside the bone marrow and the most common acute leukemia affecting adults.

20 Oct 2009

New findings on genetic disorder may lead to better treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

New findings related to an uncommon genetic disorder may impact the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the most common chronic gastrointestinal illness in children and teens.

9 Oct 2009

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center receives 60 research grants totaling nearly $40.4 million

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have been awarded 60 research grants totaling nearly $40.4 million under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The totals reflect data available as of Oct. 1 and reported by the National Institutes of Health.

6 Oct 2009

Study finds link between allergic inflammation and nephropathy in men with type 2 diabetes

For men with type 2 diabetes, a cell type linked to allergic inflammation is closely linked to a key indicator of diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy), suggests a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Allergy is a common disease that is increasing worldwide, so our findings may have important implications for diabetic nephropathy," comments Michiaki Fukui, MD (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan).

3 Oct 2009

Folotyn approved for the treatment of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Folotyn (pralatrexate), the first treatment for a form of cancer known as Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma (PTCL), an often aggressive type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

25 Sep 2009

Dental plaque increases neutrophil activity in black males

Will neglecting to brush your teeth damage more than just your smile? Can failing to attack dental plaque increase your risk of heart damage?

25 Sep 2009

Tregs to set the pace of recovery after serious lung injury

After more than 50 experiments in mice, medical scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out the basic steps taken by a particular set of white blood cells in setting the pace of recovery after serious lung injury.

22 Sep 2009

Investigative drug hampers the survival of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells

An investigative drug deprived non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells of their ability to survive too long and multiply too fast, according to an early study published recently in the journal Experimental Hematology.

22 Sep 2009

Master gene could lead to new ways of cancer treatments

The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.

14 Sep 2009

Insects can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs

Insects, such as some moths and fruit flies, react to microbial infection in the same way as mammals and so can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs, thereby reducing the need for animal testing. Dr Kevin Kavanagh from the National University of Ireland - Maynooth, presented his research findings at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, today (8 September).

7 Sep 2009

Study identifies key compound that quickens recovery from life-threatening blood cell shortages

A key compound resupplies bone marrow with fast-acting stem cells that can more quickly rekindle blood cell production, according to a study published online today in the journal Blood. While the study was in mice, in the study authors say it has the potential to increase survival among patients with life-threatening blood cell shortages.

3 Sep 2009

New ARRA-funded research on white blood cell functioning

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided funding for new research to learn more about how white blood cells work. Jonathan Reichner, PhD, of the department of surgery at Rhode Island Hospital has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health with funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Reichner's hope is that the research will lead to new immune-enhancing therapies, with potential implications for improvements in both cancer treatment and controlling inflammation accompanying injury and infection.

2 Sep 2009

NIAID to establish a human immune profiling research consortium in 2010; invites grant applications

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, is accepting grant applications for a new initiative to establish a consortium of human immune profiling research centers.

25 Aug 2009

Study finds long-term exposure to progesterone may lead to growth of tumors

Scientists at Michigan State University have found exposure to the hormone progesterone activates genes that trigger inflammation in the mammary gland.

20 Aug 2009

FDA approves Extavia for multiple sclerosis

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Extavia(R) (interferon beta-1b), the first in a new planned portfolio of multiple sclerosis (MS) medicines from Novartis to help patients manage this devastating disease.

17 Aug 2009

New immune therapy for kidney cancer tested

Researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) have opened a clinical trial to evaluate whether the standard treatment for a common form of kidney cancer works better by itself or when combined with a certain type of blood cell that comes from a patient’s relative. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

14 Aug 2009

Experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis reverses disorder in mice

A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans, say researchers at the Jewish General Hospital Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and McGill University in Montreal.

11 Aug 2009

Cost effectiveness study looks at potential value of new genetic test for guiding chemotherapy treatment

For the 29,000 patients in the United States with metastatic colorectal cancer, chemotherapy with irinotecan is a standard treatment that has been shown to improve survival. But for more than one in 10 of these patients, a variation in their DNA means that this treatment could result in a severe reduction in their white blood cell count, leading to a high risk of bacterial infection and possible subsequent death.

27 Jul 2009

Discovery of gene linked to follicular lymphoma

California and Arizona researchers have identified a gene variant that carries nearly twice the risk of developing an increasingly common type of blood cancer, according to a study published online today by the science journal Nature Genetics.

20 Jul 2009

Gene variants associated with survival advantage in African Americans with HIV

From the start of the HIV epidemic, it appeared that some of the people who were infected with the virus were able to ward off the fatal effects of the disease longer than others.

20 Jul 2009