Sickle Cell Anemia News and Research

Latest Sickle Cell Anemia News and Research

Tarantula venom protein promising for MD

University at Buffalo biophysicists have found a protein in tarantula venom that shows promise as a potential therapy for muscular dystrophy (MD). They have formed a start-up biotech company in Buffalo -- Rose Pharmaceuticals -- to advance the drug to clinical trials.

30 Dec 2009

ASH meeting highlights H1N1 pandemic threat, new trends and treatment options for children with genetic blood disorder

Sickle cell disease, a condition characterized by deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, is one of the most common genetic blood disorders affecting millions of people around the world, including more than 70,000 Americans (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

8 Dec 2009

H1N1 virus causes more life-threatening complications than seasonal flu

Infection with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, causes more life-threatening complications than seasonal flu in children with sickle cell disease, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

8 Dec 2009

Therapeutic agents in soy can treat colon cancer, says study

A study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland scientists identifies a new class of therapeutic agents found naturally in soy that can prevent and possibly treat colon cancer, the third most deadly form of cancer. Sphingadienes (SDs) are natural lipid molecules found in soy that research shows may be the key to fighting colon cancer.

24 Nov 2009

Gene therapy saves two children with adrenoleukodystrophy

The ELA association and Zinedine Zidane, its emblematic ambassador, are proud to announce a world premiere: the results regaring the gene therapy in adrenoleukodystrophy conducted in France have just been published in the prestigious journal Science. Two children have been treated and their diseases have been halted. The children are doing well, which is unexpected for a disease destroying the brain in a few months. This discovery opens up treatment perspectives for numerous widespread diseases.

6 Nov 2009

National study to prevent strokes in children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators were recently awarded a $23 million federal grant to launch a national study of the drug hydroxyurea to prevent first strokes in children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia (SCA).

29 Oct 2009

Moores UCSD Cancer Center awarded $20 million for cancer research

Researchers led by Moores UCSD Cancer Center Director Dennis A. Carson, MD, professor of medicine, and Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and director of the Cancer Stem Cell Research Program at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have been awarded $20 million over four years to develop novel drugs against leukemia stem cells.

28 Oct 2009

New York Governor participates in roundtable discussion on stem cell research

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University hosted a roundtable discussion on stem cell research with New York Governor David A. Paterson today. Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of Einstein, and eight stem cell researchers discussed advances in medical therapies and treatments that Einstein scientists have been investigating since receiving more than $14 million in State funding for stem cell research.

9 Oct 2009

Children's access to health care poses significant health problem despite of health insurance coverage

Despite high rates of health insurance coverage among children in the District of Columbia, children's access to health care is inadequate and poses a significant health problem for the city's young residents, particularly those who are publicly insured, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

9 Oct 2009

Doris Duke Innovations award for sickle cell disease research

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today that research led by Donald B. Kohn, M.D., Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) and Pediatrics, the Director of the UCLA Human Gene Medicine Program and member of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center, and Philip Gregory, D. Phil., Sangamo's chief scientific officer and vice president, research, has been selected to receive a $486,000 Doris Duke Innovations in Clinical Research Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

1 Oct 2009

'Pathway to a Cure' walk event in California

Satellite Healthcare, one of the nation's first and leading providers of kidney dialysis services and a major sponsor of nephrology research, today announced their sponsorship of The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation's "Pathway to a Cure" walk event in California's capital of Sacramento.

18 Sep 2009

Vitamin K prevents age-related conditions

An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer. Vitamin K is concentrated in dark green plants such as spinach or Swiss chard, and is either not present or present in only small amounts in most multivitamin pills.

18 Sep 2009

Improving childhood immunization campaigns could reduce sickle-cell deaths in Africa, Study finds

By offering all children in Africa vaccines that protect against bacterial infections, researchers say the number of deaths among children living with sickle-cell anemia could be reduced, Reuters reports. An estimated 200,000 children in Africa annually are born with sickle-cell anemia, a genetic disease "in which red blood cells deform into a sickle shape and cluster, blocking blood flow and causing pain, vulnerability to infections and organ damage."

10 Sep 2009

New treatment for vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell patients

GlycoMimetics, Inc. (GMI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing a new class of glycobiology-based therapies for a broad range of indications, today announced that a pilot study of the company’s lead candidate, GMI-1070, is underway in sickle cell patients. The first patients in this pilot study were treated at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland in California.

4 Sep 2009

Children's Hospital Oakland converts to Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry technology

Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced today that Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland has completed its system-wide conversions to Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry technology.

2 Sep 2009

Novel genome-analysis strategy to speed search for gene-disease links

University of Washington (UW) researchers have successfully developed a novel genome-analysis strategy for more rapid, lower cost discovery of possible gene-disease links. By saving time and lowering expenses, the approach makes it feasible for scientists to search for disease-causing genes in people with the same inherited disorder but without any family ties to each other.

18 Aug 2009

Proteomics helps find key to keeping cells in shape

Yale University researchers have discovered how a protein within most cell membranes helps maintain normal cell size, a breakthrough in basic biology that has implications for a variety of diseases such as sickle cell anemia and disorders of the nervous system.

6 Aug 2009

Study of pulmonary hypertension treatment in sickle cell patients stopped by NHLBI

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial testing a drug treatment for pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle cell disease nearly one year early due to safety concerns.

28 Jul 2009

First baby born after new ovarian transplant technique

A new technique for transplanting the ovaries of women who have lost their fertility as a result of cancer treatment was outlined to the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday 29 June).

29 Jun 2009

Hospital refuses admission to young adults with thalassemia and sickle cell disease

Young adults with thalassemia and sickle cell diease have been trying for up to 10 years to gain admission to the only adult hospital program in central and southwestern Toronto specialized to treat their blood disorders. Since 1999, the Toronto General Hospital (TGH) has restricted the inherited blood disorders program to 99 patients requiring blood transfusions. As a result, about 150 young adults with complex disorders receive blood transfusions at the Hospital for Sick Children but no adult services.

25 May 2009