Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Latest Sickle Cell Disease News and Research

Risk, incidence of VTE differs between races

A new study of 1,960 White-Americans and 368 Black-Americans with objectively diagnosed venous thromboembolism (VTE) showed that, compared to Whites, Blacks had a significantly higher proportion with pulmonary embolism (PE), including idiopathic PE among Black women, and a significantly higher proportion of Blacks with VTE were women (71% vs 61% for Whites) The study is published today in the American Journal of Hematology.

24 Jun 2010

NHLBI funds nine research grants to determine safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding nine research grants to determine if the safety and efficacy of red blood cell transfusions vary depending on how long the cells have been stored. One of the grants supports the first large, multi-center, randomized clinical trial to compare outcomes in heart surgery patients who receive transfusions of red blood cells that have been stored for shorter or longer amounts of time.

22 Jun 2010

FerroKin BioSciences announces closing of $12M financing

FerroKin BioSciences, a biotechnology company developing a new therapy for the treatment of iron overload, today announced the closing of a $12 million financing. Participants in the financing include current investors Burrill & Company, Celgene Corporation, Clarus Ventures and MP Healthcare Venture Management, Inc., with Healthcap Ventures of Stockholm participating as a new investor.

18 Jun 2010

Constipation prophylaxis in sickle cell patients needs increased attention

Not all patients with sickle cell disease receive laxatives after being treated with narcotics, despite recommendations from a collaborative panel of pediatric experts. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study examining patients from 29 pediatric hospitals, and appearing in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

17 Jun 2010

Acclaimed virologist delivers the 2010 Leeuwenhoek prize lecture

Acclaimed virologist Robert Webster, Ph.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, presented the 2010 Leeuwenhoek prize lecture today, a prestigious recognition awarded by the Royal Society in London.

16 Jun 2010

Children get MRI tests for reasons unrelated to benign anomalies: Study

Pediatricians whose patients undergo "routine" brain MRIs need a plan to deal with findings that commonly reveal unexpected-but-benign anomalies that are unlikely to cause any problem, reports a research team led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators.

14 Jun 2010

Non-melanoma skin cancer is potential marker for survivors at risk for future malignant tumors

Childhood cancer survivors diagnosed later with non-melanoma skin cancer may be at increased risk for having a malignant tumor within 15 years, according to research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.

10 Jun 2010

Experimental drug that targets genetic makeup of tumor shows early signs of efficacy against medulloblastomas

Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology the findings of a pediatric brain tumor study using an experimental drug that targets the underlying genetic makeup of the tumor. The research focused on a new way to attack the tumors by blocking the Hedgehog pathway that is linked to approximately 20 percent of medulloblastomas.

8 Jun 2010

NHLBI stops trial evaluating new approach to reduce risk of recurrent stroke in children with sickle cell anemia

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has stopped a clinical trial evaluating a new approach to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke in children with sickle cell anemia and iron overload because of evidence that the new treatment was unlikely to prove better than the existing treatment.

5 Jun 2010

Unsatisfactory interactions with physicians affect sickle cell disease patients' trust in medical profession

Faculty at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics have published a study that shows, among adults with sickle cell disease, that unsatisfactory interactions with health-care providers in the past affect their trust in the medical profession more broadly.

5 Jun 2010

St. Jude receives top spot in 2010-11 Best Children's Hospital rankings

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been named the nation's top children's cancer hospital in the 2010-11 Best Children's Hospital rankings published in U.S. News & World Report. St. Jude received the best overall score summarizing quality of care. St. Jude is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children and serves as an international resource to physicians and researchers.

4 Jun 2010

Two-day workshop on sickle cell trait

Scientists from across the nation will gather June 3-4 to discuss what is known about sickle cell trait and the potential health implications related to this genetic blood condition. "Framing the Research Agenda for Sickle Cell Trait" will examine the ethical, legal, social, and public health impacts of the blood condition.

3 Jun 2010

St. Jude Garden provides fresh produce to patients, staff

Harvesting fruits, vegetables and herbs at the peak of freshness is a recipe for good taste, but it also offers higher nutritional value which is important to the patients and staff at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

29 May 2010

Study explores genetic imbalances that give rise to childhood brain tumors

The most comprehensive analysis yet of the genetic imbalances at the heart of childhood brain tumors known as high-grade gliomas (HGGs) identified a cancer gene that is unusually active in some tumors and is now the focus of a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital clinical trial.

21 May 2010

Cortex first-quarter net income increases to $0.08 per share

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported net income of approximately $5,596,000, or $0.08 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 compared with a net loss of $3,168,000, or $0.07 per share for the corresponding prior year period, with the difference reflecting revenues from the Company's March 2010 transaction with Biovail Laboratories International SRL (Biovail).

17 May 2010

Adults with SCA show poorer performance on neurocognitive tests: Study

Compared with a group of healthy study participants, adults with sickle cell anemia showed poorer performance on neurocognitive tests, which was associated with anemia and age, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

13 May 2010

27-year-old sickle cell disease patient undergoes multiple joint replacement surgery

Fortis Hospitals Mulund, Mumbai, performed a multiple joint replacement surgery on a 27 year old young Nigerian patient. Rebacca underwent a hip and a shoulder replacement surgery by Dr. Sachin Bhonsle, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, after years of suffering in pain and immobility.

13 May 2010

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Sickle cell disease may affect brain function in adults who have few or mild complications of the inherited blood disease, according to results of the first study to examine cognitive functioning in adults with sickle cell disease.

12 May 2010

New multicenter trial achieves 71% survival in AML children

More individualized therapy and better supportive care helped push the survival for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to 71 percent three years after diagnosis, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators and reported in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology. The survival rate of 71 percent is 20 percent better than previously reported U.S. rates and is similar to the success achieved in a 2009 Japanese study, said Jeffrey Rubnitz, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Oncology department.

11 May 2010

St. Jude’s Volunteen Program offers hands-on learning experience for teenagers

They have glue on their fingers and smiles on their faces; crayons spread before them and kids crowded around them. It's all part of a day's work for the Volunteens of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

11 May 2010