Blood Weekly articles from August 2001

Blood Weekly archives from August 2001

Cord Blood May Offer Alternative For Newborns.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Blood harvested from the umbilical cord of newborn infants may be useful if those infants require surgery soon after birth, pediatric surgeons in Japan...

Metabolic Changes May Underlie Multidrug Resistance.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Altered cellular metabolism may mediate the antitumor drug resistance seen in some leukemia cell lines, researchers in Sweden say. "Cross-resistance...

Study Seeks Patients For Blood Clot, Medication Studies.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doctors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) are seeking adults with acute pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis to participate in studies aimed at improving treatments for...

Real-Time Assay Developed For Finding Human Cells In Transplanted Mice.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Germany have developed an extremely rapid test for determining the amount of human genetic material in mice, which should be useful for...

Routine Blood Transfusions During Surgery Unnecessary.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The routine use of blood products during heart bypass surgery can be safely dispensed with, cardiologists in Germany report. "Fresh frozen plasma (FFP)...

Scientists Create New Lines From Donor Gametes.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at the Eastern Virginia Medical School have successfully created new tissue lines using sperm and eggs donated explicitly for that...

EMS Workers Reduce Injury Risk With Switch To Self-Retracting Device.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A University of Arizona investigator proposes that by switching to self-retracting lancets, emergency medical system (EMS) workers can reduce their risk for...

Resveratrol May Offer Alternative To Hydroxyurea Treatment.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A study by researchers in France suggests that resveratrol may provide sickle cell disease patients with greater therapeutic benefit than hydroxyurea,...

Arsenic Trioxide Suspected In Patient Deaths.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The use of arsenic trioxide as a treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) may be responsible for several unresolved patient deaths, researchers in...

Donor Restrictions May Lead To Shortages In U.S.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tighter restrictions on blood donors to lower the risk of mad cow disease entering the U.S. blood supply will lead to shortages that could cost lives, officials say. Federal officials told a...

Group Calls For Federally Funded National Donor Awareness Campaign.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The following was released by the American Association of Blood Banks: [helv] The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) strongly urges that any new blood donor deferral policy be...

Ontario Judge Approves Red Cross Settlement For Tainted-Blood.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A judge in Ontario, Canada, has approved a $79 million (Canadian dollars) Red Cross-led settlement for people infected by hepatitis C through tainted blood. Justice Warren Winkler, who rejected...

HIV Patients Do Not Have Increased Graft-Versus-Host Risk.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Patients infected with the HIV virus do not suffer from an elevated risk of graft-versus-host disease after transfusion, according to researchers in the...

Herpes-Based Vectors Promising For Gene Therapy.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Genetic material from the herpes virus shows great potential for immunotherapy of hematological malignancies in general, and for chronic lymphocytic...

Poll Indicates Americans Support Stem Cell Research.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Americans support using federal money for embryonic stem cell research by a 2-1 margin, according to a poll that came as the Bush administration considers whether to allow the funding to move...

GM-CSF Can Reduce Chemotherapy Side Effects In Children.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) can ameliorate some of the effects of chemotherapy in pediatric patients with high-risk Ewing...

Peritoneal Dialysis May Have Wider Application.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data presented from the largest randomized, controlled clinical trial ever completed in dialysis patients suggest that peritoneal dialysis (PD), a flexible home-based dialysis treatment for people...

Targeting Antigen Reduces Graft-Versus-Host Disease Response To Bone Marrow Transplants.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bone marrow transplants have brought new hope to leukemia patients in recent years. Sometimes, though, the graft fails after a battle between the patient's body and the new tissue. A team of...

New Distribution System Tested For Donated Livers.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early testing of a new system for distributing donated livers indicates it would save lives, and the transplant network in the U.S. has recommended that it be implemented nationwide. Under the...

Study Identifies Factors Associated With Families' Consent.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several key factors, such as demographic features and prior knowledge of a relative's wishes, were strongly associated with families' consent for organ donation in a recent study. Laura A....

Scientists Report The First Live Births In Large Mammals After Using Frozen Ovarian Tissue.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists in France have succeeded in using previously frozen ovarian tissue to produce live offspring in large mammals for the first time. The team, led by Prof. Bruno Salle and Dr....

Primer Answers Basic Questions.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many scientists believe that stem cells hold the promise of dramatic new treatments for disease, offering hope to millions of patients. But some groups oppose using stem cells taken from embryos...

Blood Injections Can Resolve Postoperative Overfiltration.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Retinal damage following trabeculectomy can be prevented by injecting small amounts of blood into the affected eye, according to a preliminary study from...

Cardiologist Says Hypercoagulable State, Not 'Coach-Class Syndrome,' Is Risk Factor.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Reports of potentially fatal blood clots developing during long flights have wrongly placed blame on coach-class seating conditions and not on the underlying medical problems, which are rare, says...

Extended Prophylactic Treatment After Hip Or Knee Replacement Reduces Risk.
August 9, 2001... 2001 AUG 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The optimum duration of prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total hip or knee replacement is uncertain. Conducting a meta-analysis, Daniel Quinlan from King's College Hospital,...

Stickier Platelets In Some May Be The Result Of Gene Variation.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Variations in a blood clotting gene may explain why some individuals have stickier platelets, which can increase the risk for clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke, propose authors of a new...

Leukoreduction Does Not Affect Transfusion Need.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - While reducing the white blood cell (WBC) population in blood products also thins the population of red blood cells (RBCs), leukoreduction has little...

Red Blood Cell Infusions Do Not Aid Mechanical Ventilation Weaning.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Extensive blood transfusions do not shorten the process of removing patients from mechanical ventilation, researchers in Canada report. "Correcting...

Researchers Create Functioning Heart Cells In The Lab.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A high school track star suddenly collapses during practice - his heartbeat inexplicably thrown into quivering, life-robbing chaos. But how and why did his heart suddenly produce the electrical...

Longer Regimens Linked To Interferon Responsiveness In Dialysis Group.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Limited response to interferon alpha therapy has been observed in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Now, however, a study performed in...

Cytokine Levels Determine Liver Damage Risk.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Mutations that affect levels of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-(alpha) (TNF-(alpha)) also affect the risk of liver damage for...

Common Mutation Protects Against Thrombotic Disorders.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A common mutation believed to put carriers at risk for brain hemorrhaging may also protect them from atherothrombotic disorders and complications,...

Malignant Stem Cells Can Lack CD38 Expression.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in California have shown that it is more common than previously thought for leukemic stem cells to lack CD38 expression, a finding that may...

New Data On New Oral Direct Thrombin Inhibitor Presented.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The presentation of a wide range of data at the 18th International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis meeting (ISTH) during July 2001 provided new evidence to support the efficacy and safety of...

U.S. Military May Supply Blood For New York City.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- America's Blood Centers announced it will work with the military to facilitate the development of a plan to ship blood collected from U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe to the greater New York...

D-Dimer Assay For Diagnosis Gets FDA Clearance.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche Diagnostics announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of its D-Dimer assay for use on the Roche/Hitachi and COBAS Integra(R) chemistry analyzers. ...

Potential Compromise On Stem Cell Research Is Controversial.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In the July 9, 2001, issue of Newsweek, it was reported that the Bush administration is considering a compromise on embryonic stem cell research to appease groups that oppose the research and the...

'Gene Pill' Patent Extended To Include All Proteins Secreted Into Blood.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first patent for a method of inducing insulin production by delivering normal genes in a pill, granted just two months ago to the University of California, San Francisco, now is joined by a...

Study Looks At Genomic Variability Of Hepatitis C In Patients Coinfected With HCV/HIV.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine has received a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the U.S. National Institutes of Health to...

Cocaine Use, Hypertension Major Risk Factors In Young African Americans.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Young African Americans who use cocaine are six times more likely to suffer a potentially lethal episode of bleeding inside the brain than non-users, research shows. The study, published in...

Dendritic Cells Can Be Derived From Malignant Cells.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have shown that dendritic cells can be created from leukemia cell cultures, possibly paving the way for a novel treatment. "To...

Thalidomide Monotherapy Survival Rates Are Encouraging.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Celgene Corporation (CELG) announced that Phase II clinical trial results of the use of thalidomide in multiple myeloma patients were promising. The study titled, "Extended survival in...

Critics Question When, How Organs Are Collected From Patients Not Yet Brain-Dead.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A group of medical ethicists is urging hospitals to rethink the protocol that allows doctors to procure organs from patients who are not yet brain dead. Pennsylvania's two organ-procurement...

STAT3 Activation May Contribute To Pathogenesis.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Constant activation of a growth factor effector may underlie the development of polycythemia vera in some cases, according to researchers in Germany. ...

New Center Established At University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine And UPMC Health System.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- To realize the vast potential of tissue engineering and other techniques aimed at repairing damaged or diseased tissues and organs, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC) and UPMC...

Multiple Tests Can Preselect Embryo Sibling Donors.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Genetic and human leukocyte (HLA) antigen testing for embryos can be used to help parents and doctors select healthy children who can also serve as stem...

Cancer Patients Are At Increased Risk.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cancer patients are at high risk of potentially fatal blood clots that form in the large veins in the leg (venous thromboembolism) that, if unrecognized or untreated, can lead to a potentially...

New Device Removes Blood Clots In Hemodialysis Patients.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bacchus Vascular, Inc., announced that it has recently obtained regulatory approvals for the Solera Thrombectomy Catheter. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted 510k clearance to...

Scientific Registry Provides Comprehensive Look.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The number of patients still in need of organ transplants was more than three times higher than the number of people receiving life-saving transplants in 2000, based on statistics released by the...

Five-Year Follow-Up Of Hepatitis C Contamination Victims Reported.
August 16, 2001... 2001 AUG 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Between 1993 and 1994, 25 patients in the United Kingdom with severe immune system deficiencies were inadvertently infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV)...

Heparin Variants Produce Similar Hemostatic Responses.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Different forms of heparin produce comparable changes in hemostatic parameters when used to treat acute coronary syndrome (ACS), researchers in Spain...

Smart Card System Reduces Need For Phenotype Matching.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A "smart" identity card system could reduce or eliminate the need to perform antibody tests on blood product recipients, researchers in Hong Kong say. ...

Study Offers Relief For First-Time Donors.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Folks who feel faint at the prospect of donating blood can take heart: a new study suggests a little music and a movie could reduce the feelings of dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms...

Researchers Grow Precursor Heart And Insulin-Producing Cells.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Since the isolation of human embryonic stem cells three years ago, scientists have been excited about the prospect of using these cells to produce all the different types of tissues in the human...

New Gene-Targeted Therapy Promises Improved Cure Rates For AML.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center have developed a new gene-based therapy that they hope will transform one of the most lethal types of adult leukemia to one of the most treatable....

Autologous Blood Transfusion Safe But Not Effective.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Blood taken from liver cancer patients is safe for reinfusion during resection surgery, but such transfusions do not appear to benefit patients,...

Thalidomide Effective As First-Line Treatment.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The early findings of a Mayo Clinic study indicate the anti-angiogenic drug thalidomide can stop or slow the progression of multiple myeloma in patients newly diagnosed with this cancer of the...

Rising Demand Squeezing Life Out Of U.S. Blood Surplus.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Separate studies by Frost & Sullivan and the National Blood Data Resource Center confirm that demand for blood is rising much faster than donations, a potential crisis for those in need as the...

China Orders Blood Screening In Anti-AIDS Effort.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- China will require HIV screening of donated blood in an attempt to stem an infection rate believed to be above 30% a year, official media said. The measure is part of a five-year program aimed...

HBV Transmission Due To Transfusion Low In Japanese Study.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - In the late 1990s, before new blood donor screening procedures were adopted, blood transfusions were the cause of very few cases of hepatitis B virus...

Emulsified Formula Could Facilitate Emergency Use.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sanguine Corporation (SGNC) announced that, eight weeks into the emulsification stability study of its synthetic red blood cell substitute PHER-O2, all results to date have been positive. The...

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Awards Grants To Find Cures.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the U.S. has announced it will award $22.5 million in grants to three interdisciplinary research teams for projects aimed at rapidly accelerating the discovery of...

Research Guidelines Approved In Japan, U.S. President Bush Okays Limited Funding.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Japanese Cabinet panel approved guidelines for stem cell research on August 1, 2001, a move likely to allow laboratories there to start studies on building tissue from embryonic cells by the end...

First Patient Receives Phase I Gene Therapy.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenStar Therapeutics (GNT) reported that preliminary Phase I clinical trial data from the study of its hemophilia A treatment, MAXIMUM AD Factor VIII (MAX-ADTM FVIII) are promising. GenStar...

Scarring Process Plays Major Role In Chronic Rejection.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The body's natural response to a wound - sending specialized cells to the site to initiate the development of scar tissue - might be a major contributor to chronic kidney rejection following...

FIS-HAM Salvage Therapy Effective Despite Toxicity.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A chemotherapy salvage regimen consisting of fludarabine, cytosine arabinoside, and mitoxantrone (FIS-HAM) is an effective treatment for advanced leukemia,...

Rare Procedure Uses Diseased Organ For Second Patient.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, performed the first-ever domino liver transplant in Illinois on July 29, 2001, joining a handful of hospitals worldwide that have taken...

Organ Recipients At Increased Risk.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Patients who undergo solid organ transplants have a small but markedly elevated risk of developing lymphoma after surgery, researchers in Spain report. ...

Patients With Rare Blood Cancer Respond To Thalidomide.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cancer researchers at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, have published the results of a clinical study that shows thalidomide is effective in treating some patients...

Prodrug-Based Stem Cell Purging Improves Therapy.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the U.S. have developed an effective prodrug-based technique for purging malignant cells from stem cell harvests from neuroblastoma...

Radiolabeled Antibodies Safe, Effective For Immune Suppression.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Allogeneic stem cell engraftment can be improved by an induction regimen using radiolabeled antibodies as a partial replacement for total body irradiation...

Cooling The Brain Helps Deter Side Effects Of Clot-Busters.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cooling the brain after an ischemic stroke may limit both initial tissue damage caused by a stroke as well as subsequent damage resulting from the restoration of blood flow after using clot-busting...

Heart Tissue Renewal Demonstrated In Mice.
August 23, 2001... 2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mammalian heart tissue may be capable of regenerating itself after serious injury, according to a new study by researchers at The Wistar Institute, Pennsylvania. Experiments with a strain of...