Blood Weekly articles from August 2003

Blood Weekly archives from August 2003

GVHD prophylaxis with antithymocyte globulin does not increase leukemia relapse risk.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with antithymocyte globulin (ATG) does not adversely affect the outcome of unrelated stem cell transplantation,...

MxA protein can be used to distinguish viral infection from GVHD.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have identified a way to distinguish viral infections from graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in stem cell transplant recipients. "Many...

Novel cell lines aid study of germinal center B cell development.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel cell lines may abet the study of peripheral B cell development. "In the periphery, B cells differentiate in germinal centers (GCs) of secondary lymphoid organs," researchers in...

Pulmonary side population cells characterized.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The features of pulmonary side population (SP) cells have been determined. SP cells "are a rare subset of cells found in various tissues that are highly enriched for stem cell activity," researchers...

Erythropoietin lowers transfusion needs during hematological cancer-induced anemia.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Erythropoietin (Epo) reduces transfusion requirements in anemic cancer patients. "Anemia is a frequent symptom encountered in hematological malignancies at diagnosis or in the course of the...

Erythrocyte production through cord blood stem cell expansion may be feasible.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- It may be feasible to produce red blood cells by expanding umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells in the presence of erythropoietin (EPO). This hematopoietic growth factor "induces erythropoiesis...

Immunotherapy effective for relapsed stem cell transplant recipients.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immunotherapy can be effective for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who relapse after stem cell allografting. Scientists in Austria described the case of a 35-year-old female AML patient "who...

Age-related stem cell loss prevents artery repair.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aging has long been recognized as the worst risk factor for chronic ailments like atherosclerosis, which clogs arteries and leads to heart attacks and stroke. Yet, the mechanism by which aging promotes...

Plasma P-selectin levels rise in people with chronic liver diseases.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Plasma P-selectin levels rise in people with chronic liver diseases "P-selectin is a leukocyte receptor and platelet activation marker that has been shown to be involved in thrombogenesis as well as...

One of 3 BLM helicase complexes, BRAFT, contains 5 Fanconi anemia proteins.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- One of the three Bloom syndrome BLM helicase complexes, BRAFT, contains 5 of the Fanconi anemia proteins. "Bloom syndrome (BS) is a genetic disorder associated with dwarfism, immunodeficiency,...

Telomere resolvase, ResT, is a positionally dependent tyrosine recombinase.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Borrelia burgdorferi telomere structures are managed by ResT, and enzyme that is positionally dependent on a distance from the axis of symmetry to cleave. "An unusual feature of bacteria in the...

Risk higher for young women with Hodgkin disease treated with radiation.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Young women with Hodgkin disease (HD) treated with chest radiation alone have an increased risk for breast cancer, according to a study in the July 23/30, 2003, issue of the Journal of the American...

Swenerton score useful for selecting high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant candidates.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Swenerton score is useful for selecting breast cancer patients likely to realize the most benefit from intensive chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. Researchers in the United States...

Researchers find mechanism that may determine early blood cell fate.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hematopoietic stem cells, the mother of all blood cells, face a fundamental dilemma in their lives. Each must either remain a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) by renewing itself or it must transform...

Acute respiratory failure with diagnosis of monocytic leukemia has poor outcome.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acute respiratory failure can sometimes be caused by acute monocytic leukemia; outcome worsens after chemotherapy. According to a study from France, "Acute respiratory failure revealing acute...

Shelf registration statement filed; data on blood cancer therapy released.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ARIA) announced that it has filed a shelf registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the issuance of up to 7.5 million shares of...

Stem cell transplantation shortly after imantinib treatment may exacerbate skin toxicity.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stem cell transplantation may exacerbate skin toxicity associated with imatinib treatment. "Imatinib is a new promising therapeutic option for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, with efficacy...

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor can act as colorectal tumor marker.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) - particularly macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) - may be markers for colorectal malignancy. HGFs "are involved in the regulation of growth and spread...

Skills in palliative care are important for appropriate end-of-life care.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Skills in palliative care are important for appropriate end-of-life care. "To increase the knowledge of the final phase of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a retrospective review of the medical and...

Tacrolimus dose must be altered in some cases of CYP3A5, MDR1 gene polymorphism.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In pediatric heart transplant patients, tacrolimus doses must be altered to counter altered blood concentrations in certain cases of CYP3A5 and MDR1 gene polymorphisms. "Tacrolimus is a substrate...

Scientists confirm a link between hepatitis C virus and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - The authors of an Italian multicenter study have confirmed an association between hepatitis C virus infection and the risk for acquiring B-cell non-Hodgkin...

VEGFR-2 maintains hematopoietic progenitor cell survival.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VEGFR-2 maintains hematopoietic progenitor cell survival. "Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors play an essential role in the formation and maintenance of the hematopoietic...

Neutrophils respond to cytokine withdrawal for apoptosis following infection.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Homeostasis of immune cells following infection may occur due to cytokine withdrawal and subsequent apoptosis. According to a study from Switzerland, "Neutrophils are constantly produced in large...

HFE and transferrin receptor TfR2 act together in intestinal crypt cells.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HFE and transferrin receptor TfR2 interact and are localized in small intestinal crypt cells that become iron absorbing enterocytes. According to a study from England, "Mutations in the HFE gene...

Epstein Barr viral load can fluctuate without development of PTLD.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In renal transplant patients, EBV can have a fluctuating serological viral load without development of PTLD. "Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD), ranging from lymphoid hyperplasia...

Anti-CD66 mAb superior to anti-CD45 for pre-stem cell transplantation radioimmunotherapy.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An anti-CD66 monoclonal antibody (mAb) is superior to an anti-CD45 mAb for anti-leukemia radioimmunotherapy (RIT). RIT with radiolabelled mAbs "is an effective method of achieving myeloablation in...

BCR/ABL blast amplification may have role in blast transformation.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BCR/ABL blast amplification may have role in blast transformation. According to published research from Argentina, "Although the chronic phase of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) is characterized...

Chlorambucil given for at least a year does not affect cytogenetic parameters.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chlorambucil given for at least a year does not affect cytogenetic parameters. According to published research from Israel, "The most common treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the...

Dexrazoxane and anthracyclines lead to a synergistic cytotoxic response in AML.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dexrazoxane and anthracyclines lead to a synergistic cytotoxic response in AML. According to recent research from the United States, "In an attempt to improve current therapeutic strategies for...

Mast cells trigger apoptosis in Jurkat cells.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Leukemic cells undergo apoptosis in the presence of mast cells. These cells "are known to play an important role in inflammation and host defense," researchers in Canada explained. "Recent evidence...

Real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR measures SIL-TAL1 fusion gene transcripts.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR measures SIL-TAL1 fusion gene transcripts. "TAL1 disruption at 1p32 [del(1p)] is a common rearrangement in the development of T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia...

Sequential chemotherapy is effective for newly diagnosed de novo AML.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sequential chemotherapy is effective for newly diagnosed de novo AML. "EMA, consisting of etoposide, mitoxantrone, and cytarabine, is a timed-sequential chemotherapy (TSC) regimen and an efficacious...

EBV + T-cell Asian lymphoma may have prognostic correlations.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EBV + T-cell Asian lymphoma may have prognostic correlations. According to recent research from the United States, "Evidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in patients continues to be...

Monitoring of the TNF-alpha levels may be a useful prognostic marker.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Monitoring of the TNF-alpha levels may be a useful prognostic marker. According to recent research from Japan, "We have attempted to find any relationships between circulating tumor necrosis factor...

Murine models are useful for studying human lymphoid neoplasias.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Murine models are useful for studying human lymphoid neoplasias. According to recent research published in the journal Leukemia Research, "Using an animal model for the study of murine thymic...

Renal failure results from non-Hodgkin lymphoma infiltration of the kidneys.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Renal failure can result from non-Hodgkin lymphoma infiltration of the kidneys. According to recent research from Netherlands, "Acute renal failure (ARF) as a consequence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma...

Gram-negative bacteria activate toll-like receptor TLR4, production of IL-12.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Macrophages produce IL-12 p70 specifically as a response to Gram-negative over Gram-positive bacteria, and detection of this product may help in diagnostics. "Purified components from bacteria...

Novel blood test provides accurate measure of pyronaridine levels.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel blood test provides accurate measurements of pyronaridine levels in malaria patients. Scientists in Sweden developed "a new extraction procedure for the analysis of pyronaridine in whole...

The spectrum of disease that human parvovirus B19 infection causes is very broad.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The spectrum of disease that human parvovirus B19 infection causes is very broad; now includes neurological problems. According to a study from England, "Since its discovery, human parvovirus B19...

Subchorionic hematomas suggest underlying maternal circulation disorder.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Subchorionic hematomas suggest underlying maternal circulation disorder. "Subchorionic hematomas (SCHs) are associated with poor reproductive outcome including spontaneous abortions and stillbirth....

Tissue factor/factor VIIa inhibitors don't use hemostasis to stop angiogenesis.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tissue factor/factor VIIa inhibitors don't use hemostasis to stop angiogenesis. "An association between cancer and thrombosis has been recognized for more than a century. However, the manner by...

William Weed to lead search committee for new CEO of New York Red Cross.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The board of directors of the American Red Cross in Greater New York (ARC/GNY) announced that William Weed, an ARC/GNY board member and president of Ray & Berndtson will chair the search committee for...

EC proposes strict ethical guidelines on E.U. funding of embryonic stem cell research.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The European Commission has adopted a proposal for guidelines on E.U.-funded human embryonic stem cell research. The E.U. 6th Research Framework Programme (FP6 2003-2006), as adopted by the Council...

Whole blood has higher levels of Th1 lymphocytes and serum IFN-gamma.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Th1 lymphocytes and serum interferon gamma are higher in whole blood of psoriasis patients. According to a study from Hungary, "Several disorders are known to be associated with altered...

TRAIL and gamma-radiation apoptosis is impaired by deficient caspase-9 cleavage.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- TRAIL and gamma-radiation apoptosis is impaired by deficient caspase-9 cleavage. According to recent research from Germany, "TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (RAIL APO-2L) is a member of the...

Neural stem cells secrete neurotrophic factors and promote axon growth.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neural stem cells secrete neurotrophic factors and promote axon growth. According to recent research published in the journal Experimental Neurology, "neural stem cells (NSCs) offer the potential to...

PD-ECGF causes head and neck cancers to cycle through growth phases quickly.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PD-ECGF causes head and neck cancers to cycle through growth phases quickly. "Platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF) was isolated as an endothelial mitogen from platelets and...

Astrocyte-derived factors induce neuron differentiation from embryonic cells.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Astrocyte-derived factors induce neuron differentiation from embryonic stem (ES) cells. Pluripotent ES cells "may differentiate into neurons in vitro," scientists in Japan noted. "This is valuable...

Company reports successful derivation of osteoblasts from hESCs.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Geron Corp. (GERN) announced the publication of research results that advance the breadth of applications for human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in regenerative medicine. Research funded by Geron...

Different Notch signaling pathways control T- and B-cell commitment.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Different Notch signaling pathways control T- and B-cell commitment by hematopoietic cells. In a recent study, scientists in the United States "characterized the function of Notch-regulated...

Gene expression and engraftment capacity of hematopoietic cells linked to cell cycle phase.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The cell cycle phase of hematopoietic cells determines their gene expression and engraftment capacity. Researchers in the United States examined "the genetic and engraftment phenotype of highly...

Hematopoietic stem cells ferry exogenous genes directly to tumor vessels.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hematopoietic stem cells ferry exogenous genes directly to tumor vessels. According to published research from Italy, "angiogenic tumor vessels are promising targets for the activity and the...

Neurokinin receptor crosstalk helps regulate hematopoiesis.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neurokinin (NK) receptor crosstalk plays a role in the production of blood by bone marrow. The NK-1 and NK-2 receptors "regulate hematopoiesis by interacting with neurotransmitters that belong to...

New technique can reprogram adult blood cells to be heart or nerve tissue.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists in London have made an important advance in growing human cells outside the body. In a recently published paper, Dr. Ilham Saleh Abuljadayel of TriStem Corp., London, describes a...

Novel nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase identified with inhibitory effects on Ras signaling.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel kinase with inhibitory effects on Ras signaling has been identified. In a recent study from the United States, "kinase of embryonic stem cells (Kos1), a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase...

Novel transcription factor plays key role in embryonic cell expansion.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel transcription factor appears to play a key role in the expansion of embryonic stem (ES) cells. ES cells "undergo extended proliferation while remaining poised for multilineage...

Retinoic acid suppresses bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell growth.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Retinoic acid inhibits the growth of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. "The importance of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in hemopoiesis has been definitely demonstrated," scientists in...

Swine neuroepithelial stem cells could be useful for transplantation.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Swine neuroepithelial stem cells could be useful for transplantation. In a recent study from Japan, "neuroepithelial stem cells derived from the swine mesencephalic neural tube were examined...

Tetratricopeptide repeat motif-containing proteins involved in neural stem cell RNA processing.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Proteins containg TPR motifs play a key role in processing RNA from neural stem cells. "The crooked neck (crn) gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a scaffold protein carrying multiple...

VEGF is the principal angiogenic modulator during new bone formation.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VEGF is the principal angiogenic modulator during new bone formation. According to published research from Japan, "vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated angiogenesis is essential for...

AMD-3100 granted orphan drug designation.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AnorMED, Inc., (AOM) announced it has received orphan drug designation for AMD-3100, a potential new agent in stem cell transplant in cancer patients from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)....

Effects of prophylactic donor leukocyte infusions elucidated.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The effects of prophylactic treatment with donor leukocytes in stem cell transplant recipients have been elucidated. "In an attempt to capture graft-versus-tumor effects without graft-versus-host...

Fasciitis can be manifestation of graft-versus-host disease.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health care workers should be alert for symptoms of fasciitis in stem cell allograft recipients, scientists in South Korea argue. "Fasciitis, one of the presentations of chronic skin...

Ganciclovir can prevent post-transplant adenovirus infections.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The antiviral agent ganciclovir can prevent adenovirus (ADV) infections in stem cell transplant recipients. ADVs "are emerging as important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing...

Hematopoietic cell adhesion receptors may play role in cell cycle-related engraftment failure.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adhesion receptor activity on hematopoietic cells may influence their engraftment capacity during different phases of the cell cycle. "Using different experimental approaches, it has been...

MRSA colonization should be eradicated before stem cell allografting.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug-resistant staphylococcal colonization should be eradicated in patients before stem cell transplantation. In a recent study from Japan, "the clinical course of hematopoietic stem cell...

Stem cell allografts ineffective for pediatric X-linked agammaglobulinemia patients.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stem cell allografts are not currently an effective treatment for X-linked agammaglobulinemia, a rare congenital immunoglobulin deficiency. In a recent study from the United States, "six young...

Neural cells are not rejected when transplanted.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time scientists have shown that brain stem cells are immune privileged, which means that they are invisible to a transplant recipient's immune system and do not trigger the immune system...

Autoreactive T cells contribute to hematopoietic failure in lupus patients.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Autoreactive T cells contribute to hematopoietic failure in lupus patients. "There is an increasing evidence that the trafficking and homing of autoreactive lymphocytes in the bone marrow (BM) of...

Dysfunction or dysregulation leads to immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- T cells that function recognize self and are silenced; if there is dysfunction or dysregulation, diseases such as immunodeficiencies and autoimmunities occur. According to recent research from...

Apoptosis of alloreactive T cells may play a role in tolerance initiation.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Transplant tolerance may only occur if large numbers of alloreactive T cells are eliminated first, so that these graft-destructive cells are reduced and graft protective ones increased. ...

Fetal trisomy 21 diagnosis can be obtained noninvasively from maternal blood.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fetal nRBCs can be isolated from maternal blood; diagnosis of fetal trisomy 21 can be obtained noninvasively. "This study was undertaken to establish a noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnostic...

PCR assay provides fast, simple, and accurate tuberculosis diagnosis in HIV-negative patients.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A PCR assay provides fast, simple and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis in HIV-negative patients. "Tuberculosis is still one of the most important cause of mortality and morbidity in many...

Strongyloides stercoralis rash should be ruled out before corticosteroid use.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients with rash due to Strongyloides stercoralis should not be given corticosteroids, it should be ruled out before treatment. According to recent research published in the American Journal of...

Dual promoters enable lentiviral vectors to generate coexpressed transgenes.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dual promoters enable lentiviral vectors to generate coexpressed transgenes. "Lentiviral vectors (LVs) offer several advantages over traditional oncoretroviral vectors. LVs efficiently transduce...

Nucleofection is efficient for nonviral transfection of monocytic cells.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nucleofection is efficient for nonviral transfection of monocytic cells. "Despite some progress in the field of gene transfer into hard-to-transfect cells, so far an efficient nonviral method for...

Compounds show promise against Flavivirus and animal applications.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immtech International, Inc., (IMMT) announced publication of scientific data describing the activity of aromatic cationic molecules against the bovine diarrhea virus (BVDV). BVDV is an RNA...

Company focuses on host immune response, not the virus.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenoMed, Inc., (MED), a St. Louis, Missouri-based company, reaffirmed its approach to deadly viruses such as SARS, West Nile virus, and HIV. Dr. David Moskowitz, GenoMed's chairman and chief medical...

Antisense drug for West Nile manufactured for clinical trials.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avi BioPharma, Inc., (AVII) announced that it has completed manufacturing of several lots of its West Nile virus Neugene antisense drug, Avi-4020, at its new manufacturing facility in Corvallis, Oregon....

FDA grants clearance to diagnostic test for West Nile Virus.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Panbio received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for a diagnostic kit to test patients with suspected symptoms of the potentially fatal West Nile virus (WNV) disease. Panbio's...

Quality control system selected for Procleix clinical trials.
August 7, 2003... 2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AcroMetrix announced that their investigational West Nile Virus (WNV) RNA External Quality Controls were selected for use in clinical trials designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new...

KIR ligand incompatibility improves survival of unrelated stem cell graft recipients.
August 14, 2003... 2003 AUG 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Donor-recipient killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) ligand incompatibility reduces the mortality risk after stem cell transplantation, researchers say....

Postprogenitor cell retransfusion prevents neutropenic fever in stem cell autograft recipients.
August 14, 2003... 2003 AUG 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Retransfusion with postprogenitor cells (PPCs) can prevent neutropenic fever in stem cell autograft recipients, researchers in Germany say. "Reduced...

Cholesterol protects against oxidative stress in hemosomes.
August 14, 2003... 2003 AUG 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cholesterol protects hemosomes from oxidative damage, a finding that may aid the development of robust blood substitutes. "Encapsulation of hemoglobin (Hb) within a liposome is one of the...