Blood Weekly articles from December 2000

Blood Weekly archives from December 2000

Presence of Blood Components Indicate Risk.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two tiny substances in the blood might alert physicians to which heart transplant patients are likely to experience some form of organ rejection, a Johns Hopkins University study indicates. ...

Non-Invasive Spectrophotometry Measures Hemoglobin Concentration.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An instrument has been developed that determines blood hemoglobin concentration based on absorbance of transilluminating light shined across a finger. Once refined, the technique should please...

Study Findings Result in Deferment of Donors with Medium Risk for HIV.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Testing of potential blood donors classified as "medium risk" revealed four with anti-HIV antibodies at a center in Italy. As a result, health officials with the Centro Trasfusionale e di Immunologia...

Committee Reports on Ethical Issues.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) Ethics Committee, an independent panel of ethical, legal, and reproductive health experts, has released a new report on the use of somatic cell...

Antibiotic Embedded Bone Cement Prevents Infections at Implant Sites in Rabbits.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An antibiotic commonly used to prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections can be mixed with bone cement and used to prevent infections at implant sites, according to new research to be published in the...

Filtered Blood of Questionable Benefit for Reducing Postoperative Infection in Heart Surgery Patients.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Use of leukoreduced blood or blood product transfusions reduces incidence of respiratory tract infection in some patients after they've undergone coronary artery bypass surgery, study data show. It did...

Scientists Identify and Purify Progenitor Cells in Liver.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After studies spanning more than a decade, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have become the first to identify and purify hepatic stem cells, progenitor cells capable of...

CryoSeal Fibrin Sealant Cleared for Marketing in Europe.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Thermogenesis Corp. (KOOL) announced November 13, 2000, that it has submitted the technical file to receive the CE Mark of conformity for the CP-2 Plasma Processing Disposable which, with the CryoSeal...

Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine Focus of December Meeting.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists, physicians, and entrepreneurs in cell biology, gene therapy, and tissue engineering will meet to discuss the latest developments in these areas at the First Annual Conference on Regenerative...

NIH Awards Grant for Hemodialysis Research.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the U.S. National Institutes of Health has awarded University of Iowa (UI) Health Care researchers a new grant to participate...

Clinical Trial of New Recombinant Therapy Initiated.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Baxter Healthcare Corporation announced that its Hyland Immuno business has initiated a Phase III clinical trial of its new recombinant Factor VIII therapy for the treatment of hemophilia A. This...

New Rules Under Consideration.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After more than two years of fighting with the U.S. government, the country's organ transplant network is expected to approve new rules for distributing scarce livers among thousands of waiting...

Doctors Perform First-Ever Living-Donor Procedure.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A team of doctors at Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, performed the first-ever living-donor nerve transplant on November 17, 2000. The specialists from the Houston Nerve &...

Study Results Announced for First MRI Contrast Agent.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epix Medical, Inc. (EPIX) has reported preclinical data on a prototype blood clot agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The agent enables the detection of blood clots on MRI scans after...

European Commission Grants "Orphan" Status for Treatment.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Madison, New Jersey, announced that the European Commission has designated Mylotarg (gemtuzmab ozogamicin) as an "orphan medicinal product." The Commission decision...

Incidence of Liver Disease Following Allogeneic Transplant Suggests Need for Follow-Up.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Spain have developed a list of liver diseases that sometimes follow allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. The list was compiled as the result of a retrospective study of 106...

Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Failure Proves Promising.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new stem cell technique holds exciting potential for treating life-threatening heart failure, researchers in Canada reported November 12, 2000, at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions...

Blood Marker Predicts Coronary Artery Disease Incidence and Severity.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists from San Diego State University, California, in collaboration with Medlyte Diagnostics, Inc., and the Naval Medical Center of San Diego, California, announced study results that might lead to...

Chlamydia pneumoniae Prevalence is High in Blood Cells.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chlamydia pneumoniae is highly prevalent in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients who receive peritoneal dialysis, but researchers in Canada say they can find no evidence that supports a...

Grant Awarded for Tissue Engineering Technology.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CryoLife, Inc. (CRY), Atlanta, Georgia, announced that it has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance the SynerGraft tissue-engineering technology in...

Hemoglobin Levels Can Help Predict Chemoradiation Therapy Outcome.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemoglobin levels prior to chemoradiation therapy for advanced head and neck cancer provide an accurate prognostic marker of outcome, suggesting a possible adjunct therapy, researchers in Germany...

Phase I/II Clinical MARstem Results are Promising.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maret Pharmaceuticals, Inc., reported positive Phase I/II clinical results that demonstrate the potential of MARstem as a multilineage hematopoietic therapy (multiple blood cell stimulant) to treat or...

Avigen Signs Gene Therapy Deal with Bayer.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bayer Corporation and Avigen, Inc. (AVGN) announced that they have taken an important step in the treatment of hemophilia B. The two companies signed an agreement that grants exclusive worldwide...

Collaboration Will Develop Gene Therapeutics.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Targeted Genetics Corporation (TGEN) announced November 9, 2000, that it has entered into a collaboration to develop gene therapy products for the treatment of hemophilia with Genetics Institute, the...

Flu Vaccine Not Effective in Lung Transplant Patients.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Humoral immune response data indicate that the influenza vaccine is not effective in lung transplant patients. As flu season envelops the northern hemisphere, these patients will need to find other...

Study Suggests BCG Vaccine in Neonates is Not Meaningful Anti-Cancer Prophylaxis.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While not conclusive, study results suggest that bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunization of newborns is not likely to influence reduction of later risk of leukemia. R. Vonkries and colleagues...

Patent Issued for Liver Precursor Cell.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Incara Pharmaceuticals Corp. (INCR), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, announced issuance of a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for an isolated hepatocyte precursor capable of...

Chance Discovery of "Immortal Skin" Holds Medical Promise.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- From a routine study of the life span of human skin cells, a University of Wisconsin-Madison research project gave rise to an astonishing accident: a line of skin cells that simply wouldn't die. ...

Hepatitis C Infection of Immune Cells in Mothers Predicts Transfer to Newborns.
December 7, 2000... 2000 DEC 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Bell-Nichols, NewsRx staff medical writer -- Factors such as genotype and viral load set a course for the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in pregnant women. Only infection in...

Two-Step ex vivo Expansion Culture Technique for Cord Blood Products Developed.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Colorado researchers have developed a two-step protocol for expanding cord blood cells ex vivo. They suggest infusing adult chemotherapy patients with greater numbers of cord blood...

Case Studies Describe Antiretroviral-Induced Red Cell Aplasia.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A report from Mexico in the November 2000 issue of the American Journal of Hematology recounts the cases of five men receiving lamivudine treatment who presented with red cell aplasia. Lead author...

Research Paves Way to Detect and Remove Prions in Blood Plasma.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Research published in the journal Nature offers new hope for development of detection and removal technologies for pathogenic prions in blood plasma. The article describes a naturally-occurring...

Women and Children Fare Better.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A major follow-up study of liver transplant patients has shown that age- and disease-related factors are the biggest reasons for death after liver transplantation surgery. However, women and...

Novel Flow Cytometric Technique Helps Assess Possibility of Lowering Platelet Transfusion Triggers.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Germany have developed a technique of flow cytometry to count platelets more accurately. They suggest that application of their method will help evaluate whether lower trigger...

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Can Develop into Neurons in Brain Tissue in Mice.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For years, researchers studying stem cells have been intrigued by the possibility that these cells might be used to treat brain diseases. Recent studies have suggested that neural stem cells...

Adding Red Blood Cells to Resuscitation Protocol Doesn't Improve Organ Function.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent study results indicate that resuscitation of cardiovascular and liver cell function in trauma patients with hemorrhage doesn't benefit from infusing red blood cells along with the standard...

Drug Enters Dose-Range Study.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Corvas International, Inc. (CVAS), San Diego, California, announced that Pfizer Inc. (PFE) has initiated a Phase IIb dose-ranging study of UK-279,276 (previously designated as rNIF - neutrophil...

Red Cross Blood Center Said Flawed.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Red Cross blood processing centers have repeatedly failed federal inspections over the last 15 years and continue to have problems that present a "potential for harm" to patients, federal...

Aphios Awarded Grant to Develop Natural, Virus-Free Fibrin Sealant.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aphios Corporation has been awarded a SBIR grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), for developing a natural, virus-free fibrin...

Therapeutic Levels of Factor VIII Gene Expression and Safety in Large Animals Show Promise.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenStar Therapeutics (GNT), a biotechnology company developing gene therapy products for the treatment of hemophilia A, prostate cancer, and AIDS, reported results of a study in large animals of the...

Screening Tests Being Developed.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PDL Laboratories has been developing a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive screening test for prion diseases in animals and humans. The initial format of this diagnostic test would be to detect the...

Long-Term Therapy Benefits in Preventing Heart Attacks, Strokes, and Death.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Follow-up of patients after the landmark Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease (LIPID) study provides important new evidence for patients who have suffered a heart attack or...

Advances in Gene Therapy Provide New Treatment Techniques.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The results from two clinical studies indicate success in using gene therapy as a treatment for inherited medical conditions. Scientists announced their findings at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the...

Pancreas and Bone Marrow Can Rebuild Cells.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Previous studies have provided evidence for the existence of liver cell precursors in pancreatic and bone marrow cells. The purpose of a study conducted by Dr. Markus Grompe of the Oregon Health...

Global Partnerships for Health, Biotech Content Announced.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx.com(TM), Atlanta, Georgia, recently announced partnerships with several international firms, including EBSCO Online, Factiva, and the new iSyndicate Europe-Bertelsmann venture. "iSyndicate...

Promising Results Reported for Radiolabeled Monoclonal Antibody in Patients Failing Rituximab Treatment.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Coulter Pharmaceutical, Inc. (CLTR) and SmithKline Beecham (SBH) announced promising results from a new study of Bexxar(TM) (tositumomab, iodine I131 tositumomab) in low-grade and transformed low-grade...

Radioimmunotherapy Trial Results Announced.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation (IDPH) announced the final results of two pivotal trials of Zevalin(TM) (Ibritumomab Tiuxetan), an investigational radioimmunotherapy, during oral presentations at the...

Dialysis Practices in Argentina Linked to Hepatitis C Seroconversions.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A major study initiated by the Confederation of the Association for Dialysis in the Republic of Argentina (CADRA) has identified several practices common to dialysis units that experience higher rates...

Hepatitis C Heightens Risk for Tuberculosis after Renal Transplantation.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis C virus presents an increased risk for tuberculosis acquisition in patients who have received kidney transplants, medical researchers in Madrid, Spain, reported at a recent conference hosted...

Prognosis Good after Liver Transplant in Patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis.
December 21, 2000... 2000 DEC 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Anti-rejection drugs are effective for patients receiving liver transplant due to autoimmune hepatitis. Mt. Sinai Hospital researchers in New York reviewed the records of 32 individuals who had...

New Process Screens Plasma for Human Parvovirus B19.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, researcher has made a surprising discovery that will make blood plasma transfusions even safer. Research by Robertson Davenport, MD, U-M associate professor of...

Beefing Up an HBOC Makes it Effective in Resuscitation.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Alpha alpha-cross-linked hemoglobin (alpha alpha Hb), when mixed with an antioxidant, becomes acceptable for resuscitation. Why mix it? Because...

Vasopressin Administration and Aortic Balloon Occlusion Improve Blood Flow.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vasopressin used in conjunction with an aortic balloon occlusion is better than intravenous administration of vasopressin during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), study findings indicate. Both...

Soluble P-selectin Appears to Induce Pro-Coagulant Activity.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Further investigation into the nature of soluble P-selectin, a cell surface receptor associated with inflammation, suggests that this molecule also promotes pro-coagulant activity in vascular and...

Lipid Values Affected by Minerals.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Serum concentrations of minerals and trace elements affecting lipoprotein metabolism can be found even in newborns. "The present data suggest for the first time that minerals and trace elements...

Unrelated Donor Stem Cells Efficacious in Transplant Procedures.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Unrelated donor cord blood (UCB) allows for a similar, albeit delayed, pattern of immune recovery compared to other stem cell sources, researchers say. In the search for hematopoietic stem cells...

Study Shows Active Policy for Cornea Donation Can be Effective.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients pronounced dead in accident and emergency departments are potential donors of corneas -the transparent tissue which protects the eyeball- but this resource is underused. A study in the...

Gas Chromatographic Mass Spectrometry Useful.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Was the victim alive when the building burned down, or was he already dead? Using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatographic mass spectrometry (GC-MS), forensic scientists can determine...

Blocking Enzyme Imprisons Parasites in Red Cells.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have found a way to prevent infectious malaria particles from bursting out of their protective sacs by blocking the activity of a protease, a protein-snipping enzyme. The research...

Trial Compares Aspirin with Other Anti-Clotting Drugs.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For decades doctors have prescribed two drugs, aspirin and warfarin, to heart disease patients to help prevent blood clots, and although both drugs are effective they have never been compared in a...

Supply Agreement Signed.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Haemonetics Corporation (HAE) announced December 12, 2000, the signing of a multi-year supply agreement with the American Red Cross. Under the agreement, the Red Cross will use Haemonetics'...

Phase III Surgery Study Confirms Reduction of Blood Use.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. (ALLP) announced that data from an international Phase III general surgery study with Oxygent (perflubron emulsion), an intravenous oxygen carrier, were presented December...

Blood Protein Found to Halt Replication of HIV.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center have shown in laboratory studies that a molecule found in the human body can halt the growth of HIV. In a paper accepted for...

Arginine Encourages New Growth at Graft Implantation Sites.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Arginine encourages engrafted biocompatible materials to be incorporated better into implanted sites, according to a study in Life Sciences. The study, conducted in Spain at the University Hospital...

New Drug Continues to Show Promise in Early Testing.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An experimental targeted therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) continues to show promise in early testing, and it may help to battle the disease even at its most aggressive and deadly stage,...

Study Demonstrates Feasibility of Correcting Mutant Genes in Hematopoietic Stem Cells.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first report of using homologous recombination to repair genetic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells suggests promise for this strategy. Researchers at the University of North Carolina,...

Data from Thymidine Kinase Suicide Gene Program Published.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avax Technologies, Inc. (AVXT), Kansas City, Missouri, has reported additional animal data relating to its thymidine kinase (TK) suicide gene program for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The...

Scientists Bypass Major Hurdle to Gene Therapy; Animal Studies Yield High Levels of Clotting Protein.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have used a gene therapy technique in animals to continually produce very high amounts of a clotting protein similar to...

Progress Reported on Gene Therapy Clinical Trial.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avigen, Inc. (AVGN), announced that it is making steady and consistent progress in clinical testing of its Coagulin-B(TM) gene therapy for treating hemophilia B. Researchers from The Children's...

Treatment Strategies Demonstrate Arsenic Trioxide Might Prove Useful.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Clinical experts presented data on four separate clinical trials demonstrating that long-lasting, high rates of complete remission can be achieved with arsenic trioxide therapy for acute promyelocytic...

Trial Results Using Thalidomide are Encouraging.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from the Arkansas Cancer Research Center; Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas, presented data at the 42nd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology...

Cooperative Development of Tumor Vaccine Considered.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biovest International, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, announced that it has entered negotiations with the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement...

Radiation May Prevent Re-Clogging of Leg Arteries.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Radiation therapy significantly reduced the re-clogging of blocked leg arteries, researchers reported in one of the best-designed studies on the topic to date in the November 27, 2000, issue of the...

Overweight Patients at Increased Risk of Developing Blood Clots.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A major study of patients who were hospitalized because of life-threatening blood clots after hip replacement surgery reported that pneumatic compression, external devices that massage and compress the...

New Techniques Could Eliminate Post-Surgery Microcirculatory Derangements.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several events occur during organ transplantation, which, if left unchecked, can cause microcirculatory derangements and subsequent transplant failure. Medical investigators predict that by...

Coalition Files Lawsuit Against FDA, Claiming Withheld Information on Clinical Trials.
December 28, 2000... 2000 DEC 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Campaign for Responsible Transplantation (CRT), a coalition of 90 public interest groups, filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court on November 27, 2000, to obtain records from the U.S. Food and...