Blood Weekly articles from December 2002

Blood Weekly archives from December 2002

Stem cell transplants safe, effective as partially outpatient procedure.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Liberal hospitalization policies can safely lower the cost of hematopoietic stem cell transplants for myeloma patients, researchers in Italy argue. "A...

Interleukin-1 suppression fails to prevent graft-versus-host reactions.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have reported disappointing results for a novel form of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis. "Animal models and...

Therapy okay for chronic hepatitis C patients with constitutional neutropenia.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - U.S. government researchers recently announced that constitutional neutropenia is no reason to deny interferon therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C....

Bone marrow grafts effective for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis patients.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Bone marrow grafts can enhance treatment efficacy for pediatric hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) patients, researchers say. HLH "comprises familial...

Physicians offer new solution for people who refuse human blood.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The successful transfusion of a cell-free blood product on a 14-year-old Jehovah's Witness may offer a solution for patients opposed to blood transfusions due to religious or personal beliefs. ...

Roche accelerates effort to develop blood screening assay.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In response to a recent challenge by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop effective nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) to...

Physicians should order blood transfusions with a dose of extreme caution.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - An expert in blood safety said that the blood supply remains questionable and transfusions remain risky business, at the American College of Chest Physicians'...

BMP-7 may prevent bone and vascular complications.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Curis, Inc., (CRIS) announced its proprietary compound, BMP-7, has shown effectiveness for the prevention of several serious complications of chronic kidney disease in animal models of these disorders....

Monoclonal antibodies reduce immunosuppression in GvHD case.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Duke University Medical Center pediatricians reported results of monoclonal antibody immunotherapy in a patient with steroid refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease. "In this case report we...

Northfield Laboratories reports first-quarter results.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Northfield Laboratories, Inc., (NFLD) reported a loss, as anticipated, for its first fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2002. As a development stage company, Northfield has no revenues. For the first...

Northfield Laboratories proposes ambulance blood substitute trial.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Northfield Laboratories, Inc., (NFLD) announced that it has submitted a protocol to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first use of its oxygen-carrying blood substitute,...

Study: Fosrenol reduces hypercalcemia risk in end stage renal disease.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AnorMED, Inc., (AOM) announced that Fosrenol (lanthanum carbonate), a new phosphate binder for use in dialysis patients, licensed to Shire Pharmaceuticals Group has shown to be effective in reducing...

Modifying doxorubicin delivery extends its utility in cancer patients.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A modified form of doxorubicin appears to increase its duration of efficacy in multiple myeloma patients, according to researchers at the Cleveland Clinic...

Drotrecogin alfa drug sustains long-term survival.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - A genetically engineered drug - drotrecogin alfa (Xigris) - already proven to help patients survive the acute phase of severe sepsis also helps them remain alive...

Researchers find link between pain, protein.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have found a link between the release from malformed red blood cells of the vital protein that carries oxygen, and episodes of severe pain in people with sickle cell disease. The...

Cardiomyocytes can be extensively generated from embryonic cells.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Embryonic stem cells could be a rich source of functional heart cells, researchers in the United States argue. "Cell replacement therapy is a promising...

Company continues expansion of global stem cell network.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ThermoGenesis Corp. (KOOL) announced that the company received an order for a second BioArchive System from Healthbanks in Taipei, Taiwan. The BioArchive System is used as a critical enabling...

Stem cell grafts best choice for de novo erythroleukemia treatment.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the best treatment option for patients suffering from de novo erythroleukemia (EL), researchers in Europe say....

Platelet levels reversible in hepatitis C patients on consensus interferon.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Consensus interferon can lower platelet counts and increase serum thrombopoietin in individuals with chronic hepatitis C, but those changes are typically...

Human prothrombin fragment 2 peptide inhibits prothrombinase, angiogenesis.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biochemists in South Korea report that a peptide derived from human prothrombin fragment 2 (F2) has antiangiogenic properties, and they think this activity may have a connection with F2's inhibitory...

Study highlights potential of adult stem cells in tissue engineering.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genzyme Biosurgery (GZBX), a division of Genzyme Corp., announced the publication of a research paper that casts new light on the nature of adult stem cells. Scientists in Genzyme's stem cell...

Holistic care program aids treats victims of West Nile virus.
December 5, 2002... 2002 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many patients with acute West Nile disease are not able to perform the simplest of tasks, let alone go to work, according to CRS Rehabilitation Specialists in Chicago, Illinois. Having developed...

Peripheral blood can help determine stem cell telomere length.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Peripheral blood (PB) can be used to determine telomere length in stem cells from leukemia and lymphoma patients, researchers in Australia say. "Telomere...

Reduced-dose cyclophosphamide lowers mobilization risks.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Cyclophosphamide (CTX) can mobilize hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation at low doses, researchers in Italy report. "Although high-dose...

Oxygen-regulated erythropoietin gene therapy reverses chronic anemia.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers at Oxford Biomedica in England announced the development of an oxygen-regulated erythropoietin gene therapy that may correct blood cell production...

Interleukin-10 inhibits graft-versus-host reactions in human skin cultures.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Interleukin-10 is likely to ameliorate graft-versus-host reactions (GvHR) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, researchers in Europe argue. "The...

Nucleated red blood cell count predicts fetal blood engraftment.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States and Europe have identified a prognostic factor for patients undergoing fetal blood stem cell transplantation. ...

UCSD pioneer in blood substitutes receives international prize.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Marcos Intaglietta, professor of bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Jacobs School of Engineering recently received the Biomedical Engineering Society's 2002 International...

Avigen reports financial results.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avigen, Inc., (AVGN) reported financial results for the 3 and 9 months ended September 30, 2002. At September 30, 2002, Avigen had $126 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term...

i-STAT reports results for the third quarter 2002.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- i-STAT Corp. (STAT) reported net revenues of $14.8 million for the third quarter of 2002, compared with $14.6 million in the same period in 2001. Cartridge shipments (a barometer of the...

Encouraging results reported on Trisenox in myelodysplasia, CML.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a satellite symposium in conjunction with the Chinese Society of Hematology 2002 Conference, researchers presented data from clinical trials indicating that arsenic trioxide may be effective in...

FDA approves HCV qualitative assay.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of its premarket application (PMA) for its Qualitative HCV Assay. Gen-Probe developed...

Company reports presentation of eculizumab clinical trials.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At the 35th annual meeting and scientific exposition of the American Society of Nephrology, Gerald Appel, MD, professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons,...

Blood reports Revimid has antitumor activity.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first peer-reviewed data of Revimid (CC-5013) in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma has been published. The article, titled "Immunomodulatory Drug CC-5013 Overcomes Drug Resistance and Is...

Novel radioprotective agents found.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Germany have identified a set of agents that could help protect hematopoietic cells during radiation therapy. Werner Klingler and...

HuMax-CD4 to be tested in cancer patients.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genmab A/S announced its plans to investigate the use of HuMax-CD4 for use in the treatment of T-cell lymphomas - blood-borne cancers. All T-cell lymphomas that express the CD4 receptor, including...

West Nile Virus program updated in public forum.
December 12, 2002... 2002 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boston Biomedica, Inc., (BBII) announced that the company's senior vice president of R&D, Mark M. Manak, presented data on BBI's West Nile Virus program at a workshop on the "Development of Donor...

Low-intensity conditioning enables safe, effective stem cell transplantation.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Reduced-intensity conditioning can make stem cell transplantation feasible for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, researchers in the United Kingdom...

CD57+ T cells play key role in graft-versus-host reactions.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have shed new light on the factors influencing graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) development after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation....

Blood and bone marrow cells restore myocardial function.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Cardiac muscle tissues affected by ischemia can regain function with the implantation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) or bone marrow...

Negative B-cell purging has little impact on bone marrow transplantation outcome.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Negative selection to remove B cells from autologous bone marrow grafts has little effect on transplant outcomes for non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, researchers...

Interleukin-7 heightens severity of graft-versus-host reactions.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Recombinant human interleukin-7 (rhIL-7) therapy may exacerbate graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after stem cell transplantation, researchers in the United...

Prenatal stem cell transplants may open door to organ transplants.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a finding that could open the door to future treatments for many genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy, researchers have produced high levels of transplanted, healthy...

Efforts accelerated to develop PCR blood screening assay.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In response to a recent challenge by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to develop effective nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) to...

Abaxis names new board member.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Abaxis, Inc., (ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, announced the appointment of Henk J. Evenhuis to a new seat on the company's board of directors. ...

Lipid Sciences announces board and management changes.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lipid Sciences, Inc., (LIPD) has announced several changes to its board of directors and management. Phil Radlick, PhD, has resigned as president and CEO and as a director of the company. He will...

Recombinant alpha 1-antitrypsin moves to clinic for dermatology applications.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ProMetic Life Sciences (TSX:PLI) and Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced that their joint venture (JV), Arriva-ProMetic Inc, has received approval from the United States Food and Drug...

Puget Sound Blood Center to conduct platelet research studies.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dr. David Lucas, chief scientific officer and COO of HyperBaric Systems (HYRB), announced that the Puget Sound Blood Center in Seattle, Washington, has agreed to conduct human blood platelet research...

New data on every-other-week Aranesp presented at ASN meeting.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amgen (AMGN) announced results from a large study presented at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) evaluating the effectiveness of Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) dosed once every other week for...

Mediware reports seventh consecutive quarter of revenue and earnings growth.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mediware Information Systems, Inc., (MEDW) reported record revenue for its first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2002 of $8.0 million, a 9% increase over the year-ago period. Net earnings for...

Serono to codevelop cladribine as an oral therapy for MS.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Serono, S.A., (SRA) and IVAX Corp. (IVX) announced a worldwide agreement to develop and commercialize IVAX's product, cladribine, as potentially the first orally effective treatment of multiple...

FDA Approves Versant HCV RNA qualitative assay.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bayer Corporation (BAY), acting through its Business Group Diagnostics, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of Gen-Probe Incorporated's premarket application...

St. Jude to receive multimillion dollar grant for sickle cell program.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will receive a multimillion dollar, 5-year grant to expand its sickle cell disease program. St. Jude is one of 10 federally funded comprehensive sickle cell...

Decitabine receives FDA orphan-drug designation.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SuperGen, Inc., (SUPG) announced that decitabine has received orphan-drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of sickle cell anemia. This designation...

Target discovered for development of drugs to reduce clot formation.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lexicon Genetics, Inc., (LEXG) announced it has discovered a novel target for the development of drugs to reduce formation of blood clots without increasing bleeding, a common side effect of current...

HBsAg false positive rates high in patients receiving fresh-frozen plasma.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in South Korea have found high incidence of false positivity for hepatitis B surface antigen in patients who have recently been transfused with fresh-frozen plasma. They recommend that...

Data presented on Inactine PEN110's ability to remove WN virus from blood cells.
December 19, 2002... 2002 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At a public workshop sponsored in part by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), V.I. Technologies (Vitex), Inc., (VITX), a biotechnology company dedicated to improving the safety of the...

Inactine inactivates HIV in blood products.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have identified an agent capable of removing HIV contamination from blood products. "The residual risk of HIV infection...

Arsenic trioxide toxicity depends on cell cycle status.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Cell cycle status determines the response of hematopoietic stem cells to arsenic trioxide treatment, researchers in Taiwan argue. "Arsenic trioxide (ATO)...

Positive end-expiratory pressure has little effect on transfusion needs.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A widely used technique for preventing blood transfusion during heart surgery actually has little efficacy, researchers in the United States report. ...

Nonmyeloablative conditioning carries higher hemolysis risk.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Nonmyeloablative conditioning for allogeneic stem cell transplantation may carry a heightened risk of severe posttransplant hemolysis, researchers in Austria...

Sport drinks can help maintain calcium levels during apheresis.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Sport drinks can help maintain normal calcium levels during stem cell harvesting, researchers in Japan report. "A solution containing sodium citrate and...

T-cell depletion more cost-effective than other graft-versus-host disease prevention.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Removing T cells from unrelated stem cell grafts is generally more cost-effective than other methods for controlling graft-versus-host disease after...

Pierce named vice president of clinical development.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avigen, Inc., (AVGN) announced that Glenn Pierce, PhD, MD, has joined the company as vice president, clinical development responsible for all of Avigen's gene therapy clinical trials. Avigen's...

Northfield receives encouraging FDA response on proposed ambulance trial.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Northfield Laboratories, Inc., (NFLD) announced that it had received a response from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with questions and comments regarding its proposed trial to assess the role...

Luminex Corp. announces three multiyear agreements with major pharmaceutical.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Luminex Corp. (LMNX) announced the execution of three agreements with Bayer Diagnostics, a division of Bayer Corp. (BAY), covering a license agreement and related supply agreement for Luminex's xMAP...

Pathogenic form of human prion proteins can be removed.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bayer Biological Products scientists have demonstrated the ability of current purification processes to remove pathogenic forms of human prion proteins, including the prion protein associated with...

Diagnostics company reports 7.6% increase in net income.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002. Net income for the third quarter was $4.4 million ($0.19 per share) after a $0.7...

Positive 3Q results plus largest backorders in company history reported.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cell Robotics International, Inc., (CRII), announced financial results for the third quarter and 9-month period ended September 30, 2002. The company reported an increase in product sales of...

Pseudotyped vectors suitable for stem cell applications.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Vectors derived from human packaging cell lines outpace those produced by murine packaging cell lines for generating transduction stability and multilineage...

Tm Bioscience announces coagulation test validation.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tm Bioscience Corp. (TMC) announced positive results from the validation process of the Tm Tag-It Mutation Detection Kit for Coagulation. This validation was conducted using 132 patient samples...

Johnson & Johnson Wound Management introduces absorbable gelatin powder.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Johnson & Johnson Wound Management announced the introduction of Surgifoam Absorbable Gelatin Powder for hemostasis in selected applications when control of capillary, venous, and arteriolar bleeding...

Anthrogenesis to be acquired for $45M.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Celgene Corporation (CELG) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Anthrogenesis Corporation, a privately held biotherapeutics company working to achieve the recovery of stem...

DCEP regimen superior to high-dose cyclophosphamide for stem cell mobilization.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Italy have identified a superior alternative to high-dose cyclophosphamide (HD-Cy) for stem cell mobilization in multiple myeloma (MM) patients....

Ex utero umbilical cord blood collection produces better results.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Ex utero methods should be used to harvest umbilical cord blood, researchers in the United States find. "The relative nucleated cell count of umbilical...

Dual location U-cord back-up storage program launched.
December 26, 2002... 2002 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cryo-Cell International, Inc., (CCEL) announced a new premium service that will provide clients with extra protection for incoming U-Cord [umbilical cord] specimens by storing a portion of harvested...