Blood Weekly articles from February 2002

Blood Weekly archives from February 2002

Hemoglobin-Based Substitutes Reverse Aortic Relaxation.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A hemoglobin-based blood substitute reverses the effects of agents that promote coronary relaxation, according to researchers in the United States and Brazil....

Skeletal Muscle Can Be Used To Quantify Blood Loss.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Skeletal muscle (SM) features can be used to determine the extent of hypovolemic shock, researchers in Massachusetts say. "Continuous assessment of tissue...

Most Common European Gene Disorder Is Really Rare.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A disease once thought to be the most common genetic disorder of Europeans has now been shown by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) to be relatively rare. In one of the largest...

Ifosfamide-Vinorelbine Regimens Effectively Mobilize Stem Cells For Transplant.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Chemotherapy regimens based on ifosfamide and vinorelbine can effectively mobilize hematopoietic stem cells for harvesting and autologous transplantation,...

Stem Cell Factor Improves Thrombopoietin Expansion.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The addition of stem cell factor (SCF) can improve thrombopoietin-based stem cell expansion, according to researchers in South Korea. "Thrombopoietin (TPO)...

Antiviral Drugs Reduce Herpesvirus 6 Replication.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that antiviral therapy may help protect stem cell graft recipients from herpesvirus-6-based disorders. "Human...

Anticoagulant Drugs Can Lower Endothelial Protein C Receptor Levels.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Some anticoagulant drugs reduce levels of a protein C receptor in humans, researchers in the United States and Europe say. "The endothelial protein C...

BioArchive System Enables Production Of Cell Therapy Products.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ThermoGenesis Corp. announced it has received an order for a BioArchive System from Shenzhen Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) in China. SCBB plans to store 10,000 placental/cord blood (PCB) samples over the next...

Cryo-Cell Signs Marketing Agreement With Lanier Upshaw.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cryo-Cell International, Inc., has signed a pioneering insurance marketing program with Lanier Upshaw, according to Daniel D. Richard, chairman and chief executive officer of Cryo-Cell. Under the...

Task Force Urges Clinicians/Patients To Discuss Aspirin Therapy.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strongly recommended that clinicians discuss the benefits and harms of aspirin therapy with healthy adult patients who are at increased risk of coronary...

Blood-Comparable Results Obtained From Saliva Analysis.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- LifePoint, Inc., announced that it has been granted approval from the United States Patent Office for a patent entitled "Device for Detecting Analytes Related to Sample pH" that provides...

Hema Metrics Completes $15 Million Financing.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hema Metrics, Inc., formerly In-Line Diagnostics, has completed a $15 million round of private financing led by GE Asset Management, Inc. Quad-C Management, Inc., an original investor, and several...

Northfield Laboratories Reports Second Quarter Results.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Northfield Laboratories, Inc., (NFLD) developer of an oxygen-carrying blood substitute for trauma and elective surgery situations, reported a loss, as anticipated, for its fiscal 2002 second quarter...

Rockwell Signs Licensing Agreements to Market Water-Soluble Iron Through Its Dialysate.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rockwell Medical Technologies, Inc., has signed separate licensing agreements that give the company exclusive, worldwide proprietary rights to manufacture, market and distribute a water-soluble iron...

FDA Approves Medafor's Technology for Control of Bleeding.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medafor, Inc., has received regulatory clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its technology as a topical hemostat for the local management of bleeding wounds. ...

Arsenic Trioxide Works Through Caspase Pathway.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antineoplastic agent arsenic trioxide uses the caspase pathway to induce apoptosis in leukemic cells, researchers in the United States and France report....

Macrophages From Patients May Provide Ready Source Of Dendritic Cells.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Pulmonary immune cells from lung cancer patients can be induced to differentiate into dendritic cells (DCs), researchers in Japan report. Yoshihiro Suzuki...

Corgenix Medical to Acquire Affinity Biologicals.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Corgenix Medical Corp. (COGX) has signed a letter of intent to acquire Affinity Biologicals, Inc., a privately owned Canadian company that manufactures quality antibodies and plasmas for use in...

Consultation Should Improved Arrangements For Tissue Harvesting.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The United Kingdom Department of Health consulted on new arrangements intended to improve practice in discussing with families postmortems and the retention and use of human organs and tissue. ...

Blood Markers May Reflect Newborns' Potential For Contracting HIV.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Preventing HIV infected pregnant women from transmitting the virus to their newborns has long been a major concern for obstetricians. As such, many doctors continue to debate the benefits of elective...

Adenovirus-Based Therapy Yields Positive Results In Dendritic Cells.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Recombinant adenovirus-based therapies may contain certain properties that make them advantageous for dendritic cell differentiation, researchers say. The...

Vertex Advances VX-799 Into Development.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (VRTX) has advanced VX-799, a small-molecule caspase inhibitor, into development as a potential treatment for sepsis, a life-threatening infection of the bloodstream....

HLA Allele Mismatches Do Not Increase Graft Failure Risk.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hard-to-detect human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches between stem cell donors and recipients may not have a negative effect on engraftment, researchers in...

Novel Method Sensitively Detects Chimerism In Sex-Mismatched Recipients.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have devised a novel technique for finding chimerism in female recipients of hematopoietic stem cells from male donors. "In...

Drug May Have Longer Window Of Utility.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some stroke patients should be given a blood clot-busting drug even if several hours have passed since their stroke began, according to a new study. Australian researchers administered the drug rtPA...

Valentis Enters Cross-License Agreement With Genzyme.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Valentis, Inc., (VLTS) has entered a nonexclusive cross-license agreement with Genzyme Corp. in which Genzyme receives rights to Valentis' GeneSwitch gene regulation technology for research use and...

Dermabond Approved To Seal Out Bacteria From Wounds.
February 7, 2002... 2002 FEB 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ethicon Products has announced that Dermabond Topical Skin Adhesive (2-octyl cyanoacrylate) can act as a barrier against bacterial microbes. The microbial barrier provided by Dermabond Adhesive...

Atorvastatin Improves Blood Rheology.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The lipid-reduction drug atorvastatin (Lipitor) improves blood flow in patients undergoing treatment for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), according to...

IgG Fc Receptor Genotype Affects Response To Rituximab.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Polymorphisms in the IgG Fc receptor gene Fc(gamma) RIIIa can significantly affect the response to rituximab in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL),...

Different Ways Of Assessing Early Treatment Response Yield Discordant Results.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Different techniques for assessing the early response to chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can produce results that are at odds...

Researchers Obtain Variety of Primate Cells Via Parthenogenesis.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) of Worcester, Massachusetts, report in the January 31, 2002, issue of Science that they have developed a...

Age, Gender Affect Response To Treatment.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Age and gender can affect patient responses to some drugs used to treat high blood pressure, researchers in the United States warn. Dr. William B. White...

Zinc Supplements Increase Growth Rate, Sitting Height In Children With SCD.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study has found that supplementing zinc in the diets of children with sickle cell disease improves their rates of growth. Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are normal sized at birth,...

CXCR4 Expression Aids Stem Cell "Homing" To Bone Marrow.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hematopoietic stem cell grafts with a high proportion of CXCR4[superscript]+ cells promote rapid post-transplant recovery, researchers in Australia report. ...

High-Dose Cytosine Arabinoside-Based Regimens Effective As Salvage Therapy.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in California say that high-dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C)-based chemotherapy regimens can provide some hope for HIV patients with refractory or...

Signal Transduction Inhibitor 571 Has Little Effect On Most Malignant Cells.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Texas say that, contrary to previous reports, signal transduction inhibitor 571 (STI571) does not effectively prevent acute myelogenous leukemia...

Marrow Cells Show Versatility, Might Provide Therapies.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Certain bone marrow cells found in adults can be coaxed into forming a variety of specialized cells, says research that gives new hope for growing replacement body parts for treating disease. It's...

Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor Promotes Arteriogenesis.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Germany say that granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-SCF), a hemotopoietic stem cell factor, promotes arterial growth and may...

Senate To Probe Red Cross' History Of Safety Violations.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Federal safety violations by the American Red Cross that have forced the charity to recall increasing numbers - thousands of pints - of blood products are prompting a Senate investigation. The Red...

CD34-Enriched Stem Cell Grafts Hasten Recovery After Myeloablative Chemotherapy.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hematopoietic stem cell grafts processed to minimize the number of CD34[superscript]- cells can improve recovery in advanced breast cancer patients undergoing...

Pel-Freez Clinical Systems Inks Supply Deal With StemCell Technologies.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pel-Freez Clinical Systems, LLC, announced that it has signed an exclusive supply and distribution agreement with StemCell Technologies, Inc., for reagents using StemCell's novel nonmagnetic cell...

Global Factor VIII Shortage Could Ease With New Facilities Approved.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Wyeth/Genetics Institute's recombinant factor VIII production facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, and Algete, Madrid, have both received positive opinions from the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal...

Quaker Oats and Biosafe Partner On Cholesterol-Reducing Initiative.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Quaker Oats Co. and Biosafe Medical Technologies Inc., have agreed to partner on a web-based initiative designed to help consumers reduce their cholesterol. As part of Quaker's ongoing "Smart...

High Chlamydia pneumoniae Prevalence Seen In Italian Heart Disease Patients.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Italy say that patients with coronary disease in that country are likely to carry Chlamydia pneumoniae infections. "Chlamydia pneumoniae...

Race Influences Outcome In U.S.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- African Americans and Asians have a worse outcome than white Americans and Hispanics after liver transplantation, both in terms of graft rejection and survival, according to a study in the January 26,...

High-Dose Melphalan Without Irradiation Best Option For Stem Cell Transplantation.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Total body irradiation (TBI) should not be part of the standard conditioning regimen for multiple myeloma patients undergoing autologous stem cell...

Human Genome Sciences Files IND Application For Lymphorad(131).
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human Genome Sciences, Inc., (HGSI) has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for LymphoRad(131), a radioiodinated form of B Lymphocyte...

Prenatal Gene Transfer Proposed For Treating Hemophilia, Other Diseases.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Based on the results of animal model experiments, a research team in Europe has proposed that gene transfer could be used for treating certain diseases in...

Early Stem Cell Transplants Improve Treatment Success.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When performed within the first 28 days of birth, stem cell transplants have a 95% success rate in treating newborn babies with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), according to a long-term study...

Stromal-Derived Factor 1 Blocks Early Stem Cell Cycling.
February 14, 2002... 2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Canada have identified a factor regulating cell cycle activity in primitive hematopoietic stem cells. "Stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) is a...

Leukodepletion Prevents False Erythrocyte Senescence Signaling.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Removing leukocytes from stored red blood cell products helps prevent erythrocyte degradation, according to researchers in the United States and Europe. ...

Neonatal Transplants More Effective For SCID Treatment.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for profoundly immunodeficient children is most effective when performed as soon after birth as possible, researchers...

Thalidomide Causes Temporary Regression In Leukemia Patients.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Physicians in Germany have reported that the drug thalidomide might be beneficial for treating some patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. In...

International Normalized Ratio Accurate After Lupus Anticoagulant Therapy.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Italy say that the International Normalized Ratio system for reporting clot formation time is suitable for use with lupus anticoagulant therapy....

Band 3 Cross-Linking Improves Drug Delivery Via Red Blood Cells.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Disrupting the band 3 anion transporter protein on red blood cells improves these cells' ability to deliver therapeutic agents, researchers in Spain report....

Cord Blood-Derived B-Cell Progenitors Less Mature Than Peripheral Blood Cells.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - B-cell precursors derived from cord blood stem cells are less mature than their counterparts derived from peripheral blood stem cells, researchers in Japan...

Global Med's Wyndgate Technologies Announces Partnership Agreement With LabSoft.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Global Med Technologies, Inc., (GLOB) announced that the Company's Wyndgate Technologies division has entered into a partnership agreement with LabSoft, Inc. Together, the two companies will offer...

New Task Force Will Respond To Future Domestic Disasters And Acts Of Terrorism.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- America's blood banking and transfusion medicine community has announced new recommendations for responding to future domestic disasters and acts of terrorism. The Interorganizational Task Force...

Single-Center Phase III Trial Results For Alternative To Allogenic RBC Transfusion Presented.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Study results from one of the medical centers that participated in Biopure Corporation's pivotal Phase III clinical trial of Hemopure (hemoglobin glutamer - 250 (bovine), or HBOC-201) were presented at...

Sample Collection Affects Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 Levels.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Germany say that the techniques used to collect blood samples for matrix metalloproteinase 9 testing can affect the accuracy of the results. ...

Blood Vessel Inhibitor for Ocular Conditions to be Formulated in Controlled, Release System.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oculex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that it has reached an agreement with Allergan, Inc., (AGN) for the development and manufacturing of a new drug product that...

Device Could Replace Medicinal Leeches.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As someone who has had real, live leeches crawl across his face in nose-reconstruction surgery, retired Stanford Professor William Rambo is all for a mechanical alternative. Rambo and patients who...

Plasticizer in PVC Medical Devices May Harm Developing Babies, Boys, Heart Patients.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Health Canada Expert Advisory Panel recommends that health care providers not use DEHP containing devices in the treatment of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, infants, males before puberty, and...

Fetal Stem Cells Can Trigger Maternal Thyroid Disease.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Women who develop thyroid conditions after pregnancy may be reacting to the presence of fetal stem cells in their system, according to researchers in the...

Flk-2 Expression Marks Long-Term Hematopoietic Stem Cells.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Expression of the receptor tyrosine kinase Flk-2/Flt3 can be used to differentiate short-term and long-term hematopoietic stem cells (ST- and LT-HSC),...

Dendritic Cell Progenitors Do Not Induce Tolerance In Fetal Grafts.
February 28, 2002... 2002 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Dendritic cell progenitors (pDCs) are unable to produce immune tolerance when administered as part of fetal bone marrow grafts, researchers in the United...