Hydroxyurea therapy improves survival in most severely affected sickle cell patients
...n hydroxyurea also required about 50 percent fewer transfusions and hospitalizations. These results, reported in 1995, were reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and hydroxyurea became the first FDA-approved drug for the treatment of sickle cell anemia. In the new long-term "observational" study, pa...New drugs restore immune response blocked by hepatitis C virus in human cells
...imarily transmitted by intravenous drug use, blood transfusions or blood products, as well as through sexual contact, affects 4 million people in the United States, making it the most common blood-borne infection in the nation. Hepatitis C virus is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer and accounts for ...Researchers find viral protein that mimics its way into cells
... people who may encounter it from blood transfusions that might not have been tested for the virus. Since 1988, the United Stares' blood supply has been screened to prevent HTLV-1 transmission. About 5 percent of infected people will devel...St. Jude researchers reverse blood disease using genetically modified stem cells
...e die in the first decade of life. When treated by transfusions that supply normal blood cells, these children can...they are also treated for iron overload from blood transfusions they will eventually succumb to heart failure. In sickle cell disease, an abnormal gene for beta-gl...Clinical study reports findings of combination therapy with DOXIL
...tics. Six patients required packed red blood cell transfusions and one patient required a platelet transfusion. Only one patient experienced cardiotoxicity. Dose reductions were required in six patients and treatment was delayed due to adverse events in one patient. The incidence of Grade 1 and 2 adverse even...Hopkins researchers find potential new treatment for children with chronic hepatitis C
...ly by contact with blood and blood products. Blood transfusions and the use of shared, unsterilized, or poorly sterilized needles and syringes have been the main causes of the spread of the virus in the U.S. among adults. Presented today at the Digestive Disease Week conference, the findings could change the way ...Study results show promise for development of gene therapy to treat blood diseases
...a major form of thalassemia receive red blood cell transfusions every two to three weeks, which translates to as m... year. However, the high number of red blood cell transfusions these patients receive can lead to iron overload which, if left untreated, may result in early death...Scientists: Cloak of human proteins gets HIV into cells
...d to have appropriate blood and organ "matches" in transfusions and transplants. The human proteins that elicit these immune responses are among those found in the viral envelope. The researchers suggest that heightening this immune response by vaccinating people with small amounts of these human proteins (called...Platelet refrigeration method may ease shortages for transfusions, researchers report in Science
...s consequences, because patients awaiting platelet transfusions need them urgently. These patients are typically bleeding severely, after major surgeries or accidents, or they may have undergone chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants. Karin Hoffmeister of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School,...Old drug works new tricks for iron overload heart disease
...rders, iron overload results directly from regular transfusions that the patients receive in order to sustain life. In other cases, a common genetic defect in the control of iron intake into the body leads to excessive iron deposits into critical organs such as the heart. Our overall exposure to iron has increase...Scientists uncover novel role for estrogen in bone marrow
.../or a 3b-HSD activator, as an alternative to blood transfusions to increase platelet levels. Conversely, patients with abnormally high platelet counts, who are prone to forming clots and therefore at an increased risk for strokes, heart attacks, or even miscarriage (ie. from placental clots) would be candidates f...Breaking the rules on artifical blood
...ring rejection, so accident victims could be given transfusions immediately without testing to see what blood group they are. And a long-lasting form that does not need to be kept cold would be ideal for use in disasters, wars and remote areas. But company after company has worked on substitutes only to abandon t...Sickle cell sufferers living longer, dying less from their disease
...s such as bone marrow transplants, long-term blood transfusions and the medicine hydroxyurea. "Research developments during the past several decades have improved the lives of many persons with sickle cell disease," said Dr. George Buchanan, the study's senior author and director of the National Institutes ...High resolution satellite imagery assists hunt for infectious 'kissing bugs'
...inspection, MSF is also looking at screening blood transfusions and lobbying for new medical treatment possibilities with increased effectiveness and fewer side effects. Following the completion of this Matagalpa pilot project, the same techniques - including use of satellite imagery may be employed for Chagas ...