Feature Channels: Blood

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After a period of prior growth, national inferior vena cava (IVC) filter utilization in the Medicare population has markedly declined over the last decade according to a prior Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study published in 2018. How IVC filter utilization has varied at the state level as well as across different payer populations during the recent decline in utilization is unknown. This new study, published online in the American Journal of Roentgenology, assesses state level IVC filter utilization and expands the population set to include both the Medicare and the privately insured population.

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In a Geriatrics & Gerontology International study of 752 older adults with hypertension followed from 2008-2010 through 2012-2013, using sleeping pills on a regular basis was linked with use of an increasing number of blood pressure medications over time.

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Biomedical engineers have developed a smartphone app for anemia screening that can assess blood hemoglobin levels through the window of the user’s fingernail. The medical results are based on the coloration of the fingernail bed; the quick and pain-free screening could benefit a vast number of people who are affected by anemia around the world.

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Announcement of Carl H. June, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine is this year's recipient of the Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine for advancing the clinical application of CAR T therapy for cancer treatment.

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An inhibitor drug that targets a specific mutation in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) helps patients live almost twice as long as those who receive chemotherapy.

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One of the most promising new generations of cancer treatment called Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is now available for patients at Smilow Cancer Hospital. CAR T-cell therapy is groundbreaking immunotherapy that can cure patients with certain blood cancers who have run out of treatment options.

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In a breakthrough study of sickle cell disease, biomedical engineers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering have revealed that the building blocks of the disease are much less efficient at organizing than previously thought. The findings open the door to new treatments, including new medicines that could be prescribed at lower doses, for the approximately 20 million people worldwide who suffer from the lifelong disease.

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Older men tend to have lower biological age if they have higher levels of sex hormones, particularly the estradiol form of estrogen, a large new study from Australia finds. The study results will be presented on Sunday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La., and appear online in the journal Clinical Endocrinology.

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When treating patients, doctors sometimes overlook how their decisions impact a world they never see: a patient’s home life. In the case of some serious infections in children, oral antimicrobial drugs are just as good at treating these ailments at home as the standard, intravenous medications. But according to new research led by investigators at University of Utah Health, by-mouth medications excel in the important measure of preserving parents’ quality of life.

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Symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) improved with exposure to healthy bacteria in the gut, according to a study in a mouse model of this common women’s endocrine disorder. The study results will be presented Monday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

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While chronic myelogenous leukemia is in remission, ‘sleeper cell,’ quiescent leukemic stem cells persist in the bone marrow. Researchers find that niche-specific expression of chemokine CXCL12 by mesenchymal stromal cells controls quiescence of these treatment-resistant leukemic stem cells.

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British researchers have discovered that an epigenetic protein called EZH2 delays the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) but then switches sides once the disease is established to help maintain tumor growth. The study, which will be published March 19 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that targeting EZH2 could therefore be an effective treatment for AML, an aggressive blood cancer expected to kill over 10,000 people in the US alone this year.

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The AAMDSIF and the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center are sponsoring a free public information conference about different blood diseases and cancers. The conference will provide updates on diagnosis and treatment of these diseases and the latest research in these areas.

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Colorectal cancer is the third leading cancer in both new cases and cancer deaths in the United States. While colorectal cancer incidence declined 3.7 percent annually from 2006 to 2015 for those 55 and older, rates have increased 1.8 percent annually for those younger than age 55. According to a Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey expert, there is still a lot of work to be done.

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For the first time, researchers have evidence that fibromyalgia can be reliably detected in blood samples – work they hope will pave the way for a simple, fast diagnosis.

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Doubling the low amount of total body radiation delivered to patients undergoing bone marrow transplants with donor cells that are only “half-matched” increased the rate of engraftment from only about 50 percent to nearly 100 percent, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers. The findings, published online Mar. 13 in The Lancet Haematology, could offer a significantly higher chance of a cure for patients with severe and deadly inherited blood disorders including sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia.

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Researchers have discovered an ingredient vital for proper blood vessel formation that explains why numerous promising treatments have failed. The discovery offers important direction for efforts to better treat a host of serious conditions ranging from diabetes to heart attacks and strokes.

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While the human T- cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is known to cause a rare cancer of the immune system’s T-cells called adult T-cell leukemia or ATL in about five percent of those infected, researchers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego recently hypothesized that this virus, as well as another lesser-known “cousin” called bovine leukemia virus (BLV), may also play a role in the accelerated development of breast cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and glioblastoma.

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UW researchers have created a novel system that can measure platelet function within two minutes and can help doctors determine which trauma patients might need a blood transfusion upon being admitted to a hospital.

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A cellular identity switch protects a cancer-promoting genetic pathway from targeted therapy, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today reported in Science Translational Medicine. Working in cell lines and mouse models of lung cancer, a team led by Don Gibbons, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, demonstrated how the KRAS-driven lung cancer cells defeat treatment by switching from stable, stationary cells into a type of mobile, resistant cell associated with embryonic development. They also found a drug combination that reversed that cellular transition and restored vulnerability to targeted therapy.

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The University of Kansas Cancer Center is one of the latest major cancer research institutions to join The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Beat AML Master Clinical Trial, a paradigm-shifting collaboration to bring precision medicine to patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

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The age a woman begins menstruation is associated with having high blood pressure later in her life, according to a team of researchers at the University of Georgia.

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By measuring the effect of every gene in the genome, one by one, researchers at the University of Iowa, University of Southern California, and University of California, San Francisco, have identified a new target that may help improve treatment for children with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).

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The percentage of adults who have had a heart attack or have diabetes and regularly take statins — a medication used to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk for future cardiovascular events — has increased modestly in the United States. However, the percentage of adults who take statins regularly without a history of heart attack or diabetes has remained the same.

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The 2019 Society of Critical Care Medicine Weil Research Grant will allow a TTUHSC El Paso professor to continue research that focuses on how different immune cells contribute to the body's response during sepsis, which has a mortality rate of up to 50 percent.

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A new study finds patients were taking too many antithrombotics for no reason, leading to a significant increase in bleeding events.

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The Clinical Research Forum recognized the Cedars-Sinai's Smidt Heart Institute with a 2019 Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award today for its study aimed at developing a blood pressure control program for African-American men in the comfortable and convenient environments of their barbershops. In just six short months, the study improved the outcomes and control of high blood pressure in more than 60 percent of participants.

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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute opens Center for the Prevention of Progression clinic to focus on precursor conditions in blood cancers

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Those with B-cell lymphomas that do not respond to standard therapies now have another treatment option in New Jersey, as CAR-T cell therapy is now being offered at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, in conjunction with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

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Automated programs can identify which sick infants in a neonatal intensive care unit have sepsis hours before clinicians recognize the life-threatening condition. A study team tested machine-learning models in a NICU population, drawing only on routinely collected data available in electronic health records.

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A team of researchers led by Bradley Bernstein at the Ludwig Center at Harvard has used single-cell technologies and machine learning to create a detailed “atlas of cell states” for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that could help improve treatment of the aggressive cancer.

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High blood pressure is among the most common medical conditions in the United States. It’s also among the most treatable.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Queensland University of Technology of Australia, have developed a device that can isolate individual cancer cells from patient blood samples. The microfluidic device works by separating the various cell types found in blood by their size. The device may one day enable rapid, cheap liquid biopsies to help detect cancer and develop targeted treatment plans.

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MD Anderson received nearly $20 million from CPRIT for research, recruitment and prevention. The awards represented 20 percent of the $96 million CPRIT awarded this time. Since its inception, CPRIT has awarded $ 447.6 million to MD Anderson.

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The WavelinQ uses radio frequency (RF), to create the connection between a vein and artery, called a fistula, which is an important step in dialysis treatment for patients. This endo-AVF (arteriovenous fistula) procedure marks the first major advancement in fistula creation in the last 50 years.

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Similar to leaky pipes, veins, as they return blood to the heart, sometimes fail to close completely. They stretch out and subsequently leak near the surface of the skin, creating spider or varicose veins that may cause discomfort.

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The first clinical study investigating the use of the direct oral anticoagulant, rivaroxaban, to prevent blood clots in patients with cancer at high-risk published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found no significant reduction in venous thromboembolism or death in the overall 180-day trial period; however, the researchers did observe a lower incidence of these events while patients were actively on the study drug, or during the on-treatment period.

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EMBARGOED: A new study has identified a drug that potentially could make a common type of immunotherapy for cancer even more effective. The study in laboratory mice found that the drug dasatinib, which is FDA-approved to treat certain types of leukemia, greatly enhances responses to a form of immunotherapy that is used against a wide range of other cancers.

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The Children’s Hospital University of Illinois will host an annual head-shaving event to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation on Feb. 22.

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A new study published in the Journal of Gerontology Series A has found that eating 200g of blueberries every day for a month can lead to an improvement in blood vessel function and a decrease in systolic blood pressure in healthy people.

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Healthy white blood cells, called “T-cells,” play a crucial role in how the body fights follicular lymphoma. That's according to the results of a study led by Mayo Clinic hematologists Zhi Zhang Yang, M.D., and Stephen Ansell, M.D., Ph.D., that was published in Cell Reports. T-cells are a key part of the immune system and protect the body by fighting infections and cancer.

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Study: Adolescent Female Blood Donors At Risk For Iron Deficiency And Associated Anemia 02/19/2019 AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to Facebook Share to TwitterShare to EmailShare to PrintShare to More New public health measures could help protect this vulnerable population, authors say Credit: iStock Female adolescent blood donors are more likely to have low iron stores and iron deficiency anemia than adult female blood donors and nondonors, which could have significant negative consequences on their developing brains, a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. Based on these findings, the authors propose a variety of measures that could help this vulnerable population.

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Cancer clinical trials are an important option for patients with cancer. Yet, once a trial ends, patients still need care plans. Little is known at what point during clinical trial transitions to initiate advance planning discussions or how to educate research teams to communicate with and prepare patient-participants and their families for the next steps after they leave a cancer clinical trial.

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Scientists have discovered new ways in which the body regulates blood clots, in a discovery which could one day lead to the development of better treatments that could help prevent and treat conditions including heart diseases, stroke and vascular dementia.

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Collectively, assessing a snapshot of a person’s unique state of immune health is called immune profiling, which can entail identifying immune-cell-associated genes and proteins, as well as the cell types themselves.

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have completed one of the largest studies yet designed to advance understanding of why Hispanic children are more likely to develop leukemia and less likely to survive

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As Valentine’s Day arrives, there’s no doubt love is once again in the air during this annual holiday that dates as far back as the 14th century. So, what exactly does it feel like to fall in love and how does love affect us as humans? Many scientists have proven falling in love has its physical benefits on both men and women, but can falling in love influence the immune system in women?

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A new reversible, drug-free antiplatelet therapy could reduce the risk of blood clots and potentially prevent cancer metastasis, according to a study published today in Science Translational Medicine.