Latest Blood / Hematology News From Medical News Today.

Total news: 256
Last news: May 3, 2008 07:00:00

Can a blood test improve treatment outcomes for colorectal cancer patients? Recently published studies indicate that personalized chemotherapy dose management -- measuring drug levels in patients blood and adjusting them for optimal dosing -- can substantially reduce severe toxicity and improve efficacy in colorectal cancer. A Phase III randomized study of 208 colorectal cancer patients, by Erick Gamelin, M.D., Ph.D. et. al. - [Read more]

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced U.S. launch of the TigerWire(TM) Steerable Guidewire. The newest member of the St. Jude Medical GuideRight(TM) family of steerable guidewires, the TigerWire Steerable Guidewire is designed to enhance physicians ability to steer through challenging peripheral arteries, the vessels that supply blood to the legs and arms. - [Read more]

"Dialysis No-Shows on Saturdays: Implications of the Weekly Hemodialysis Schedules on Nonadherence and Outcomes," (. - [Read more]

Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a gas most commonly associated with the smell of stink bombs, sewage and rotten eggs, but a team of researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England and Kings College London have now identified a role for this gas in regulating blood pressure, according to research published in the leading science journal Circulation. - [Read more]

Emotions ran high in Washington yesterday, Tuesday 29th April, as a congressional panel listened to tearful and angry testimonies from family members of how their loved ones died after being given contaminated heparin. Manufacturers and industry regulators also told their story, but panel members were very unhappy with their failure to stop the unsafe blood thinner from entering the US from China. - [Read more]

SUMMARY OF MAJOR POINTS-- More than any other company in the world, Baxters products are involved in critical caresettings. Because of this, we are greatly concerned that our heparin product appears to be thetarget of a deliberate adulteration scheme. Patient safety is our number one priority, and wedeeply regret the impact this contamination in Baxters heparin has had on patients and theclinicians who treat them. - [Read more]

Intravenous administration of isotonic fluids is the standard emergency treatment in the U.S. for patients with severe blood loss, but UC San Diego bioengineering researchers have reported improved resuscitation with a radically different approach. Building on earlier studies in humans that have shown benefits of intravenous fluids that are eight times saltier than normal saline, the researchers combined hypertonic saline with viscosity enhancers that thicken blood. - [Read more]

Its long been known that patients with sickle cell disease have malformed, "sickle-shaped" red blood cells which are normally disc-shaped that can cause sudden painful episodes when they block small blood vessels.Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have shown that blood from sickle cell patients also contains clumps, or aggregates, of red and white blood cells that may contribute to the blockages. - [Read more]

A meta-analysis published in JAMA reports that theuse of hemoglobin-basedblood substitutes is associated with an increasedrisk of heart attack and death.Blood substitutes are liquids that have long shelf lives, do not needto be refrigerated, and do not cause infection. - [Read more]

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) announced that it has initiated a Phase II study of its small-molecule thrombopoietin (TPO) mimetic, LGD-4665. The 24 patient, double-blind placebo-controlled trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of LGD-4665 in adult patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) over six weeks of treatment. - [Read more]

Lannett Company, Inc. (AMEX:LCI), a manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Dipyridamole Tablets USP, 25mg, 50mg, and 75mg, the generic equivalent of Persantine® Tablets manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. According to Wolters Kluwer, total sales of generic Dipyridamole Tablets were $46 million a year in 2007 at average wholesale price (AWP). - [Read more]

Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended marketing approval for Tredaptive™ (nicotinic acid/laropiprant, MSD) 1000 mg / 20 mg modified-release tablets for the treatment of mixed dyslipidaemia and primary hypercholesterolaemia. - [Read more]

ASM Press announces the latest addition to its Cumulative Techniques and Procedures in Clinical Microbiology (Cumitechs) publication series: Cumitech 46 -- Laboratory Procedures for Diagnosis of Blood-Borne Parasitic Diseases."This Cumitech is intended to provide guidance to the laboratory personnel and other members of the patient care team in the appropriate selection, ordering and application of tests for the diagnosis and management of blood-borne parasitic infections. - [Read more]

In a landmark deal with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has opted for a total pathology solution to meet all its blood science analytical requirements. - [Read more]

The AMA would like to clarify comments made last Wednesday in the context of the recall of batches of Clexane in Australia. Whilst contaminated heparin products have been linked to several severe allergic reactions and deaths in the US and Europe, the AMA has no information to suggest that Clexane was involved in such events. The AMA understands that to date, no adverse events associated with contaminated heparin products have been reported in Australia. - [Read more]

Vermillion, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRML) reported findings from an Ohio State University (OSU) clinical study that indicated that a surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight (SELDI-TOF)-based thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) diagnostic test could be used to help estimate the risk of TTP relapses during clinical remission. - [Read more]

An international team of researchers led by MIT has explained how contaminated batches of the blood-thinner heparin were able to slip past traditional safety screens and kill dozens of patients recently in the United States and Germany. The team, led by Professor Ram Sasisekharan of MIT, identified the chemical structure of the contaminant, known as oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS). - [Read more]

Archemix Corp., a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing aptamer therapeutics for rare hematological diseases, announced that ARC1779 has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ARC1779, a novel aptamer therapeutic, is a first-in-class anti-platelet agent for the treatment of a rare, life-threatening blood disorder known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP. - [Read more]

SunTech Medical launches their Advantage™ HDM (Hemodialysis Monitoring) OEM Non-invasive Blood Pressure (OEM NIBP) technology designed specifically for monitoring blood pressure during hemodialysis. This application-specific technology recently achieved an A rating for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurement according to the British Hypertension Society (BHS) protocol. - [Read more]

Bayer HealthCare announced the launch of EZ-Log Web Client, a new online tool that allows hemophilia patients and healthcare providers to record and track treatment on the EZ-Log Web site. Now hemophilia patients have the convenience of two options to enter and transmit data within the EZ-Log system, the EZ-Log Web Client or the - [Read more]