http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A new patient protocol for aggressive and recurrent lymphoma that combines intensive chemotherapy and radioimmunotherapy (RIT) may become the most powerful cancer-killing therapy available, with the hope that patients' lymphoma can be eradicated as they prepare for bone marrow transplant, say researchers at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. In a study presented at the meeting, survival rates without recurrence improved with the addition of RIT, with some having a 100 percent chance of survival over two years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-radioimmunotherapy-advanced-lymphoma-patients.html Cancer Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:11:34 EST news290160619 Cancer chemotherapy can cause peripheral neuropathy—nerve damage often resulting in pain and muscle weakness in the arms and legs. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that chemo also induces an insidious type of nerve damage inside bone marrow that can cause delays in recovery after bone marrow transplantation. The findings, made in mice and published online today in Nature Medicine, suggest that combining chemotherapy with nerve-protecting agents may prevent long-term bone marrow injury that causes anemia and may improve the success of bone marrow transplants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-discovery-chemotherapy-induced-anemia.html Medical research Sun, 05 May 2013 13:00:01 EST news286954775 A new study by Multiple Sclerosis researchers at three leading Canadian centres addresses why bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has positive results in patients with particularly aggressive forms of MS. The transplantation treatment, which is performed as part of a clinical trial and carries potentially serious risks, virtually stops all new relapsing activity as observed upon clinical examination and brain MRI scans. The study reveals how the immune system changes as a result of the transplantation. Specifically, a sub-set of T cells in the immune system known as Th17 cells, have a substantially diminished function following the treatment. The finding to be published in the upcoming issue of Annals of Neurology and currently in the early online version, provides important insight into how and why BMT treatment works as well as how relapses may develop in MS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-major-advance-risky-effective-multiple.html Neuroscience Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:35:56 EST news283516547 More than 50,000 stem cell transplants are performed each year worldwide. A research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators may have solved a major issue of expanding adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) outside the human body for clinical use in bone marrow transplantation—a critical step towards producing a large supply of blood stem cells needed to restore a healthy blood system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-method-blood-stem-cells-bone.html Medical research Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:42:26 EST news283095727 Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that macrophages – white blood cells that play a key role in the immune response – also help to both produce and eliminate the body's red blood cells (RBCs). The findings could lead to novel therapies for diseases or conditions in which the red blood cell production is thrown out of balance. The study, conducted in mice, is published today in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-white-blood-cells-key-role.html Medical research Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:00:02 EST news282732266 Following several years of study, investigators have found more evidence that viral therapy to treat solid tumors can be enhanced by blocking the body's natural immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-evidence-blocking-immune-response-viral.html Cancer Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:47:16 EST news282397623 Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have identified a clutch of cells that—if seen in a male patient's blood after receiving a brand-new immune system in the form of a bone-marrow transplant from a female donor—herald the onset of chronic graft-versus-host disease, or cGVHD. In this devastating syndrome, the patient's tissues come under a vicious and enduring assault by the transplanted cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-cells-onset-graft-versus-host-disease-men.html Medical research Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:22 EST news279195920 Epidermal growth factor has been found to speed the recovery of blood-making stem cells after exposure to radiation, according to Duke Medicine researchers. The finding could open new options for treating cancer patients and victims of dirty bombs or nuclear disasters. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-epidermal-growth-factor-aids-stem.html Medical research Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:00:09 EST news279115273 Nine of twelve leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells after the cells had been genetically engineered to attack the patients' tumors responded to the therapy, which was pioneered by scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Penn Medicine researchers will present the latest results of the trial today at the American Society of Hematology's Annual Meeting and Exposition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-leukemia-patients-remission-years-cell.html Cancer Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:10:01 EST news274319021 (Medical Xpress)—In the first of its kind, a translational study undertaken at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research has revealed that boosting the activity of a rare type of immune cell could be an effective way to vaccinate patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) against their own cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-boosting-immune-responses-leukaemia.html Cancer Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:48:22 EST news272710049 Researchers from John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the nation's 50 best cancer centers, played an important role in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on October 18 that may change the current blood and marrow transplantation practices. The phase 3, multicenter study compared harvesting stem cells from bone marrow rather than blood and suggests there are benefits to both approaches, but no survival differences between the two methods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-groundbreaking-transplant.html Medical research Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:33:42 EST news272626396 E. Donnall Thomas, a physician who pioneered bone marrow transplants and later won the 1990 Nobel Prize in medicine, has died in Seattle at age 92. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-father-bone-marrow-transplant-dead.html Other Sun, 21 Oct 2012 06:20:01 EST news270016042 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have discovered that changes in the physical characteristics of the effector memory regulatory T cell can predict the progression risk of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to acute myeloid leukemia. The finding could improve prognostication for patients with MDS and better inform therapeutic decision making. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-predictor-mds.html Immunology Thu, 13 Sep 2012 04:51:23 EST news266730411 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have published a study describing the greater difficulty in finding matched, unrelated donors for non-Caucasian patients who are candidates for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-ethnicity-affect-likelihood-suitable-unrelated.html Cancer Tue, 11 Sep 2012 03:46:53 EST news266553982 Early treatment response is a powerful predictor of long-term outcome for young patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The information can help physicians decide whether a more intensive approach is needed. Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators has identified the best test for measuring that response and guiding therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-diagnostic-benefits-children-acute-myeloid.html Cancer Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:50:48 EST news266514612 Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have opened a clinical trial to test the theory that giving a patient a new immune system can cure severe cases of Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-clinical-trial-advanced-crohn-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:41:46 EST news262266094 An HIV drug that redirects immune cell traffic significantly reduces the incidence of a dangerous complication that often follows bone marrow transplants for blood cancer patients, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings represent a new tactic for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), which afflicts up to 70 percent of transplant patients and is a leading cause of deaths associated with the treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hiv-drug-graft-vs-host-disease-bone.html Immunology Wed, 11 Jul 2012 17:00:04 EST news261241119 Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center's Bone Marrow Transplant Program have demonstrated that the use of antibodies derived from rabbits can improve the survival and relapse outcomes of leukemia and myelodysplasia patients receiving a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-antibodies-rabbits-survival-relapse-outcomes.html Medical research Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:46:28 EST news260819182 Although the first successful preservation of fertility from the freezing, thawing and grafting of ovarian tissue was reported eight years ago,(1) the technique has remained experimental and confined to a few specialist centres. Now, with the announcement of a first pregnancy (and subsequent live birth) in Italy following the transplantation of ovarian tissue, there are indications that fertility preservation is moving into the mainstream of reproductive medicine and into a greater number of centres.(2) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-fertility-cryopreservation-ovarian-tissue-experimental.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 04 Jul 2012 03:35:02 EST news260591695 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at six other institutions have recently tested a treatment for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a blood-related malignancy that involves the ineffective production of blood cells, leaving patients anemic and in need of frequent blood transfusions. Because the body has no natural means to reduce iron that accumulates from repeated transfusions, patients' organs can become iron overloaded, leading to heart failure, liver injury, susceptibility to infection, and other complications. Bone marrow failure and conversion to acute leukemia may occur in patients with MDS, necessitating bone marrow transplantation. The disease can be caused by chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-myelodysplastic-syndrome-deferasirox-beneficial-iron.html Cancer Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:45:45 EST news259591527 (Medical Xpress) -- University of Florida researchers teamed with colleagues at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif., to devise a new combination therapy that reverses established Type 1 diabetes in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-dual-strategy-diabetes.html Medical research Thu, 10 May 2012 06:20:38 EST news255849622 An international study found that bone marrow transplants are not the best option for some young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who fail to attain clinical remission after the initial weeks of intense chemotherapy known as induction therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-chemotherapy-life-saving-leukemia-patients-induction.html Cancer Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:00:11 EST news253377835 Music has a fundamental affect on humans. It can reduce stress, enhance relaxation, provide a distraction from pain, and improve the results of clinical therapy. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery demonstrates that music can reduce rejection of heart transplants in mice by influencing the immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-music-heart-transplant.html Cardiology Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:00:02 EST news251654476 Lymphoma is the fourth most common cancer in pregnancy, affecting one in 6000 pregnancies. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, acute leukaemia, and other blood cancers, while also rare, can also occur in pregnancy. The need for urgent chemotherapy and the increased risk of blood clots during pregnancy, which is enhanced in blood cancers, mean that it is advisable to terminate a pregnancy if it is in its early stages to protect the health of the mother. However cancers discovered later in pregnancy can be treated. The issues around blood cancers in pregnancy are discussed in the third paper of The Lancet Series on pregnancy in cancer, written by Dr Benjamin Brenner, Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel, and colleagues. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-complications-blood-cancers-termination-early.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:30:02 EST news248008237 The University of Kentucky will be the first site in the state and one of a select few in the entire country participating in the first stages of a groundbreaking study to investigate the effects of MultiStem, a human adult stem cell product, on patients with acute ischemic stroke. The phase II clinical trial, known as Atherys stroke protocol B01-02, was recently approved by UK's institutional review board. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-university-kentucky-stem-cell-trial.html Medical research Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:40:01 EST news245676554 Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified for the first time the A2b adenosine receptor (A2bAR) as a possible new therapeutic target against atherosclerosis resulting from a diet high in fat and cholesterol. The findings, which appear on-line in Circulation, may have significant public health implications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-agent-responsible-early-stages-atherosclerosis.html Cardiology Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:51:32 EST news242916684 Bone marrow transplantation with genetically modified cells may prolong the period of cancer-free survival, suggests a study led by Dr. Vivek Rangnekar, associate director of translational research for the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-bone-marrow-transplantation-cancer-resistance.html Cancer Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:05:13 EST news233420565 Bone marrow transplant survival more than doubled in recent years for young, high-risk leukemia patients treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with patients who lacked genetically matched donors recording the most significant gains. The results are believed to be the best ever reported for leukemia patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-bone-marrow-transplant-survival-young.html Medical research Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:30:01 EST news229860377 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers in the Department of Pathology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine have discovered a laboratory method to expand adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) using the SALL4 gene. Professor Yupo Ma, M.D., Ph.D., Lead Author, and colleagues used this method to produce a more than 10,000-fold increase in HSCs derived from normal human bone marrow. Their findings define a new mechanism of stem cell self-renewal, providing a means to produce large numbers of HSCs that could be used to treat hematological malignancies and other blood disorders. Their results are reported in the early online edition of Blood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-team-breakthrough-method-stem-cell.html Genetics Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:06:05 EST news226663533 Ray Johnston's goal in three years is for his band to sell out at the 1,600-seat House of Blues in Dallas. In eight years, he wants to pack the 6,400-seat Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, and by 2030, to play to tens of thousands of fans at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-ex-dallas-maverick-survives-rare-leukemia.html Cancer Thu, 19 May 2011 09:45:23 EST news225016730