http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—A team of Canadian researchers has found that platelets in mice liver collaborate with special types of white blood cells to help capture bacteria. In their paper published in the journal Nature Immunology, the team reports that they found platelet collaboration while conducting microscopy studies of Kupffer cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-platelets-collaborative-role-eradicating-blood.html Immunology Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:41:20 EST news290684472 (AP)—A South Florida man has reached a rare milestone. He's donated 100 gallons of blood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-florida-donates-gallons-blood.html Other Thu, 30 May 2013 07:50:47 EST news289118964 (Medical Xpress)—A gene associated with both protection against bacterial infection and excessive blood clotting could offer new insights into treatment strategies for deep-vein thrombosis—the formation of a harmful clot in a deep vein. The gene produces an enzyme that, if inhibited via a specific drug therapy, could offer hope to patients prone to deep-vein clots, such as those that sometimes form in the legs during lengthy airplane flights or during recuperation after major surgery. The research, which was led by Yanming Wang, a Penn State University associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Denisa Wagner, senior author with decades of research on thrombosis at the Boston Children's Hospital and the Harvard University Medical School, will be published in in the Online Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week ending 10 May 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-gene-clues-treatments-blood-clotting.html Genetics Wed, 08 May 2013 08:50:02 EST news287220776 A new research study has investigated how cancer cells 'hijack' blood cells known as platelets, enabling cancer to spread around the body and promoting the growth of new tumours, it was reported today at the annual Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) Research Day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-breakthrough-cancer-body.html Cancer Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:20:03 EST news281778832 When it comes to healing the terrible wounds of war, success may hinge on the first blood clot – the one that begins forming on the battlefield right after an injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-artificial-platelets-soldiers-battlefield.html Medical research Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:30:01 EST news280149428 A study by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery has shown that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) holds great promise for treating patients with knee osteoarthritis. The treatment improved pain and function, and in up to 73% of patients, appeared to delay the progression of osteoarthritis, which is a progressive disease. The study appears online, ahead of print, in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-platelet-rich-plasma-treatment-potential-knee.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:00:04 EST news279971384 (HealthDay)—The anti-cancer drug Gleevec (imatinib) has received new U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to treat the most common type of pediatric cancer, affecting some 2,900 children each year, the agency said Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-gleevec-latest-pediatric-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:55:35 EST news278355318 A simple, inexpensive blood test performed on trauma patients upon admission can help doctors easily identify patients at greatest risk of death, according to a new study by researchers at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-simple-blood-trauma-patients-greatest.html Health Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:20:01 EST news277661804 (Medical Xpress)—One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it.  Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-team-mimicking-natural-defense-malaria.html Medical research Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:20:02 EST news275845997 Researchers have demonstrated that combination therapy with PU-H71 and ruxolitinib increases the durability and effectiveness of a treatment that had previously shown limited utility for patients with myelofibrosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-combination-therapy-jak2-hsp90-inhibitors.html Cancer Sun, 09 Dec 2012 12:00:03 EST news274274558 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers in Australia have found that a protein in platelets found naturally in blood has a protective effect against malaria. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes how they found that a certain protein present in platelets binds to infected red blood cells and kills the parasite responsible for the disease, but only if the red blood cell has a certain kind of receptor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-protein-platelets-malaria-people.html Medical research Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:00:01 EST news274081610 (Medical Xpress)—Chemotherapy kills blood cells as well as cancer cells, often with fatal results. Now Yale stem cell researchers have identified a method they hope one day will help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy maintain a healthy blood supply, they report in the Oct. 18 issue of the journal Cell Reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-blood-ravages-chemo-treatment.html Medical research Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:20:05 EST news269851363 Adult stem cells extracted during liposuction can be used to grow healthy new small-diameter blood vessels for use in heart bypass surgery and other procedures, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2012 Scientific Sessions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-adult-stem-cells-liposuction-blood.html Cardiology Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:31:40 EST news262456285 (Medical Xpress) -- New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that the survival for patients with chronic myeloproliferative diseases has improved in recent decades. This is despite the fact that no targeted drugs have yet been registered for this group of diseases. More than 9,000 patients have been included in a unique population-based study which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-survival-patients-chronic-blood-diseases.html Cancer Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:52:58 EST news261723169 (HealthDay) -- The blockbuster drug Plavix (clopidogrel), used to prevent clotting in some heart patients, will go off patent in the United States on Thursday, making it considerably more affordable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-plavix-status-boon-patients.html Medications Tue, 15 May 2012 16:20:01 EST news256316529 A new analysis concludes that rituximab, a drug commonly used to treat blood cancers, leads to treatment responses lasting at least five years in approximately one quarter of patients with low platelet counts and a risk of bleeding due to chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). In study results published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College provide the very first long-term outcome data for patients with chronic ITP treated with rituxamab. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-rituximab-long-term-response-patients-immune.html Pediatrics Mon, 07 May 2012 11:34:39 EST news255609249 How and when our blood clots is one of those incredibly complex and important processes in our body that we rarely think about. If your blood doesn't clot and you cut yourself, you could bleed to death, if your blood clots too much, you could be in line for a heart attack or stroke. Dr. Hans Vogel, a professor at the University of Calgary, has thought a lot about blot clotting and recently published research in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that helps to better understand the clotting process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-mystery-blood-clotting.html Medical research Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:36:38 EST news251368588 Researchers, led by scientists from Johns Hopkins, have found five previously unknown gene mutations believed to be associated with elevated blood platelet counts in African-Americans, findings they say could someday lead to the development of new drugs to help prevent coronary artery disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-gene-mutations-linked-platelet-african.html Genetics Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:29:50 EST news249845383 Researchers have identified an elusive gene responsible for Thrombocytopenia with Absent Radii (TAR), a rare inherited blood and skeletal disorder. As a result, this research is now being transformed into a medical test that allows prenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling in affected families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-elusive-platelet-limb-gene.html Genetics Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:00:20 EST news249482330 A new study published Wednesday cast doubt on the usefulness of a genetic test for patients taking the anti-coagulant drug Plavix, calling into question last year's FDA warning about the blood thinner. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-genetic-plavix-unneeded.html Medications Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:56 EST news244357237 In a study into the genetics of blood cell formation, researchers have identified 68 regions of the genome that affect the size and number of platelets. Platelets are small cells that circulate in the blood and are key to the processes of blood clotting and wound healing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-genome-wide-gene-functions-formation-platelets.html Genetics Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:02:15 EST news241880400 About 90 percent of cancer deaths are caused by secondary tumors, known as metastases, which spread from the original tumor site. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-uncovering-key-player-metastasis.html Cancer Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:40:04 EST news240562107 (Medical Xpress) -- Can a bird have a heart attack?  A recent paper published by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggests that cardiovascular disease may be an unfortunate consequence of mammalian evolution.  The study, published in a recent issue of the journal Blood demonstrates that the same features of blood platelets that may have provided an evolutionary advantage to early mammals now predispose humans to cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-cardiovascular-disease-linked-evolutionary-early.html Medical research Tue, 18 Oct 2011 07:59:15 EST news238143409 Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified a way that chemotherapy causes platelet numbers to drop, answering in the process a decade-old question about the formation of platelets, tiny cells that allow blood to clot. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-discovery-chemo-platelet.html Cancer Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:31:46 EST news236187091 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 A Franco-British team of researchers has discovered a mysterious gene responsible for the extremely rare congenital Grey Platelet Syndrome that causes a bleeding disease. Only 50 cases have been reported to date. The team hopes that the results of their study will lead to the development of a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test able to diagnose the disease. The findings are published in the journal Nature Genetics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-scientists-elusive-gene-responsible-rare.html Genetics Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:02:59 EST news233316167 Researchers have identified an elusive gene responsible for Gray Platelet Syndrome, an extremely rare blood disorder in which only about 50 known cases have been reported. As a result, it is hoped that future cases will be easier to diagnose with a DNA test. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-anglo-french-team-elusive-gene-platelets.html Genetics Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:05:37 EST news230817906 Humans produce billions of clot-forming platelets every day, but there are times when there aren't enough of them, such as with certain diseases or during invasive surgery. Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a single drug can induce bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes to quadruple the number of platelets they produce. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-drug-soft-environment-platelet-production_1.html Medical research Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:27:43 EST news229771607 An antibody packaged with a potent chemotherapy drug to selectively destroy acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells eradicated or greatly reduced the disease for 61 percent of 46 patients in a phase II study. It will be presented at the 47th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago June 3-7. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-antibody-guided-drug-acute-lymphoblastic-leukemia.html Cancer Mon, 23 May 2011 16:02:14 EST news225385321