Latest Red blood cell Stories

EMBL scientists identify molecules that ensure red blood cell productionRed blood cells, the delivery men that take oxygen to cells all around the body, have short lives. To keep enough of them in circulation, the human body produces around 2 million of these cells every second "“ even more in response to challenges like severe blood loss. In a study published today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo,...

MUMBAI, India, May 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortis Hospitals Mulund, Mumbai, performed a multiple joint replacement surgery on a 27 year old young Nigerian patient. Rebacca underwent a hip and a shoulder replacement surgery by Dr. Sachin Bhonsle, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, after years of suffering in pain and immobility. Rebecca was suffering from a sickle cell disease since birth; an inherited (genetic) disorder where the RBC (red blood corpuscles) assumes an abnormal shape of...

Adults who have mild sickle cell disease scored lower on brain function tests when compared to healthy participants, suggesting the blood disease may impact the brain more than previously realized, according to new research published in the May 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. This is the first study to examine cognitive functioning in adults with sickle cell disease.The study was conducted by 12 sites within the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Centers funded by the...

Scientists discovered that mammoths had blood that displayed "antifreeze" like qualities, which kept their bodies supplied with oxygen at sub-zero temperatures. The journal Nature Genetics reported that scientists extracted a blood protein, known as hemoglobin, from mammoth remains. The study of the hemoglobin led researchers to find those antifreeze properties. The hemoglobin protein is found in red blood cells where it binds to and carries oxygen. The scientists found that mammoths...

Thanks to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, scientists now have a more complete understanding of one of the human body's most vital structures: the red blood cell.Led by University of Illinois electrical and computer engineering professor Gabriel Popescu, the team developed a model that could lead to breakthroughs in screening and treatment of blood-cell-morphology diseases, such as malaria and sickle-cell disease. The group published its findings in the Proceedings of the National...

Black children with chronic kidney disease have more severe anemia than white children even when they receive the same treatment, according to a multicenter study led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center to be published in the May issue of the American Journal of Kidney Disease.The findings suggest that inherent biological differences, rather than access to care and treatment, may be at play, raising the question whether current guidelines for anemia treatment should be tailored to reflect...

IRVINE, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new blood transfusion cost analysis study published in the April 2010 issue of Transfusion, a peer-reviewed academic journal, shows that when all of the complex cost factors leading up to and after a red blood cell (RBC) transfusion are considered, the actual cost of blood is substantially higher than previously estimated. With actual blood transfusion costs ranging between $522 and $1,183 per-unit--37% higher than estimated by prior...

Sideroblastic anemia is a form of anemia caused by an inability to incorporate iron into hemoglobin, something that is essential if the molecule is to perform its vital function of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Recently, a patient with sideroblastic anemia was found to have a mutation in their GLRX5 gene that led to GLRX5 protein deficiency. Tracey Rouault and colleagues, at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, have now provided insight into...

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ThermoGenesis Corp. (Nasdaq: KOOL), a leading supplier of innovative products for processing and storing adult stem cells, announced today it has signed a new distribution agreement with Fenwal, Inc., a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability. Under the exclusive five-year agreement, Fenwal will market and distribute the ThermoGenesis AXP® AutoXpress(TM) (AXP)...

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A comparison study of nearly 1,900 patients published in Perfusion, a peer-reviewed academic journal, questions the long-standing practice of basing blood transfusion decisions on a single low hematocrit measurement result. In the study, titled Is it the Patient or the Physician who Cannot Tolerate Anemia?, researchers showed that a single measure of hematocrit is not a reliable indicator of transfusion need and that lower-than-normal...