Latest Red blood cell Stories
For the first time, researchers have successfully injected cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) created from human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into a human donor, according to study results published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). As the global need for blood continues to increase while the number of blood donors is decreasing, these study results provide hope that one day patients in need of a blood transfusion might become their own donors. Using...
ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Memorial Blood Centers is joining in celebrating September as Sickle Cell Awareness Month with a special appeal to potential sickle cell negative blood donors to step up and make a difference in the life of someone battling the pain of this chronic disease. Each year, about 1 in every 500 African-American infants are born with sickle cell--an inherited red blood cell disorder that also affects other populations, including people...
Recent studies have shown that the heart contains cardiac stem cells that can contribute to regeneration and healing during disease and aging. However, little is known about the molecules and pathways that regulate these cells. Now, a new study utilizing a heart failure model is providing insight into one way to coax the cardiac stem cells into repairing the damaged heart. The research, published by Cell Press in the August 2011 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, finds that low doses of...
A new study suggests young people with a serious genetic blood disorder are not getting the right help at school, especially pupils who miss lessons due to sickness.Research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) at De Montfort University, the University of York and Loughborough University reveals that most children with sickle cell disease (SCD) do not feel supported by schools in catching up on absences from class.Sickle cell is an inherited condition affecting around one...
A thalidomide analog is shaping up as a safe, worthy opponent of sickle cell disease, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers report.Much like hydroxyurea, the only Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy for sickle cell, pomalidomide increases production of fetal hemoglobin which, unlike its adult counterpart, cannot take on the destructive sickle shape.In stark contrast, pomalidomide also preserves bone marrow function actually increasing proliferation of the cells that make...
Donated red blood cells lose a key feature that diminishes their lifesaving power the longer they have been stored, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.The finding, published Friday in the journal Critical Care Medicine, details how banked blood undergoes a change during storage that decreases its ability to transport oxygen.Slowing that process could offer a way to boost the longevity and vitality of stored blood - more than 14 million units of which are used each year...
Transfused blood may need to be stored in a different way to prevent the breakdown of red blood cells that can lead to complications including infection, organ failure and death, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Wake Forest University. This week in the early online version of Circulation, the team reports the latest findings from its ongoing exploration of the interaction between red blood cell breakdown products and nitric oxide (NO), revealing new...
Researchers have developed a new test to detect the levels of vitamin B12 using your breath, allowing for a cheaper, faster, and simpler diagnosis that could help to avoid the potentially fatal symptoms of B12 deficiency.In a study published today, 23 June 2011, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Breath Research, researchers have developed a simple, non-invasive, low-cost breath test to more accurately measure vitamin B12.Vitamin B12 deficiency is a growing public health problem in which the most...
For tens of thousands of years, the genomes of malaria parasites and humans have been at war with one another. Now, University of Pennsylvania geneticists, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, have developed a new picture of one way that the human genome has fought back.The international team was led by Sarah Tishkoff, a Penn Integrates Knowledge professor with appointments in the genetics department in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and the biology department of...
Magnetic field can reduce blood viscosityIf a person's blood becomes too thick it can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart attacks. But a Temple University physicist has discovered that he can thin the human blood by subjecting it to a magnetic field.Rongjia Tao, professor and chair of physics at Temple University, has pioneered the use of electric or magnetic fields to decrease the viscosity of oil in engines and pipelines. Now, he is using the same magnetic fields to thin...
