Leukemia is a neoplastic diseases of the bone marrow in which unrestrained proliferation of white blood cells occurs, usually accompanied by anemia, impaired blood clotting, and enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen.
Green tea extract shows promise in leukemia trials – Mayo Clinic researchers are reporting positive results in early leukemia clinical trials using the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient in green tea.
Embryo’s heartbeat drives blood stem cell formation – Clues about how blood forms could yield new strategies for treating blood diseases. – Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood. Two groups of researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) -? presenting multiple lines of evidence from zebrafish, mice and mouse embryonic stem cells -? provide an intriguing answer: A beating heart and blood flow are necessary for development of the blood system, which relies on mechanical stresses to cue its formation.
Study shows chemotherapy improves survival among older breast cancer patients – The average age of a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is 63, so it is critical to have effective proven, therapies for an older patient population.
American Cancer Society awards 143 research grants to investigators at 83 institutions nationwide. Grants total more than $51 million in the second of two cycles for 2009. – The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 143 national research and training grants totaling more than $51 million in the second of two grant cycles for 2009. The grants go into effect beginning July 1, 2009.
New alternative to biopsy detects subtle changes in cancer cells, Stanford study shows. – A drop of blood or a chunk of tissue smaller than the period at the end of this sentence may one day be all that is necessary to diagnose cancers and assess their response to treatment, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
World first treatment for leukemia being developed in Australia – Two Australian research groups are undertaking pioneering studies into the causes of leukaemia, potentially leading to patients receiving new drug treatments as early as next year.
Health Minister invites diaspora to join in developing healthcare – Indian Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss has called for public-private partnership in health sector to meet the gap between supply and demand.
Grape seed extract kills laboratory leukemia cells, proving value of natural compounds. – An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract.
Millions of people infected with HIV may hope for healing promises, as a patient who has had undetectable HIV viral loads for almost two years after bone marrow transplant. – An HIV-positive person, who underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia, has had undetectable HIV viral loads for almost two years. HIV-positive man was ill from leukemia and had underwent treatment by the team led by Prof. Eckhard Thiel, director of the Medical Clinic with a focus on hematology and oncology.
Hannah Jones – a British Girl – won a legal case that allowed her to refuse a life-saving heart transplant surgery. – A British girl 13 years old, suffering from leukemia, Hannah Jones decided to refuse to have a heart transplant for her heart condition – a hole in her heart.
