Researchers successfully perform first injection of cultured red blood cells in human donor

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.

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Discovery suggests way to block fetal brain damage produced by oxygen deprivation

Examining brain damage that occurs when fetuses in the womb are deprived of oxygen, researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that damage does not occur randomly but is linked to the specific action of a naturally occurring fatty molecule called LPA, acting through a receptor that transfers information into young brain cells.

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Alzheimer’s brains found to have lower levels of key protein

Researchers have found that a protein variation linked by some genetic studies to Alzheimer’s disease is consistently present in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. In further biochemical and cell culture investigations, they have shown that this protein, known as ubiquilin-1, performs a critical Alzheimer’s-related function: it “chaperones” the formation of amyloid precursor protein, a molecule whose malformation has been directly tied to Alzheimer’s pathology.

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Researchers report new understanding of role of telomeres in tumor growth

The first report of the presence of alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) in cancers arising from the bladder, cervix, endometrium, esophagus, gallbladder, liver, and lung was published today in The American Journal of Pathology. The presence of ALT in carcinomas can be used as a diagnostic marker and has implications for the development of anti-cancer drug therapies.

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New half-match bone marrow transplant procedure yields promising outcomes for cancer patients

Half-matched bone marrow or stem cell transplants for blood cancer patients have typically been associated with disappointing clinical outcomes. However, a clinical trial conducted at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson testing its unique, two-step half-match procedure has produced some promising results: the probability of overall survival was 45 percent in all patients after three years and 75 percent in patients who were in remission at the time of the transplant.

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‘Gene overdose’ causes extreme thinness

Scientists have discovered a genetic cause of extreme thinness for the first time, in a study published today in the journal Nature.

The research shows that people with extra copies of certain genes are much more likely to be very skinny. In one in 2000 people, part of chromosome 16 is duplicated, making men 23 times and women five times more likely to be underweight.

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Scientists unravel the cause of rare genetic disease: Goldman-Favre Syndrome explained

Bethesda, MD—A new research report published in The FASEB Journal (https://www.fasebj.org) will help ophthalmologists and scientists better understand a rare genetic disease that causes increased susceptibility to blue light, night blindness, and decreased vision called Enhanced S-Cone Syndrome or Goldman-Favre Syndrome. In the report, scientists found that the expression of genes responsible for the healthy renewal of rods and cones in the retina was reduced and that this problem originates in the photoreceptors themselves rather than in the adjacent retinal pigment epithelial layer as once thought.

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UTHealth reports bone marrow stem cell therapy safe for acute stroke

Using a patient’s own bone marrow stem cells to treat acute stroke is feasible and safe, according to the results of a ground-breaking Phase I trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

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Research scientists reveal how white blood cell promotes growth and spread of cancer

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that a particular white blood cell plays a direct role in the development and spread of cancerous tumors. Their work sheds new light on the development of the disease and points toward novel strategies for treating early-stage cancers.

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Rotavirus vaccination of infants also protects unvaccinated older children and adults

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus also prevents serious disease in unvaccinated older children and adults, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This helps reduce rotavirus-related hospital costs in these older groups. The results of the study are published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and are now available online.

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