‘Turbocharged artificial intelligence’ could personalize combination therapy in pediatric leukemia
In this study, patient records were obtained on the dosing of 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate, as well as on the corresponding absolute neutrophil count, or levels of a subset of white blood cells called neutrophils that are vital for staving off potentially life-threatening infections. These records showed multiple instances where conventional chemotherapy doses caused deviations from acceptable neutrophil levels. Using the personalized medicine technology, individualized three-dimensional maps were generated to determine the optimal 6-mercaptopurine/methotrexate drug ratios.The team members found that their technolog...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - December 12, 2016 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Researchers discover a new gatekeeper controlling T cell release into the bloodstream
(Children's Hospital& Research Center Oakland) A team of scientists led by Julie Saba, M.D., Ph.D. at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, has unveiled a novel role of thymic dendritic cells, which could result in new strategies to treat conditions such as autoimmune diseases, immune deficiencies, prematurity, infections, cancer, and the loss of immunity after bone marrow transplantation. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 6, 2016 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Palliative care improves quality of life in cancer patients
Patients who received palliative care during a bone marrow transplant reported a better quality of life and reduced symptoms during hospitalization. (Source: NIH Research Matters)
Source: NIH Research Matters - December 5, 2016 Category: Research Source Type: news
Genetic factors control regenerative properties of blood-forming stem cells, UCLA studies show
FINDINGSResearchers from the UCLA Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have published two studies that define how key genetic factors affect blood-forming stem cells by either accelerating or hindering the cells ’ regenerative properties. The findings could one day lead to improved treatments for people undergoing common therapies for cancer such as chemotherapy and radiation. BACKGROUNDBlood-forming stem cells, or hematopoietic stem cells, are found in the bone marrow. These cells have two unique properties:...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - December 5, 2016 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Penn study: Preventative antibiotics could prevent C. diff in transplant patients
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) It may be possible to safely prevent one of the most common -- and costly to treat -- infections contracted by hospitalized patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of blood cancers, according to a study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - November 28, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
Giving thanks: Stories of volunteerism, gratitude and giving back
Thanksgiving Day is a time rich in family, gratitude and appreciation. In honor of the holiday, we are celebrating the patient families who have traveled through our doors and the selfless acts of kindness and volunteerism that follow.
Donating platelets and cycling for a cause
Ten years ago, Adam Nussenbaum’s son Max was treated at Boston Children’s and overcame a life threatening illness. Today, Adam gives his time — and platelets — to help those in need, and he is doing so in celebration of Max; his daughter Kate, who donated her bone marrow to help her brother; and the clinicians, who made his...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - November 24, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Maureen McCarthy Tags: Our Patients’ Stories bone marrow transplant cerebral palsy Dr. James Kasser Family Advisory Council Heart Center Kawasaki disease Learning disabilities NICU patient partner platelet donation scoliosis Source Type: news
Palliative care helpful for cancer patients receiving bone marrow transplants
(Massachusetts General Hospital) Integrating palliative care into the treatment of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation - commonly known as bone marrow transplantation -- for cancers like leukemia and lymphoma can improve their quality of life, relieve symptoms associated with the procedure, and reduce depression and anxiety. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - November 22, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Atlas, Third Rock launch new Cambridge biotech with $49M round
Atlas Venture and Third Rock Ventures have teamed up with a former GlaxoSmithKline executive to launch a new Cambridge biotech focused on improving bone marrow transplants, unveiling a $48.5 million round of financing on Wednesday.
The 20-person company, Magenta Therapeutics, will be led by Jason Gardner, the former head of GSK’s research and development satellite facility in Boston. The firm is currently working out of lab space at the Forsyth Institute in Kendall Square, but plans to migrate… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines - November 16, 2016 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Max Stendahl Source Type: news
7-Year-Old Battling Cancer Asks For The World One Simple Thing
Ava Bright Lee was diagnosed with biphenotypic leukemia in February 2014 at the age of 5. After receiving chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant, Ava went into remission. But in October 2015, she relapsed with leukemia cutis, which caused tumors throughout her body.
Doctors told her family she had three to 12 months to live. Now one year later, 7-year-old Ava is fighting for her life and asking the world for one simple thing: prayers.
On Wednesday, Ava’s family shared a heartbreaking video of the little girl making her plea for prayers in the hopes that her forthcoming PET scan would com...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - November 4, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Girl runs into the arms of a German who saved her life after donating bone marrow
India Jaz White, from Wales, needed a bone marrow transplant to keep her alive. Her parents spent months searching for a donor before finding a 100 per cent match in Sindy, 34, from Germany. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - October 31, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Why Kim Kardashian West Wants You To Become A Bone Marrow Donor
Kim Kardashian West is using her huge social media platform to do some public good. This week, she’s calling attention to a major public health problem: the urgent need for people to sign up as bone marrow donors.
On Monday, she posted on Facebook about 31-year-old Adam Krief, an LA-based father of three who has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer.
As West explains in her post, the cancer, known as primary myelofibrosis, can be treated with a bone marrow transplant. Finding a bone marrow donor could help Krief survive, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find a match in the e...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - September 28, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Cord-Blood Transplants Show Promise in Leukemia Treatment
Donors and recipients don't need to be a perfect match, researcher says
Source: HealthDay
Related MedlinePlus Pages: Bone Marrow Transplantation, Leukemia, Stem Cells (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - September 7, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The dark side of ‘ compassionate use ’ of experimental drugs
This is a picture of Josh Hardy. You might recall seeing his face on TV or on the #savejosh hashtag on Twitter a few years back. Josh, who was 7 at the time, had undergone a bone-marrow transplant for kidney cancer that left him hospitalized with a severe infection. He was dying. There was an experimental drug called brincidofovir made […]Related:New virtual reality fitness apps aim to make exercise less tediousHormone therapy for prostate cancer may pose a risk for black menThe added cost of eating red meat — a quicker death, scientists say (Source: Washington Post: To Your Health)
Source: Washington Post: To Your Health - August 31, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Saving six: Life before and after transplant
An organ transplant is a life-changing event extending far beyond the operating room, the clinics and the hospital walls. Read about five children, one young adult and their families, whose lives were forever changed by the Pediatric Transplant Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Lydia’s liver transplant, a mom’s gift
Dawn Cavanagh gave her daughter life twice — first when she was born and, again, when she gave 13-year-old Lydia a piece of her liver last summer. The donor-approval process, which occurs with Boston Children’s partner Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, required hours of medical screening,...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - August 31, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Emily Williams Tags: Our Patients’ Stories double lung transplant ECMO heart failure heart transplant Heart transplant program heart-lung transplant Heung Bae Kim Intestine and Multivisceral Transplant Program Khashayar Vakili kidney transplant Kidney Source Type: news
Researchers identify possible pathway to reboot immune system after bone-marrow transplants
New research has shown how a cell surface molecule, Lymphotoxin ? receptor, controls entry of T-cells into the thymus, and as such presents an opportunity to understanding why cancer patients who undergo bone-marrow transplant are slow to recover their immune system. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - August 25, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
