PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A scientific breakthrough could be the first step in a better treatment for leukemia patients

IRCM researchers publish their discovery in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology

2010-09-16
(Press-News.org) A discovery made by Dr. Tarik Möröy, President and Scientific Director and Director of the Hematopoiesis and Cancer research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), and his team was recently published in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. The researchers found that a protein can regulate certain characteristics of blood stem cells, which could lead to a better treatment for leukemia patients. Dr. Cyrus Khandanpour, medical doctor and postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Möröy's laboratory, is the study's first author.

The transplantation of blood stem cells in used worldwide as a therapy for patients suffering from leukemia and other blood diseases. "The blood stem cells given to leukemia patients are capable of renewing the entire blood producing system and all its blood cells, including white cells, red cells and platelets," explains Dr. Möröy.

Patients with leukemia or a blood disease are initially treated with chemotherapy, which destroys their entire blood forming system along with the disease. Blood stem cells can then be used in two different ways. The first is to harvest them from the patient before chemotherapy, and give the patient his/her own stem cells back after the treatment so they can rebuild blood cells. "One of the problems with this therapy is that blood stem cells normally reside in a niche between the bone and surrounding cells, and are in a dormant state," explains Dr. Khandanpour. "To obtain a sufficient number of stem cells, they have to be mobilized from their bone marrow niche so they can enter the bloodstream where they can be readily collected."

The second possibility is to harvest blood stem cells from a healthy donor and give them to a patient following the chemotherapy treatment. These foreign cells will then rebuild the patient's blood system and regenerate its blood cells. "However, this therapy still fails in about 10% to 20% of cases," adds Dr. Khandanpour. "Among other reasons, these patients die because the transplanted stem cells do not generate new blood cells quickly enough, which leads to infection and death."

"We have found a protein (called Gfi1b) that seems to regulate the stem cells' activity level and where they reside in the bone," says Dr. Khandanpour. "In our mouse model, we were able to turn off the gene coding for Gfi1b. When we did this, the stem cells became activated, started expanding drastically, left their bone marrow niche and entered the bloodstream without losing their function. The ability to manipulate blood stem cells in this manner would significantly increase the efficiency of stem cell therapy."

According to the researchers, the inactivation of Gfi1b in the transplanted stem cells could accelerate the production of new blood cells, thus making stem cell therapy more efficient and less dangerous for the patient. However, the mechanisms regulating stem cell dormancy and mobilization are not well understood.

"Our next goal is to investigate the precise molecular mechanisms achieved by the ablation of Gfi1b, and to study in more detail how Gfi1b regulates the location and activation of blood stem cells," adds Dr. Möröy. "Our project will contribute to a better understanding of the biology of stem cell mobilization and dormancy, which could lead to the design of better treatment regimens for transplant donors and patients."

According to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer every four minutes and someone dies from a blood cancer every 10 minutes. This statistic represents over 54,000 people per year. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.

INFORMATION: This research project was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canada Research Chair program, and the Cole Foundation.

For more information, please refer to the article summary published by Blood: http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/blood-2010-04-280305v1.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Putting a spin on light and atoms

Putting a spin on light and atoms
2010-09-16
Magnetometers come in many shapes and sizes – an ordinary hand-held compass is the simplest – but alkali-vapor magnetometers are extrasensitive devices that measure magnetic fields using light and atoms. They can detect archaeological remains and mineral deposits underground by their faint magnetic signatures, among a host of other scientific applications. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Vavilov State Optical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, have now made sensitive ...

Life Coach and Speaker Returns to His Glasgow Roots in the East End

2010-09-16
In the world of Life Coaching there is a popular adage that states "If you do the same things in the same way, you'll get the same results. To expect different results is a sign of madness." This is what Allan Wilson, owner of Success365, Life Coaching and personal development consultants found himself doing for over a period of almost 30 years. Wilson who now heads up his own company Success365 which specialises in Life Coaching and Motivational Speaking, spent many years trying his hand at various businesses before realising that he had to change himself first before ...

Chicago Area Home Remodeler Experiences Business Increase

2010-09-16
In 1984 the Pinsler family founded Galaxie Construction in a two-room office located on Armitage Avenue in Chicago. Their goal was to create the largest full service home remodeling company in the Chicagoland area. Three years later the company's operations had doubled and the increase in business required a move to a larger facility. The Pinsler's moved into their new headquarters in Chicago and annual sales climbed to twelve million dollars. Galaxie continued to ride the crest of the red-hot residential remodeling market and in 1994 relocated to the corners of Touhy and ...

PulseUniform Offers Clearance Sale for September

2010-09-16
It is still roughly 3 months before the merry month of December yet PulseUniform has already commenced with giving presents to their valuable customers by putting many of its best seller items into clearance sale. According to the website, you can expect up to 70% of discount from thousands of items. This is just one of the many promotional give away of PulseUniforms for their customers. Among the clearance sale are the scrub tops, scrub pants, lab coats, and scrub jackets. Adar, Barco, and Cherokee are among the many brands that are on discount sale as of the moment. Despite ...

Award Winning Trading Systems Developer Dean Hoffman to Speak at the Traders Expo in Las Vegas

2010-09-16
Traders don't need to have a million dollar account at a financial institution to have access to a super powerful, trend-following trading system ( http://www.relativitytradingsystem.com ). In this talk, futures trading expert Dean Hoffman explains how his Relativity Trading System gives traders the features, power, and speed of a million dollar trading system at a tiny fraction of the price. Traders will see how Hoffman has combined 5 trading systems ( http://www.relativitytradingsystem.com ) in one, each one working simultaneously to give traders a broader and deeper ...

CFOwise Founder recognized by Utah Valley Business Quarterly

2010-09-16
The Utah Valley Business Q Website today announced the winners of its 2010 "top 40 under 40″ Awards, spotlighting outstanding Utah entrepreneurs who are under the age of 40. Included in its list is CFOwise founder, Ken Kaufman, among many other great entrepreneurs. CFOwise Founder and CEO, Ken Kaufman commented: "This is a great honor to be featured amongst some of brightest young entrepreneurs in the valley. This recognition is a credit to those with whom I work and associate." To read more coverage on the those recognized, visit the Utah Valley Business Q ...

Whiter Smile for Teeth Whitening

2010-09-16
The White Teeth Company who specialise in laser teeth whitening ( http://www.whiteteethcompany.co.uk ) treatments have announced a bumper summer due to the earlier hot weather and people aspiring to have a new bright smile. Teeth whitening has grown in popularity as just about everyone you see on TV, Magazines and is a celebrity will don a bright white set of teeth and this has made the point to everyday people that a whiter smile looks a million dollars but does not need to cost that amount! As we age the teeth will collect staining deposits that will sit in the ...

Hoffman Asset Management Launches Managed Futures Program to Overcome the "Small Account Conundrum"

2010-09-16
High level managed futures investing has essentially been reserved for wealthy individuals and corporations with minimum accounts of $1,000,000 being standard in the industry. Through his firm, Hoffman Asset Management, award winning Commodity Trading Advisor ( http://www.hoffmanassetmanagement.com ) Dean Hoffman is changing the playing field with the launch of a managed futures ( http://www.hoffmanassetmanagement.com ) program for smaller investors in the $30,000 - $125,000 range. "Hoffman Asset Managed is dedicated to overcoming the challenges of the small account conundrum ...

Have A Health Mind's Richard Brown, MD Teaches Breath~Body~Mind Class for 9/11 Responders and the Public in Manhattan, NY September 25-26 on Behalf of the Non-Profit Serving Those Who Serve.

2010-09-16
Richard P. Brown, MD, co-author of the award-winning book How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care (WW Norton), and internationally renowned pioneer of CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine), will give a two-day Breath~Body~Mind workshop on Saturday and Sunday, September 25-26, 2010 at SUBUD, 230 W. 29th Street, New York, NY, for the 9/11 community, health professionals, caregivers/healers, and the general public. Assisted by Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, he will teach breath techniques with gentle movement and meditation to help stressed and traumatized ...

The Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula Presents Finishing Touches: A Holiday Tour of Fine Homes and Boutique from Dec. 2-5, 2010

2010-09-16
The Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula will host its third annual fundraiser, Finishing Touches: A Holiday Tour of Fine Homes and Boutique from Dec. 2-5. Sponsors include Emily Joubert, Florabella, Sprinkles, Frette, Tom's Teak Furniture, Tiny Prints, and more. The Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula's membership is comprised of approximately 1,200 local women. Each year, the League contributes more than $400,000 and an estimated 35,000 volunteer hours to our local Peninsula community. This year's tour will include several beautiful homes in the Atherton area ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Community partners key to success of vaccine clinic focused on neurodevelopmental conditions

Low-carbon collaborative dual-layer optimization for energy station considering joint electricity and heat demand response

McMaster University researchers uncover potential treatment for rare genetic disorders

The return of protectionism: The impact of the Sino-US trade war

UTokyo and NARO develop new vertical seed distribution trait for soybean breeding

Research into UK’s use of plastic packaging finds households ‘wishcycle’ rather than recycle – risking vast contamination

Vaccine shows promise against aggressive breast cancer

Adverse events affect over 1 in 3 surgery patients, US study finds

Outsourcing adult social care has contributed to England’s care crisis, argue experts

The Lancet: Over 800 million adults living with diabetes, more than half not receiving treatment, global study suggests

New therapeutic approach for severe COVID-19: faster recovery and reduction in mortality

Plugged wells and reduced injection lower induced earthquake rates in Oklahoma

Yin selected as a 2024 American Society of Agronomy Fellow

Long Covid could cost the economy billions every year

Bluetooth technology unlocks urban animal secrets

This nifty AI tool helps neurosurgeons find sneaky cancer cells

Treatment advances, predictive biomarkers stand to improve bladder cancer care

NYC's ride-hailing fee failed to ease Manhattan traffic, new NYU Tandon study reveals

Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago

Self-reported screening helped reduce distressing symptoms for pediatric patients with cancer

Which risk factors are linked to having a severe stroke?

Opening borders for workers: Abe’s profound influence on Japan’s immigration regime

How skills from hospitality and tourism can propel careers beyond the industry

Research shows managers of firms handling recalls should review media scrutiny before deciding whether to lobby

New model system for the development of potential active substances used in condensate modifying drugs

How to reduce social media stress by leaning in instead of logging off

Pioneering research shows sea life will struggle to survive future global warming

In 10 seconds, an AI model detects cancerous brain tumor often missed during surgery 

Burden of RSV–associated hospitalizations in US adults, October 2016 to September 2023

Repurposing semaglutide and liraglutide for alcohol use disorder

[Press-News.org] A scientific breakthrough could be the first step in a better treatment for leukemia patients
IRCM researchers publish their discovery in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology