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Change in clinical practice would have clear benefits for patients undergoing major bowel surgery, according to analysis. The study provides evidence that giving iron intravenously before colorectal surgery improves outcomes for patients, reducing the need for blood transfusion by 33%. Anemia is a common problem in patients undergoing bowel surgery due to bleeding from the gut and blood loss during the operation. Anemia is also associated with feeling tired and unwell, a slower recovery and other complications after surgery. Blood transfusion is used when blood levels are low, but there has been concern that colorectal cancer patients may have higher...

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is associated with anemia or iron deficiency among children, according to a study. Vasile Valeriu Lupu, Ph.D. and colleagues examined the presence of anemia as a result of pediatric GERD in 172 children. The researchers found that 23 of the patients with GERD also had anemia, showing a moderate, significant correlation (r = −0.35). Cases with GERD also had significantly lower levels of serum iron (F = 8.46). "GERD is accompanied by a degree of iron deficiency that opens the way to iron deficiency anemia. Considering the fact that anemia can be one of the signs...

Two proteins ensure that cells can take up iron when needed. If both control proteins are switched off in mice, the animals develop severe anemia, as expected. At the same time, surprisingly, a cell type of the innate immune defense, the neutrophils, also dramatically decreases. Iron deficiency, a known defense mechanism against infectious pathogens, is a double edged sword, as it simultaneously curbs the defensive power of an important arm of the innate immune system. "This strong iron dependence of neutrophils was previously unknown. It possibly affects the immune defense against bacterial pathogens," says Bruno Galy. Interestingly, on the other...

A world-first study has revealed how space travel can cause lower red blood cell counts, known as space anemia. Analysis of 14 astronauts showed their bodies destroyed 54 percent more red blood cells in space than they normally would on Earth, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. Before this study, space anemia was thought to be a quick adaptation to fluids shifting into the astronaut's upper body when they first arrived in space. Astronauts lose 10 percent of the liquid in their blood vessels this way. It was thought astronauts rapidly destroyed 10 percent of their red blood...

After being anesthetized and undergoing major surgery, up to one in five patients have increased levels of the protein troponin in their blood. This can be a sign of heart damage. Researchers have analyzed data from before and after the operations of 1,300 patients. The study was focused on leakage of the protein troponin to the blood. This is a biomarker found in blood samples from patients with cardiac muscle damage. This kind of damage is, in turn, associated with cardiovascular disease or heart attacks—Major Adverse Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events (MACCE). An increase in troponin is also common in patients...

VITAMIN B12 deficiency produces a number of eerie effects on the body and the type of symptoms you may experience depend on the underlying cause. One common warning sign associated with B12 deficiency caused by pernicious anaemia is a particular sound. Vitamin B12's impact on the body is brought into sharp relief if you become deficient in the vitamin. Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. If the body does not get enough of the vitamin, it therefore responds in disturbing ways....

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting hospitals, laboratories and providers of a Class 1 recall of Beckman Coulter DxH 800, DxH 600 and DxH 900 hematology analyzers—devices that run blood tests to help providers diagnose diseases and conditions such as anemia (low red blood cell or hemoglobin count), infections, blood clotting problems, blood cancers and immune system disorders. This is an update to an urgent medical device correction letter first issued by the company in 2018, after the company received complaints of inaccurate blood platelet counts. Hematology analyzers run diagnostic tests that count the number of different types...

The rapper Prodigy, from the hip hop group Mobb Deep, died today at age 42 while on tour in Las Vegas, according to TMZ. Although his exact cause of death has not been confirmed, his publicist announced that Prodigy, whose reeal name is Albert Johnson, was hospitalized a few days ago for complications caused by sickle cell anemia. Here are some possible life-threatening complications caused by this blood condition. “Prodigy was hospitalized a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis. As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled...

Should we be moving towards a plant-based diet for our bodies and our consciences? It's a hotly contested issue and often an incredibly personal one. For some, it's a resounding 'yes' and many are working to reduce their animal intake – approaching Meat-free Monday with gusto. But now experts are warning that women could be putting themselves at risk of anaemia (iron deficiency) by shunning red meat. More than a quarter of women (27%) aged 19 to 64 don't get enough iron, according to the government's latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey. One in four people surveyed reported they have...

The spry supercentenarian was born on November 29, 1899, making her the only person whose life has touched three centuries. In a 2015 interview with the New York Times, Morano shared that she attributes her long life to eating three raw eggs a day — she has since gone down to two eggs a day — since she was in her teens (a doctor recommended it for anemia...)

Hey all, September's been a difficult month. I lost my Gus on the 6th, almost 14. Had been nursing him through since December, last few months were pretty busy taking care of him. Anyway, his roomie Dex had been of food/water and I took him in and he's anemic. They sent the blood away to determine if the anemia is due to something acute, like internal bleed/ulcer , or more chronic anemia, like kidney/liver/bone marrow kind of issue. He's also a "senior" animal so all i really ask is that we can find out what the cause is so we...

Obesity-related diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome are triggered by a lack of oxygen in adipose cells, according to a study led by UC San Diego researchers. An excess of fatty acids causes an increase in oxygen consumption, which outstrips the supply, triggering hypoxia, the study found. This leads to inflammation in the adipose cells, which in turn leads to insulin resistance, obesity and related diseases. And that's the short version. The full chain of events is even more complicated. The study, performed in mice, points to possible therapies in people, said researchers led by Dr. Jerrold...

News tips from the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, April 30-May 3, Denver, Colo.Pediatricians from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere have discovered a link between low levels of vitamin D and anemia in children. The findings, presented on May 1 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Denver, Colo., show that vitamin D deficiency may play an important role in anemia. Anemia, which occurs when the body has too few oxygen-carrying red blood cells, is diagnosed and tracked by measuring hemoglobin levels. Symptoms of mild anemia include fatigue, lightheadedness and low energy. Severe...

Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers have discovered that routine blood tests can provide an early warning for colorectal cancer. Anemia, a common blood disorder characterized by low hemoglobin levels, has long been associated with those suffering from colorectal cancer. It doesn't happen suddenly, however - and Tel Aviv University researchers say they have found that gradually decreasing hemoglobin levels can actually indicate a potential for colon cancer years in advance. Graduate student Inbal Goldshtein, who works with Dr. Gabriel Chodick and Dr. Varda Shalev of TAU's School of Public Health and Maccabi Healthcare Services' Department of Medical Informatics, says that...

Promising results in mice could prevent fatal iron buildup in humansJanuary 26, 2010 – (BRONX, NY) – A new study shows that a protein found in blood alleviates anemia, a condition in which the body's tissues don't get enough oxygen from the blood. In this animal study, injections of the protein, known as transferrin, also protected against potentially fatal iron overload in mice with thalassemia, a type of inherited anemia that affects millions of people worldwide. Implications of the study, published in the January 24 online edition of Nature Medicine, could extend well beyond thalassemia to include other types of...

Widely used anemia drugs sold by Amgen and Johnson & Johnson raise the risk of death among cancer patients by about 10 percent, according to a new analysis of previous clinical trials that is to be published Wednesday. The study is the first compilation of clinical trial data — called a meta-analysis — to show a statistically significant increase in the risk of death from the drugs, said Dr. Charles L. Bennett, a professor at Northwestern University and its lead author. The Food and Drug Administration is planning to convene an advisory committee on March 13 to discuss whether to...

With increasing frequency, American citizens and others from around the globe are experiencing newfound freedom from disease, affliction, and infirmity. Individuals' lives are forever changed with the strengthened faith and renewed hope that arise from healed bodies and physical restoration. These seemingly miraculous cures are the result of adult stem cell treatments. Yet the debates in the popular media tend to ignore and obscure the medical breakthroughs made by adult stem cell research--success that has conspicuously eluded embryonic stem cell treatments.[1]  Adult stem cells (or, more accurately, tissue stem cells) are regenerative cells of the human body that possess the...

Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®), the world’s largest and most experienced cord blood stem cell bank, today announced that it has released a total of five stem cell samples in the first quarter of the year for transplant or infusion. Three of the cases are individuals who will require their own cord blood stem cells for autologous infusions for cerebral palsy, type I diabetes, and a rare autoimmune disorder related to autism. The additional two samples were released for use by a sibling in each family: one to treat acute myeloid leukemia and the other to treat a serious blood disease,...

Two of the world’s largest drug companies are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to doctors every year in return for giving their patients anemia medicines, which regulators now say may be unsafe at commonly used doses. The payments are legal, but very few people outside of the doctors who receive them are aware of their size. Critics, including prominent cancer and kidney doctors, say the payments give physicians an incentive to prescribe the medicines at levels that might increase patients’ risks of heart attacks or strokes. Industry analysts estimate that such payments — to cancer doctors and the other...

An expert panel of doctors for the National Kidney Foundation plans to assess whether hundreds of thousands of patients with kidney disease are being dangerously overtreated with drugs for anemia. The decision to convene the panel comes two weeks after studies in The New England Journal of Medicine suggested that kidney patients whose anemia was more aggressively treated were more likely to die or suffer heart problems than those who were allowed to remain more anemic. As a result, the panel, which will meet early next year, may recommend less aggressive treatment of anemia, potentially hurting sales for Amgen and...