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In the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), glucocorticoids and IVIg are considered the primary therapeutic options. Typically, clinicians opt for either of these treatments when addressing ITP cases. A new study used a multicenter comprehensive retrospective analysis to assess the effectiveness and safety of primary single-agent and combination therapies in treating adult patients with relapsed immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). It represents the first attempt to compare the effectiveness of three treatment modalities (IVIg, glucocorticoids, or a combination of both) in enhancing platelet counts among adult relapsed ITP patients. Professor Zhang Lei said, "Our study unveiled a remarkable finding: the combination therapy...

A study has identified a previously unknown genetic link between platelets and Parkinson's Disease. The study analyzed data from large-scale genetic studies to improve understanding of cause and effect relationships between blood measures and common neurological and psychiatric disorders. Lead author Dr. Yang said the research came about following reports of associations between a range of different blood measures and risk of stroke, multiple sclerosis and depression. "These results sparked interest in developing blood-based biomarkers for common brain disorders, but it was unclear whether there was a genetic basis to these relationships," Dr. Yang said. "Our study identified a broad...

"I want to wait and watch."This is a peculiar response I receive from my friends and some family members in the United States when I ask them about their thoughts on COVID-19 vaccination. This is a peculiar response for a couple of reasons: COVID-19 vaccines are exceptionally effective, are now readily available and are the best way to end the pandemic and return to normalcy.This skeptical response is reflective of broader trends in the United States: An NPR/Marist poll this spring revealed that up to one-fourth of the national population would decline to get vaccinated even when offered.This is also...

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...

8/24/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- The pint-sized bags of cloudy, yellow liquid may not look like much, but the fluid inside them has proved to be a lifesaving substance to injured servicemembers. "Platelets heal. I've seen it firsthand," said Lt. Col. Thomas Jordan, the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron platelet aphaeresis chief. "I was here in 2006 when we first brought platelets into modern warfare by using them (at Joint Base Balad)," Colonel Jordan said. "We noticed an increase in the survival rate compared to when we were using whole blood. They serve as the main factor...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 31, 2006) -- Representatives from the Blood Donor Center at Naval Medical Center San Diego are scheduled to make an appearance at the depot’s safety fair for an annual blood drive April 6. Every weekend, NMCSD gathers blood from recruits in training, but only receives blood from permanent personnel quarterly. Due to the war on terrorism, blood is in high demand and necessary for hospitals in war zones. Beyond the need for blood is the need for blood platelets. Blood can be broken down into three parts: plasma, cells and platelets. While the...

My best friend Rick just called and asked "Are you still on that prayer list thing?" Of course, I told him yes, and he passed along an urgent prayer request. His brother-in-law, Junior, has been fighting cancer for the past year and a half - he's put up a good fight, been in and out of remission, but today, there was a setback. Junior's platelet count was down to twelve. Rick advised me that the regular count is up around one hundred or so (I'm not a physician, so I'm not certain), but the count was definitely twelve. They performed...

ATLANTA, Feb. 24 (Reuters) - Americans who receive blood platelet transfusions are probably at a higher risk of contracting potentially deadly bacterial infections than previously believed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report published Thursday. Doctors are often unaware of the threat, the agency reported, citing a survey of infectious-disease experts last year and a subsequent investigation into two transfusion-related deaths. Platelets are irregularly shaped, colorless bodies that are important for clotting. Unlike other blood products, they must be stored at room temperature, making them vulnerable hosts to bacteria found on human skin and in blood....

More than 20 million Americans take aspirin regularly to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. But new evidence suggests that for many of them, the pills do little if any good. Recent studies have found that anywhere from 5 percent to more than 40 percent of aspirin users are "nonresponsive" or "resistant" to the medicine. That means that aspirin does not inhibit their blood from clotting, as it is supposed to. "They are taking it for stroke and heart attack prevention, and it's not going to work," said Dr. Daniel I. Simon, the associate director of interventional cardiology at Brigham...