Hematology Times
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Related IssuesSP may be useful in battle against malaria
Anopheles albimanus mosquito
Credit: James Gathany Provider: CDC Researchers from the University of Bamako in Mali believe sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) may be a promising way to treat malaria in infants and children without causing widespread resistance. Health officials in the developing world do not recommend SP for widespread use because they believe the drug may help accelerate and expand parasite resistance. Two studies, featured in the August issue of the International Journal for Parasitology, present evidence that previous beliefs regarding the evolution of SP resistance may not hold true. ... [Read Article] Sanofi-aventis files lawsuit against FDA for approval
The generic version of the low-molecular-weight heparin drug, enoxaparin, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, July 23. Sanofi-aventis, the company that manufactures brand name low-molecular-weight heparin, has filed a lawsuit against the FDA, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, and Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Secretary, claiming they improperly approved generic enoxaparin. At the moment, there are no restrictions on the generic product. ... [Read Article] Gene therapy for SCID associated with leukemia risk
 Long-term follow-up of 9 patients with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID-Xl) who underwent gene therapy shows that the gene therapy corrected the immunodeficiency responsible for the disease. However, the research team also found that the treatment confers an increased risk of acute leukemia. Salima Hacein-Bey-Abina, PharmD, PhD, from the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris, and colleagues reported the results in the July 22 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. ... [Read Article] Antibiotics build malaria immunity in mice
Anopheles albimanus mosquito
Credit: James Gathany Provider: CDC Prophylactic use of clindamycin or azithromycin in mice was found to protect against malaria infection as well as provide long-term immunity against the disease. Malaria sporozoites were injected into the blood of the mice. The antibiotics did not slow the maturation of the parasites to merozoites in liver cells, but they did prevent the infection of red corpuscles in the blood. However, the accumulation of parasites prompted the immune system to develop long-term immunity. ... [Read Article] Rituximab effective in treating vasculitus
John Stone, MD, MPH
A study of 197 patients with severe Wegener’s granulomatosis or microscopic polyangiitis found that those treated with rituximab faired as well as those treated with cyclophosphamide. Rituximab, currently approved to treat some B-cell lymphomas, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and rheumatoid arthritis, was found to induce more remissions and cause less serious side effects in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis than cyclophosphamide. The study was published in the July 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. ... [Read Article] |
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