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News tagged with anemia

Exercise boosts health by influencing stem cells to become bone, not fat, researchers find

McMaster researchers have found one more reason to exercise: working out triggers influential stem cells to become bone instead of fat, improving overall health by boosting the body's capacity to make blood.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 01, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

A mutation that frustrates DNA repair likely contributes to Fanconi anemia

(PhysOrg.com) -- After more than a century of technological refinements, zippers still get stuck. So do the molecular machines that routinely unzip the double helix of DNA in our cells after billions of years ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 21, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Do we clamp the umbilical cord too soon?

The timing of umbilical cord clamping at birth should be delayed just a few minutes longer, suggest researchers at the University of South Florida's Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created May 24, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Enzyme deficiency protects hepatitis C patients from treatment-related anemia

Many people who undergo treatment for hepatitis C develop hemolytic anemia, a disorder that destroys red blood cells. In some cases, it is so severe they have to reduce their medication or stop therapy altogether. But now, ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 21, 2010 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chemical energy influences tiny vibrations of red blood cell membranes

(PhysOrg.com) -- Much like a tightly wound drum, red blood cells are in perpetual vibration. Those vibrations help the cells maintain their characteristic flattened oval or disc shape, which is critical to ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 0

Two proteins act as molecular tailors in DNA repair

(PhysOrg.com) -- On average, our cells encounter a very lethal form of DNA damage 10 times a day. Lucky for us, we have the capacity to repair each and every one of them. New research now reveals exactly how two well-known ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers identify the gene responsible for a rare form of congenital anemia

The latest electronic edition of the journal Nature Genetics reports the discovery of a new gene responsible for congenital sideroblastic anemia, a rare disease, mainly characterized by the presence of ringed sideroblasts in the ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created May 08, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Simulated gene therapy

In a recent issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics, published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Los Alamos National Laboratory describe the fi ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 29, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Cellular discovery may lead to targeted treatment for rare form of anemia

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have identified the specific biological mechanisms believed to lead to a rare and incurable blood disease known as Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA). Scientists say with further investigation, ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Chemists unlock potential target for drug development

A receptor found on blood platelets whose importance as a potential pharmaceutical target has long been questioned may in fact be fruitful in drug testing, according to new research from Michigan State University ...

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Fish flu: genetics approach may lead to treatment

(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has provided the first look at a genetic structure that may play a critical role in the reproduction of the infectious ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 09, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Using math and light to detect misshapen red blood cells

Misshapen red blood cells (RBCs) are a sign of serious illnesses, such as malaria and sickle cell anemia. Until recently, the only way to assess whether a person's RBCs were the correct shape was to look at ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Oct 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Too many blood transfusions? New standards urged

(AP) -- Check into the hospital and you may get a blood transfusion you didn't really need.

Medicine & Health / Other

created Jun 27, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

FDA recommends lower doses of anemia drugs

(AP) -- Food and Drug Administration officials say doctors should use lower doses of anemia drugs when treating patients with failing kidneys due to the increased risk of stroke, blood clots and death.

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Jun 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Inadequate diet can lead to anemia in postmenopausal women

A new study published in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association indicates that inadequate nutrition is linked to a greater risk of anemia in postmenopausal women.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Mar 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Anemia

Anemia (pronounced /əˈniːmiə/, also spelled anaemia or anæmia; from Ancient Greek ἀναιμία anaimia, meaning "lack of blood") is a decrease in normal number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin deficiency.

Since hemoglobin (found inside RBCs) normally carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, anemia leads to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in organs. Since all human cells depend on oxygen for survival, varying degrees of anemia can have a wide range of clinical consequences.

The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely such as a hemorrhage or chronically through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction (hemolysis) or deficient red blood cell production (ineffective hematopoiesis).

Anemia is the most common disorder of the blood. There are several kinds of anemia, produced by a variety of underlying causes. Anemia can be classified in a variety of ways, based on the morphology of RBCs, underlying etiologic mechanisms, and discernible clinical spectra, to mention a few.

There are two major approaches: the "kinetic" approach which involves evaluating production, destruction and loss, and the "morphologic" approach which groups anemia by red blood cell size. The morphologic approach uses a quickly available and cheap lab test as its starting point (the MCV). On the other hand, focusing early on the question of production may allow the clinician more rapidly to expose cases where multiple causes of anemia coexist.

For more information about Anemia, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.