Blog | HemaCare

Lipotransfers are ideal for restorative surgery, but retention is a problem. HemaCare provided the platelets for a study examining just how platelet-rich plasma helps make the fat stick around.

In this age of crash diets and liposuction, it might sound surprising that some people receive fat transplants. But seriously, fat grafting is widely used and valued as a feasible method for addressing moderate defects caused by injuries, surgical removal of tumors, and congenital deficiencies. Fat grafting is safe and has the look and feel of normal soft tissue. However, long-term volume retention is suboptimal (30-70%), often requiring multiple surgeries.

GERD doesn't just involve the surface of the stomach. Thanks in part to PBMC supplied by HemaCare, researchers literally looked deeper.

Scientists have developed a method to track transplanted stem cells in the brain

Stem cell therapies have emerged as promising therapeutic options for treating many degenerative diseases including neurodegenerative diseases. The neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the progressive degeneration of neurons. Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease are the most prevalent examples of neurodegenerative disorders. A variety of stem cells, including pluripotent embryonic stem cells, multipotent adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been utilized as therapeutic agents to treat many neurological disorders.

Scientists reprogrammed human pancreatic cancer cells to quiescent acinar like cells

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a fatal malignancy and one of the most difficult human cancers to treat. Medical science has made great strides in the early diagnosis and treatment of many other type of cancers such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. However, the prognosis of pancreatic cancer remains an elusive clinical challenge largely because of the difficulty of making an early diagnosis. Patients with pancreatic cancer typically develop very few symptoms in the early stage, which could easily mislead physicians. The lethal nature of this cancer makes it the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with a median survival of less than 6 months and a dismal 5-years survival rate of 3%–5%. So far, no curative treatments are available to treat advanced stages of this disease. Surgery offers only a minimal chance to cure pancreatic cancer; however, less than 20% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are considered for surgical resection. Chemoradiotherapy and radiation have shown some success in reducing tumor growth and prolonging patients' life spans, but the beneficial effects of these treatments are limited in long run.

Researchers use novel technology that skips the RNA isolation step. Whole blood provided by HemaCare was important in demonstrating the approach.