Platelets

The bruises on her son's body seemed to Tori Hensley nothing more than the marks of a rambunctious 5-year-old who often roughhouses with friends and takes frequent spills from his bike. But for Ryan Hensley's kindergarten teacher, the black-and-blue splotches on the boy's arms, legs and back touched off alarm bells signaling a potential medical emergency.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Center Dwight Howard is expected to play for the Lakers on Sunday against Detroit after making a quick trip to Los Angeles for a minor shoulder procedure. "He's going to give it a go," said a person familiar with the situation but unauthorized to comment publicly. Howard missed the Lakers' 111-100 victory Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves so he could return home for a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment in his right shoulder. But will the still-evolving science work?

In the high-stakes race to bring to market a drug that stops the internal bleeding suffered by chemotherapy patients, Amgen Inc. received a major boost Thursday from the publication of a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. The journal reported that MGDF, a genetically engineered hormone created by Amgen, showed positive results in 70% of lung cancer patients tested in a small, early study.

"Scrubs" ABC, Episode: "Our New Girl-Bro" 9 p.m. Jan. 1 The premise Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) is pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, cravings and mood swings while working at Sacred Heart Hospital. In this episode, medical student Lucy Bennett (Kerry Bishé) assists her in taking care of a patient admitted with breathing problems who has developed a low blood platelet count. Elliot believes that the low level of platelets (small cells that help clotting)

Favian Cortina had nervous jitters Monday morning as he sat in the multipurpose room at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley. "I just want to get it over with," he said sheepishly. The high school senior wasn't waiting to take a biology or English exam. He was about to donate a pint of blood. Polytechnic High turned the auditorium into a blood bank for the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center on Monday. Fifteen donor chairs and several interview stations lined the room.

Determining the best filler for your facial needs is challenging, with more than a dozen brand-name options available to consumers. Some fillers are more effective on different areas of the face, and the number of treatments needed depends on the state of the skin. Superficial lines will respond well to one treatment, while deeper wrinkles may require multiple visits. Here is a quick look at six different types: Blood-based What is it: This filler, which goes by the brand name Sephyl, uses the patient's own blood as a filler by centrifuging the blood to collect fibrin (a protein that helps blood clot)

The discovery that an enzyme called thrombin has two different ways to tell blood platelets to form a clot might help researchers develop new therapies for clotting disorders like heart attacks and strokes, researchers from UC San Francisco report in today's issue of the journal Nature. When blood vessels are injured or the flesh is cut, thrombin activates platelets--the little cells that clump together to plug blood vessels.

An Amgen Inc. drug increased the number of platelets -- blood cells needed for clotting -- in patients with an uncommon immune disorder, according to research presented at a medical meeting in San Diego. A larger company-funded study is underway to test AMG 531 in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura, which causes the immune system to destroy platelets, said lead investigator David Kuter of Massachusetts General Hospital. About 20,000 people in the U.S.

Biopool International Inc., a Ventura producer of medical test kits, said it has developed a new test that would pinpoint people at risk for heart attacks and strokes. The test was presented at a research conference in Israel last month, and focuses on blood platelets. Using the new test, researchers mix the antibodies of chickens with human blood platelets for analysis. The results screen out those at high risk of cardiovascular ailments.