Aristoteles Giagounidis, MD, is Head of the Hematology/Oncology Clinical Research Clinical Research: A type of research that involves individual persons or a group of people. There are three types of clinical research. Patient-oriented research includes clinical trials which test how a drug, medical device, or treatment approach works in people. Epidemiology or behavioral studies look at the… Unit at St. John’s Hospital in Duisburg, Germany. St. John’s Hospital is a teaching hospital of the University of Düsseldorf and Center of Excellence of the International Myelodysplastic Syndromes Myelodysplastic Syndromes: (my-eh-lo-diss-PLASS-tik SIN-dromez) A group of disorders where the bone marrow does not work well, and the bone marrow cells fail to make enough healthy blood cells. Myelo refers to the bone marrow. Dysplastic means abnormal growth or development. People with MDS have low blood cell count for at… Foundation. The center is renowned for its broad spectrum of hematology and oncology care and has a busy Clinical Research Unit. During recent years, St. John’s Hematology Department has been involved in Phase I-III studies of several ground breaking, new therapeutic approaches. These include lenalidomide lenalidomide: Lenalidomide is a capsule that is taken by mouth. It is approved for treating low-risk, transfusion-dependent myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with an abnormality of chromosome 5q. It is currently in clinical trials to test its efficacy with a broader range of MDS patients. For some MDS… and azacitidine azacitidine: It works by reducing the amount of methylation in the body. Methylation is a process that acts like a switch to turn off or “silence” genes in certain cells. When these genes (called tumor suppressor genes) are turned off, MDS cells and cancer cells can grow freely. Azacitidine is approved by the U… in myelodysplastic syndromes, deferasirox deferasirox: It comes in a tablet form which is dissolved in juice or water and taken by mouth. Iron build-up can occur in patients who get a lot of red blood cell transfusions. Deferasirox binds with the iron in the body and is removed by the kidneys. Bone marrow failure disease patients are at risk for… in iron overload iron overload: A condition that occurs when too much iron accumulates in the body. Bone marrow failure disease patients who need regular red blood cell transfusions are at risk for iron overload. Organ damage can occur if iron overload is not treated. , eltrombopag eltrombopag: What are the possible side effects of eltrombopag (Promacta)? Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop using eltrombopag and call your doctor at once if you have: … , romiplostim romiplostim: Romiplostim is in a class of medications called thrombopoietin receptor agonists. It works by causing the cells in the bone marrow to produce more platelets. Romiplostim injection is used to increase the number of platelets enough to lower the risk of bleeding, but it is not used to increase the… , and rituximab in idiopathic idiopathic: Usually refers to any condition with no known cause. thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and others.
After earning his medical degree in 1992 from Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen, Germany, Dr. Giagounidis was house officer at the Withybush General Hospital in Haverfordwest, Wales, UK, and at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, UK. He then served as a resident physician at the Hematology/Oncology Department of Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, where he became board certified in 1999. Due to his special expertise in hematological cytology, he later became the central reviewer of the German MDS Study Group. Dr Giagounidis’ research efforts have focused on myelodysplastic syndromes and on idiopathic thromobocytopenic purpura. His clinical practice focuses on hematological malignancies, including acute and chronic leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative disorders, lymphomas, and plasmacytomas. Since August 2008, he is an associate professor of medicine at St. John’s Hospital in Duisburg, Germany. A frequently invited speaker, Dr Giagounidis has delivered numerous lectures at local, national, and international conferences and symposia. A reviewer for several scientific journals, he has authored and co-authored various book chapters and numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, Leukemia, PNAS, Ann Hematol, and Haematology.