Autoimmune Disease News and Research

RSS

Autoimmune Disease is a condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.

LFA announces new grants for critical areas of lupus research

Today, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) announced new research grants awarded to fund critical areas of research where gaps exist in the understanding and knowledge of lupus including: pediatric lupus, cutaneous (skin) lupus, mid-to-late stage translational research, adult stem cells, and neuropsychiatric lupus, which affects the brain and nervous system.

9 Feb 2012

Celgene signs definitive merger agreement to acquire Avila

Celgene Corporation and Avila Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing targeted covalent drugs that treat diseases through protein silencing, today announced a definitive merger agreement under which Celgene Corporation will acquire Avila Therapeutics, Inc.

26 Jan 2012

New consensus guidelines for treatment of plaque psoriasis

To assist the millions of Americans living with psoriasis, the most common autoimmune disease in the country, the National Psoriasis Foundation published the most recent guidelines in the United States for the management of plaque psoriasis—the most prevalent form of the disease, affecting roughly 80 percent of people with psoriasis.

26 Jan 2012

Multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya under investigation by FDA and EMA

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) are looking at the pros and cons of using Gilenya (fingolimod) in treating the neurological autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

23 Jan 2012

NIEHS study: 32M people in the U.S. have autoantibodies

A recent study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), shows that 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, the most common of which are antinuclear antibodies.

19 Jan 2012

Patients with PsA may benefit from new medications and surgeries

Medications or biologic agents that target T-cells, white blood cells involved in the body's immune system, appear to offer significant benefit to patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a type of arthritis that affects up to 48 percent of patients with the skin disease psoriasis, according to a new review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

19 Jan 2012

Nurse donates kidney to patient

A nurse offered to donate her own kidney to a 23-year-old patient. Allison Batson spent two years on the transplant floor of Emory University Hospital before her encounter with Clay Taber, a recent Auburn University graduate who fell sick one day after his 22nd birthday. He was diagnosed with kidney failure. The Auburn University graduate was diagnosed with Goodpasture's syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that can result in severe damage to the kidneys and lungs.

17 Jan 2012

Researchers discover HS1.2 enhancer as the cause of SLE

A "genetic accelerator" is responsible for the most severe cases of Lupus (systemic lupus erythemathosus), an autoimmune disease: the accelerator, called enhancer HS1.2, speeds up the activity of some critical genes of the immune system involved in the disease.

17 Jan 2012

New laboratory approach could aid brain recovery

In humans, active periods of the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can last for mere minutes or extend to weeks at a time. They're caused by lesions in the brain that develop, partly heal, and then recur. Research into a cure has been difficult, because to date scientists have not been able to replicate these brain recurring symptoms in laboratory mice. That's frustrating because these lab animals, known as animal "models," are the primary tool for research into the mechanisms and potential treatments for MS.

6 Jan 2012

Synthetic drugs treat Crohn's disease in mice

A team of Weizmann Institute scientists has turned the tables on an autoimmune disease. In such diseases, including Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's tissues. But the scientists managed to trick the immune systems of mice into targeting one of the body's players in autoimmune processes, an enzyme known as MMP9.

26 Dec 2011

LRI praises U.S. Congress for legislation that addresses early lupus detection and treatment

A top legislative priority of the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) -- funding for a nationwide lupus education effort for healthcare providers -- is included in the Fiscal 2012 omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 2055) signed into law today by President Obama after passing in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

26 Dec 2011

Faulty lipid metabolism may cause MS, says forensic anthropologist

An article to be published in the December 2011 issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology argues that multiple sclerosis, long viewed as primarily an autoimmune disease, is not actually a disease of the immune system.

23 Dec 2011

Momenta, Baxter partner to develop and commercialize biosimilars

Baxter International Inc. and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a global collaboration to develop and commercialize follow-on biologic products, also known as biosimilars.

From Baxter International Inc. 23 Dec 2011

UCB initiates EXXELERATE study in rheumatoid arthritis

UCB today announced the start of the EXXELERATE study which will evaluate the short- and long-term efficacy of Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) plus methotrexate (MTX) compared with that of Humira(adalimumab) plus MTX in the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The start of this study confirms previously announced plans.

21 Dec 2011

FDA accepts Pfizer's tofacitinib NDA for review

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the New Drug Application (NDA) for tofacitinib (development code CP-690,550), an investigational novel, oral JAK inhibitor being studied for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis.

21 Dec 2011

arGEN-X to advance SIMPLE Antibody platform for treatment of autoimmune disorders

arGEN-X, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies from its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform, announced today it has received a grant of €1.3 million to further advance its powerful discovery platform for addressing challenging disease targets.

19 Dec 2011

LFA praises Congress for vital lupus funding in Fiscal Year 2012 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) applauds Congress for including vital lupus funding in the Fiscal Year 2012 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which passed today, Saturday, December 17.

19 Dec 2011

JDRF initiates enrollment in metformin clinical study for type 1 diabetes

JDRF-funded researchers have begun enrolling adult patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the REMOVAL study, to test whether metformin-a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes-could help prevent or reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in people with T1D.

14 Dec 2011

Scientists discover how intestinal tract influences B cells to prevent infection

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found an explanation for how the intestinal tract influences a key component of the immune system to prevent infection, offering a potential clue to the cause of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

13 Dec 2011

Breakthroughs in hematopoietic cell transplantation to be presented at 53rd ASH meeting

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), the transplantation of blood-forming stem cells from the bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, is the primary option for treatment for many patients who suffer from various hematologic disorders, including blood cancers, sickle cell disease, bone marrow deficiencies, bleeding disorders, and autoimmune disorders. Research investigating breakthroughs in hematopoietic cell transplantation will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

12 Dec 2011