Autoimmune Disease News and Research

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

MS may progress from outermost layers of brain to its deep parts

Multiple sclerosis (MS) may progress from the outermost layers of the brain to its deep parts, and isn't always an "inside-out" process as previously thought, reported a new collaborative study from researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic.

8 Dec 2011

Biogen, Samsung partner to develop and market biosimilars

Samsung and Biogen Idec today announced that they have entered into an agreement to invest $300 million to establish a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market biosimilars. Samsung will take a leading role in the joint venture, with Biogen Idec contributing its expertise in protein engineering and biologics manufacturing.

5 Dec 2011

Researchers identify critical steps leading to myelin destruction in neuromyelitis optica

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified critical steps leading to myelin destruction in neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a debilitating neurological disease that is commonly misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings could lead to better care for the thousands of patients around the world with NMO. The paper was published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

3 Dec 2011

Northwestern researchers receive NIAMSD grant to study scleroderma

Northwestern Medicine researchers have received two five-year grants totaling $953,000 from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to study scleroderma, an autoimmune disease for which there currently is no cure.

2 Dec 2011

Idera receives FDA notification to proceed with IMO-3100 Phase 2 clinical trial for psoriasis

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the receipt of verbal notification from the Food and Drug Administration that the company may proceed with a Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis based on a trial protocol submitted by the company in October 2011.

2 Dec 2011

Immune system stimulant used as suppressor to treat chronic graft-versus-host disease

In a study that seems to pivot on a paradox, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have used an immune system stimulant as an immune system suppressor to treat a common, often debilitating side effect of donor stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The effect, in some cases, was profound.

1 Dec 2011

arGEN-X closes EUR 27.5 million Series B fundraising round

arGEN-X, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies from its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform, announced today the closing of a EUR 27.5 million (USD 37 million) Series B fundraising round, which was oversubscribed.

1 Dec 2011

Potential test to diagnose membranous nephropathy in early stages

Research conducted by a pair of physicians at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) has led to the development of a test that can help diagnose membranous nephropathy in its early stages.

1 Dec 2011

Oral ingestion of apple polyphenols can prevent colitis in mice

Here's another reason why "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"-according to new research findings published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, oral ingestion of apple polyphenols can suppress T cell activation to prevent colitis in mice.

1 Dec 2011

FDA clears Abbott's new ARCHITECT 25-OH Vitamin D assay

Abbott announced today it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a fully-automated 25-OH Vitamin D assay performed on its widely used ARCHITECT laboratory testing platform.

30 Nov 2011

Counterparts of memory cells ward off microbial foes

The immune system possesses a type of cell that can be activated by tissues within the body to remind the immune system not to attack our own molecules, cells and organs, UCSF researchers have discovered.

29 Nov 2011

Most autoimmune diseases associated with increased risk of blood clots on the lung

Autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system attacks the body, are fairly common. Thyroid diseases, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease are some examples. Autoimmune diseases are associated with increased inflammation in the tissue, which in some cases is linked to an increased propensity to develop clots in the veins.

29 Nov 2011

Chloroquine-chemotherapy combination holds potential for metastatic breast cancer treatment

An anti-malaria drug used for more than 60 years is now being studied for use in breast cancer patients whose disease has not responded to traditional chemotherapy treatment.

18 Nov 2011

ACR special issue focuses on assessing adult pain

Assessment of patient outcomes allows physicians and researchers to measure the success or failure of diagnostics and treatments that patients receive. One set of measurement tools focuses on assessing adult pain and is included in a special issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), providing physicians and researchers with a single resource of 250 patient outcomes measurements in rheumatology.

17 Nov 2011

Inflammatory arthritis or autoimmune disease ruled out as cause for joint pain associated with AIs

Researchers exploring why some women who take a common breast cancer drug develop serious joint pain have eliminated two possible causes: inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disease.

11 Nov 2011

Idera third quarter net loss increases to $5.5 million

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. Idera is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

9 Nov 2011

Native Americans, Hispanics and Asians have higher incidence of lupus

In an abstract being presented today during the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, Dr. S. Sam Lim of Emory University School of Medicine will present data showing that black women have a significantly higher incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus than most reports in the scientific literature.

9 Nov 2011

Five-year results from Abbott's HUMIRA ATLAS study on ankylosing spondylitis

Abbott today announced five-year results from the open-label extension of the ATLAS study, which evaluated the long-term impact of treatment with HUMIRA (adalimumab) on disease activity, including spinal mobility in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis.

8 Nov 2011

Low-grade inflammatory processes drive development of osteoarthritis

In a study to be published online Nov. 6 in Nature Medicine, investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that the development of osteoarthritis is in great part driven by low-grade inflammatory processes.

8 Nov 2011

Patients with lupus nephritis ESRD choose hemodialysis as initial therapy

Newly published research shows that more patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) caused by lupus nephritis choose hemodialysis as their initial kidney replacement therapy over peritoneal dialysis and preemptive kidney transplantation.

7 Nov 2011