Immune System News and Research

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Researchers identify dual role of key player in human immune system

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researchers have identified a new and unusual role for a key player in the human immune system. A protein initially believed to regulate one routine function within the cell has proven vital for another critical step in the activation of the immune system.

30 Jan 2012

HPV transmission via oral sex practices suggests research

A new study suggested that an estimated 7% of American teens and adults carry the human papillomavirus in their mouths. This may help health experts finally understand why rates of mouth and throat cancer have been climbing for nearly 25 years. The evidence additionally makes it clear that oral sex practices play a key role in transmission.

29 Jan 2012

Scientists develop new vaccine to treat cancer at pre-clinical level

Scientists in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, have developed a new vaccine to treat cancer at the pre-clinical level. The research team led by Professor Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin discovered a new approach for treating the disease based on manipulating the immune response to malignant tumours.

27 Jan 2012

Researchers discover new gene linked to MLCRD

Researchers have found a new gene that, when mutated, can lead to lymphoedema (swollen limbs) as part of a rare disorder that can also cause problems with eye and brain development. This is the fourth lymphoedema-related gene found by the same researchers in three years, and the first linked to the eyes and brain. They say it could lead to better diagnosis and treatment for lymphoedema, an area that has been poorly understood previously.

27 Jan 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

Chemicals in packaged food and textiles linked to low immunity in kids: Study

According to researchers children exposed to chemicals from food packaging and textile products may have compromised immune systems. They found kids with more perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, in their blood stream were less likely to respond to routine vaccines.

26 Jan 2012

Seattle Children's receives $5M gift from Ben Towne for pediatric cancer study

Seattle Children's Research Institute today announced a $5 million gift from Ben Towne Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The funding will be used to accelerate the work of Michael Jensen, MD, and his Seattle Children's Research Institute team who are creating new cancer treatments that reprogram a child's immune system to attack and kill cancer cells with the goal of minimizing or even eliminating the need for chemotherapy or radiation.

25 Jan 2012

Sofie to receive U.S. patent for novel PET probes

Sofie Biosciences, Inc., offering a comprehensive range of products from pre-clinical PET imaging systems to new PET molecular imaging probes to better understand human disease, has been told that a U.S. Patent (8,101,740) will be granted by the United States Patent Office on technology that has been exclusively licensed to Sofie. The patent covers a family of novel PET probes, known as [18F]FAC.

25 Jan 2012

Johnson & Johnson fourth quarter sales increase 3.9% to $16.3 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 3.9% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Operational sales increased 4.0% and the negative impact of currency was 0.1%.

24 Jan 2012

Experts comment on successful stem cell therapy for blindness

According to a new study published in The Lancet, privately funded and led by UCLA and Advanced Cell Technology researchers, two women suffering a progressive form of blindness have shown improved vision.

24 Jan 2012

Five scientists named recipients of Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award for cancer research

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that five scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2012 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.

24 Jan 2012

Novo Nordisk Type 1 Diabetes R&D Center to be established in Seattle

Novo Nordisk announced today that the company will establish a type 1 diabetes research and development center in Seattle, Wash., U.S. The new center will combine Novo Nordisk's history of innovation and leadership in diabetes treatment with the company's growing expertise in immunotherapy.

24 Jan 2012

ImmunoCellular initiates enrollment in ICT-107 Phase II trial for GBM in 23 centers

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, provided an update today on clinical trial site activity and patient enrollment for its Phase II clinical trial of ICT-107, the Company's dendritic cell based cancer vaccine candidate targeting multiple tumor antigens for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.

24 Jan 2012

Baxter to commence second GAMMAGARD LIQUID Phase III trial in Alzheimer's

Baxter International Inc. today provided an update on its clinical program evaluating the use of its GAMMAGARD LIQUID 10%, for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

From Baxter International Inc. 24 Jan 2012

Researchers uncover 13 novel genetic loci linked with onset of menopause

An international team of researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine and other institutions has uncovered 13 genetic loci, linked to immune function and DNA repair, that are factors in the age of onset of menopause.

24 Jan 2012

Patient enrollment complete in Enlivex Phase I/II clinical trial for autoimmune diseases

Hadasit Bio-Holdings a publicly traded portfolio of biotech companies, all based on intellectual property developed and owned by Hadassah University Hospital, Israel's foremost medical research center, today announced that the recruitment of 13 patients for the Enlivex Phase I/II clinical trial has been completed.

23 Jan 2012

Researchers discover 13 new regions of genome associated with timing of menopause

An international team of researchers has discovered 13 new regions of the genome associated with the timing of menopause. These genes shed light on the biological pathways involved in reproductive lifespan and will provide insights into conditions connected to menopause, such as breast cancer and heart disease.

23 Jan 2012

Duke team creates vaccine adjuvant of nanoparticles that target lymph nodes

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have created synthetic nanoparticles that target lymph nodes and greatly boost vaccine responses, said lead author Ashley St. John, Ph.D., a researcher at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.

23 Jan 2012

Chronic inflammation combines with DNA methylation to promote development of colorectal cancer

Chronic inflammation combines with DNA methylation, a process that shuts down cancer-fighting genes, to promote development of colorectal cancer, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report today in the advance online publication of the journal Nature Medicine.

23 Jan 2012

FDA allows marketing of Stratify JCV Antibody ELISA test for PML

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed marketing of the first test to help determine the risk for a rare brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in people using the drug Tysabri (natalizumab) to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) or Crohn's disease.

21 Jan 2012