Immune System News and Research

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Tamiflu resistant flu on the rise: Study

According to World Health Organization researchers there is a rise in Australia in the number of seasonal influenza cases resistant to Tamiflu, the most commonly used antiviral drug. The rise in such cases involving the pandemic 2009 A (H1N1) flu strain, also known as swine flu, took place during Australia's most recent winter: May through August of 2011.

2 Jan 2012

Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 gets US approval for adults

Health authorities of United States have approved the expansion of Pfizer Inc's Prevnar vaccine for use in adults 50 and older to fight pneumonia, meningitis and other diseases cause by pneumococcus bacteria. The vaccine, which had been approved for children in the United States, is already one of Pfizer's biggest brands and an expanded population of adults could generate more than $1.5 billion in annual sales.

2 Jan 2012

FDA approves Prevnar 13 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for adults 50 and older

Prevnar 13, a pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine, was approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people ages 50 years and older to prevent pneumonia and invasive disease caused by the bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae.

31 Dec 2011

FDA approves Pfizer's Prevnar 13 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine as a single dose for adults

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of the Company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) as a single dose for use in adults.

31 Dec 2011

Prion protein uptake associated with development of Scrapie disease

Scrapie is a neurodegenerative disease which can function as a model for other diseases caused by an accumulation of proteins resulting in tissue malformations (proteinpathies), such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

30 Dec 2011

Critical considerations for adenovirus-based HIV vaccine trials

A clinical trial testing a candidate HIV vaccine known as the STEP study was halted in September 2007 after interim analysis indicated that the vaccine did not work. Moreover, subsequent analyses indicated that the vaccine made some individuals more susceptible to HIV, in particular individuals who had pre-existing immune effectors (antibodies) that recognized a component of the vaccine (adenovirus serotype 5 [Ad5]).

28 Dec 2011

New approach may prevent septic shock

Researchers of VIB and UGent have discovered a new approach to preventing septic shock, an often fatal extreme inflammatory reaction of the body. It is the most frequent cause of death at intensive care departments in hospitals.

28 Dec 2011

Researchers warn food allergy blood tests should never be used as standalone diagnostics

An advisory from two leading allergists, Robert Wood of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Scott Sicherer of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, urges clinicians to use caution when ordering allergy tests and to avoid making a diagnosis based solely on test results.

26 Dec 2011

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

Researchers discover that neutrophils exist in the spleen

For the first time, it has been discovered that neutrophils exist in the spleen without there being an infection.

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

Neuroscientists discover gene responsible for HDLS

A global team of neuroscientists, led by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, have found the gene responsible for a brain disorder that may be much more common than once believed. In the Dec. 25 online issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers say they identified 14 different mutations in the gene CSF1R that lead to development of hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids.

26 Dec 2011

Potential new strategy against bacteria with multi-drug resistant organisms

Vaccines with broader reach might be made by stimulating specialized immune cells to recognize foreign cell membrane proteins that are shared across bacterial species, say researchers from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a report published online today in Immunity.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers present results from 31 major studies of blood-related cancers at ASH 2011 meeting

Researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the nation's top 50 best hospitals for cancer, presented results from 31 major studies of blood-related cancers - leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma -- during the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego.

23 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

ViroPharma to acquire Meritage

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that it has entered into an exclusive option to acquire Meritage Pharma, Inc., a private company based in San Diego, CA focused on developing oral budesonide suspension (OBS) as a treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic inflammatory disorder of the esophagus.

23 Dec 2011

Large-intestine bacteria may help prevent obesity

Bacteria living in people's large intestine may slow down the activity of the "good" kind of fat tissue, a special fat that quickly burns calories and may help prevent obesity, scientists are reporting in a new study.

22 Dec 2011

Study examines prevalence of Fusarium in bathroom sink drains

A study examining the prevalence of the fungus Fusarium in bathroom sink drains suggests that plumbing systems may be a common source of human infections.

22 Dec 2011

FLT-PET imaging can effectively detect mantle cell lymphoma

Positron emission tomography (PET) and a molecular imaging agent that captures the proliferation of cancer cells could prove to be a valuable method for imaging a form of Non-Hodgkin's disease called mantle cell lymphoma, a relatively rare and devastating blood cancer.

22 Dec 2011

Autism Speaks announces 47 new ASD research grants

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the awarding of 47 new research grants totaling $13,242,279 in funding over the next three years.

22 Dec 2011