Immune System News and Research

RSS

Cancer research at Georgia Tech: Report

Cancer treatment typically involves surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy or biological therapy. An oncologist may use one therapy or a combination of methods, depending on the type and location of the cancer, whether the disease has spread, the patient's age and general health, and other factors.

3 Apr 2010

Study: Trial vaccine eliminates residual cancer cells in CML patients

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers say preliminary studies show that a vaccine made with leukemia cells may be able to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients taking the drug Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec).

3 Apr 2010

RPCI researcher receives grant to explore link between race and breast cancer

Christine Ambrosone, MD, Chair of Cancer Prevention and Control at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), has received a grant for $165,000 from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to study the possible link between race and the possibility of being diagnosed with aggressive breast cancers.

3 Apr 2010

Kinetics of T cell receptors: New findings could lead to reevaluation of earlier conclusions

T cell receptors are among the most important molecules in the immune system because of their role in recognizing the antigens that signal such threats as viruses and cancer. The receptors must also distinguish these threats from the body's own cells to avoid triggering an unwanted immune system response.

3 Apr 2010

Researchers explore microbial infection of human cells in space environment

In a first-of-its-kind experiment, the unique conditions of spaceflight will be used to examine how cells remain healthy or succumb to disease, particularly in the face of stress or damage.

3 Apr 2010

Harnessing body's own natural killer cells to battle cancer in children

Work underway at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital seeks to harnesses the body's own immune cells known as natural killer, or NK, cells to help children battle cancer. NK cells are the immune system's warriors. The cells circulate widely in the body, armed with proteins, called enzymes, capable of delivering a deadly one-two punch to viruses and cancer cells.

3 Apr 2010

New automated technology may help detect pathogens in food and water

Detecting one of the world's most common pathogens in drinking water soon may no longer be bottle-necked under a laboratory microscope.

3 Apr 2010

NewsHour examines research of HIV positive patients who can suppress the virus

PBS' NewsHour examines how a team of U.S. researchers is heading up a study in Lima, Peru, of patients living with HIV whose immune systems are able to suppress the virus.

3 Apr 2010

New production method yields hundredsfold more ubiquitylated proteins critical for cancer research

Scientists at the University of Delaware have developed a new method for producing proteins critical to research on cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases.

3 Apr 2010

Scientists provide first-ever glimpse of HIV protein structure

Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have provided the first-ever glimpse of the structure of a key protein-gp120-found on the surface of a specific subgroup of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV-1.

3 Apr 2010

Researchers identify soy peptides that inhibit fat accumulation and reduce inflammation

If you're serious about losing weight, check out recent studies done in Elvira de Mejia's University of Illinois laboratory. Her research provides insight into the way a certain type of soy protein inhibits fat accumulation and reduces inflammation.

2 Apr 2010

Strong demand leads to 5.1% growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals

IMS Health today reported 5.1 percent growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals and insulins through retail and non-retail channels, reaching $300.3 billion, compared with growth of 1.8 percent in 2008.

2 Apr 2010

Protein vaccines for needle-free immunization through the skin

Most immunizations currently involve an injection in the arm. In the future, vaccination may be accomplished without the unpleasant jab of a needle: a team led by Victor C. Yang at the University of Michigan (USA) has developed a method by which vaccines can pass directly through the skin without a needle. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, merely linking a special short peptide molecule to the vaccine, which can then be administered in the form of a patch, will do the job.

1 Apr 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics files Annual Report with Securities and Exchange Commission for 2009

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics announced today that it has filed its Annual Report with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period ended December 31, 2009 on Form 10-K.

1 Apr 2010

Mtb fine-tunes behaviour to escape detection and causes TB

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) possesses extraordinary survival ability by masking itself from the host immune system and persisting for decades inside the host. Speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh today, Dr Kristine Arnvig provides further insight into how the bacterium causes tuberculosis (TB) by fine-tuning its behaviour in response to its surroundings to escape detection.

1 Apr 2010

Combating immune suppressive cells in liver may prevent the spread of cancer: Study

Scientists have uncovered what could be a very important clue in answering one of the most perplexing questions about cancer: why does it spread to the liver more than any other organ? In a new research report published in the April 2010 issue of Journal of Leukocyte Biology, scientists from New York University describe experimental results suggesting that the immune system may be the reason.

1 Apr 2010

Phase 1/2 human clinical trial of Symphogen's Sym004 initiated in the US

Symphogen A/S today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1/2 human clinical trial in the US to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of its drug candidate Sym004 for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. Sym004 is composed of two anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies targeting different nonoverlapping EGFR epitopes.

1 Apr 2010

Cell study may yield new treatment strategies for debilitating diseases

A Los Alamos National Laboratory toxicologist and a multidisciplinary team of researchers have documented potential cellular damage from "fullerenes"-soccer-ball-shaped, cage-like molecules composed of 60 carbon atoms. The team also noted that this particular type of damage might hold hope for treatment of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or even cancer.

1 Apr 2010

Hormone ghrelin may improve appetite in gastric cancer patients

In gastric cancer patients who have had part or all of their stomach removed, the hormone ghrelin may lessen post-operative weight loss and improve appetite, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

1 Apr 2010

MDA awards 42 medical researchers and labs over $21M for critical neuromuscular research

Forty-two medical researchers and their labs have been awarded over $21 million by the Muscular Dystrophy Association to continue critical neuromuscular research. Many of the grants are multi-year awards to be dispersed over the next three years.

1 Apr 2010