Immune System News and Research

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Conatus CTS-1027 Phase 2 trial results against HCV presented at EASL meeting

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today 24-week interim results from a clinical trial with CTS-1027 in combination with Peginterferon Alpha-2a and ribavirin in a treatment experienced, hepatitis C virus null-responder patient population.

1 Apr 2011

New signaling pathway discovery sheds light on chronic dermatitis

A new signaling pathway, which is important for the regulation of the immune response and inflammation, was discovered by an international team of scientists led by prof Ivan Dikic from the Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.

1 Apr 2011

NCI awards Case Western Reserve with $1.6 million grant for cancer research

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how tumor cells avoid detection by the body's immune system, allowing cancer to develop and spread.

1 Apr 2011

Catheter-related bloodstream infections in children

Hospitals can reduce the risk of life-threatening bloodstream infections in children with peripherally inserted central venous catheters by assessing daily the patient’s progress and removing the device as early as possible, according to a new Johns Hopkins Children’s Center study published online March 31 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

31 Mar 2011

Immune therapy can control fertility in mammals

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have shown that it is possible to immunize mammals to control fertility. They say their technique could possibly be used on other mammals -- including humans -- because fertility hormones and their receptors are species-non-specific and are similar in both females and males. For pets, the technique could be an alternative to castration and adverse effects of hormone administration.

31 Mar 2011

Important updates on spondyloarthritis highlighted at 2010 SPARTAN meeting

Spondyloarthritis is a group of inflammatory conditions causing spine and joint pain and deformity, mostly in young men. Important updates on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of SpA are presented in the April issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

31 Mar 2011

Master regulators of cholesterol and fat play key role in liver fibrosis development

UCLA researchers have demonstrated that a key regulator of cholesterol and fat metabolism in the liver also plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis - the build-up of collagen scar tissue that can develop into cirrhosis. Cirrhosis, in turn, is a major cause of premature death and is incurable without a liver transplant.

31 Mar 2011

First transdisciplinary research center dedicated to identify causes of premature birth

The March of Dimes and Stanford University School of Medicine today launched the nation's first transdisciplinary research center dedicated to identifying the causes of premature birth. Prematurity is the number one reason for newborn death in the United States today, yet in nearly half of the cases of premature birth, there is no identifiable cause.

31 Mar 2011

New Image to build dairy plant in New Zealand

Health and wellness products manufacturer New Image Group is to help meet global demand for more nutritional milk products with the building of a multi-million dollar, spray drying plant in New Zealand.

31 Mar 2011

CEL-SCI to initiate Multikine Phase III trial against head and neck cancer in Israel

CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that the State of Israel's Ministry of Health has given approval to begin enrollment of subjects for a Phase III clinical trial of Multikine in Israel.

31 Mar 2011

ACR releases new guidelines for JA treatment

Several Canadian pediatric rheumatologists and health professionals played a prominent role in developing new guidelines for treating juvenile arthritis.

31 Mar 2011

Essential protein linked to TNF induced inflammation

SCIENTISTS have discovered an essential protein that controls inflammation induced by 'tumour necrosis factor' (TNF) - an important part of the body's defences against infection and a driver of cancer-associated inflammation, according to research published in Nature today (Wednesday).

31 Mar 2011

Roche launces new GS GType HLA Primer Sets for HLA genotyping

454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, announced today the launch and immediate availability of the new GS GType HLA Primer Sets for high- and medium-resolution genotyping of class I and class II loci of the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes.

30 Mar 2011

FDA grants orphan drug status to America Stem Cell's ASC-101

America Stem Cell, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to ASC-101 to improve homing to bone marrow in patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

30 Mar 2011

Attacks by specific type of immune cells cause inflammations of heart muscle

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center, jointly with colleagues in the United States, have found out that inflammations of the heart muscle are caused by attacks of a specific type of immune cells. These immune cells attack the body's own tissue because during their maturation they did not have the chance to develop tolerance against a protein that is only found in the heart muscle.

30 Mar 2011

Multiple drugs bonded to 'transport vehicle' bypass healthy cells to attack breast cancer from inside

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have employed a strategy using a mouse model to target important mechanisms inside the most challenging breast cancer cells. Earlier studies at Cedars-Sinai found a similar approach effective in attacking malignant brain tumor targets.

30 Mar 2011

Mary Ann Liebert to launch new 'Shingles and PHN' open access journal

Shingles and PHN, a new, bimonthly open access peer-reviewed journal, will be launched in fall 2011 by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

30 Mar 2011

Study: Marijuana use may affect cognitive skills in patients with MS

Any possible pain relief that marijuana has for people with multiple sclerosis may be outweighed by the drug's apparent negative effect on thinking skills, according to research published in the March 29, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Mar 2011

From fatigued to fantastic! You CAN effectively treat CFS, fatigue, fibromyalgia and muscle pain

The “perfect storm” for Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME, and fatigue in general is preparing to hit. A combination of poor nutrition, decreasing sleep, increasing stress and environmental toxins has created a human energy crisis of unprecedented proportions. Over the past 10 years, the incidence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FMS) has exploded by 400 to 1000 percent, as documented in five separate studies. The numbers for those with CFS in the U.S., previously estimated at 500,000, are now being re-tallied at closer to 1- 2.5 million. Previous estimates placed the number of Americans with FMS at 6 million. Studies worldwide suggest this has likely gone up in the last decade to ~ 12-24 million Americans! Meanwhile, ¼ of Americans suffer with chronic pain and most are fatigued.

28 Mar 2011

Inflammatory bowel disease in children - Delays in diagnosis common

Once a medical rarity in children, inflammatory bowel disease today is increasingly common in kids, but many of them may not be diagnosed in a timely manner, according to experts from the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

28 Mar 2011