Immune System News and Research

RSS

Scientists find potential Achilles Heel in JC polyomavirus

The JC polyomavirus doesn't strike very often, but it's a mean bug that preys on people with weakened immune systems, including people with AIDS, and almost always kills them. Now an international team of scientists at Brown University, the University of T-bingen in Germany, and Imperial College in London has found a potential Achilles Heel and painted a target on it: The virus must bind to a very specific sugar molecule dangling from the side of the brain cells it attacks.

21 Oct 2010

BIOTONE donates $5,000 to Council of Community Clinics for breast cancer research

BIOTONE announces a donation of $5,000 to the Council of Community Clinics to help fund diagnostics for breast cancer. The San Diego-based Council of Community Clinics provides centralized support services to 16 member community clinic and health center organizations operating nearly 100 sites in San Diego, Imperial, and Riverside Counties in California.

21 Oct 2010

Valensa enters agreement with Mercola for Flex Pro ES formulation

Valensa International and Mercola Health Resources, LLC announced today that they have entered into a license and supply agreement that provides Mercola Health Resources with Valensa's new Flex Pro ES(TM) joint health formulation.

21 Oct 2010

Burn injuries in children show vitamin E depletion in fat tissues

Severe burn injuries in children have been shown to rapidly deplete the levels of vitamin E in their body's adipose, or fat tissues, a new clinical study has found.

21 Oct 2010

Joint stem cell study to investigate multiple sclerosis

A $2.2 million project by Victorian and Californian researchers will assess whether stem cell therapies can be used to combat diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Type-1 diabetes, and help organ transplant recipients. Speaking at AusBiotech 2010 in Melbourne today, Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings said the Brumby Labor Government had contributed $575,505 to the project, the fifth to be funded through the $28 million Victoria–California Stem Cell Alliance which was established in 2008 under the Biotechnology Strategic Development Plan.

21 Oct 2010

WILD, Sterling Technology announce partnership for Immunel, Tegricel products

WILD Flavors, Inc. is excited to announce a recently formed partnership with Sterling Technology. This new partnership makes WILD the exclusive provider of both Immunel and Tegricel.

20 Oct 2010

LANL's researcher to implement first human trial of mosaic HIV vaccine candidate

Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher Bette Korber is part of an international team of investigators working to design and implement the first human trial of a mosaic HIV vaccine candidate. The vaccine represents a novel strategy for fighting the virus that causes AIDS by attempting to address one of the most daunting challenges in HIV vaccine design: the virus's extensive genetic diversity.

20 Oct 2010

RWV bioreactor creates 3-D cell culture models

The cells and tissues in our bodies grow, develop and interact in a highly complex, three-dimensional world. Likewise, the various microbial pathogens that invade our bodies and cause infectious disease interact with this complex 3-D tissue milieu. In the current issue of the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology, researcher Cheryl Nickerson and her team at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University highlight an innovative approach for studying cells in 3-D.

20 Oct 2010

New sensor uses frog peptides to detect contamination in drugs, medical devices

Princeton engineers have developed a sensor that may revolutionize how drugs and medical devices are tested for contamination, and in the process also help ensure the survival of two species of threatened animals.

20 Oct 2010

First in vivo screening system for complete human nuclear hormone receptor family

The InDanio screening system can be used, for example, to functionally characterize 'orphan' receptors - those for which their natural ligands or specific function are unknown - and thus qualify them as potential targets for drug discovery. The system can also be used to screen compound libraries in order to identify and refine potential new drugs that target NR proteins.

20 Oct 2010

New sandwich wheat bread is an excellent source of antioxidants

In its continuing commitment as a leader in the bread industry, Texas-based Mrs Baird's becomes the first major baking company in its region to fortify its line of sandwich wheat breads, now providing an excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A and E.

20 Oct 2010

Carbon dioxide plays a role in gene regulation: Research

UCD Conway researchers have found that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not only involved in climate change and a waste product of respiration in cells but also plays an active role in regulating the genes involved in inflammation and innate immunity. Their research findings were highlighted recently in the The Journal of Immunology.

20 Oct 2010

New approaches to explore causes of autoimmunity and immune deficiency diseases

A newly identified regulatory process affecting the biology of immune system T cells should give scientists new approaches to explore the causes of autoimmunity and immune deficiency diseases.

20 Oct 2010

Study reveals how cells crank up cancer activators

A new technique that searches blood for the tiniest remnants of broken down proteins has revealed new information about how cells crank up cancer activators called proteases. The results improve researchers' understanding of the mechanics of breast cancer and point to where to look for possible indicators of early disease.

20 Oct 2010

SHIP and PTEN enzymes act cooperatively to suppress B cell lymphoma: Study

Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. White blood cells divide again and again, spreading abnormally throughout the body. Lymphomas can arise from two types of white blood cells, T cells or B cells, which divide uncontrollably when the molecular mechanisms that keep them in check go awry.

20 Oct 2010

Inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia improves prognosis in patients with malignant melanoma

A study presented at this year's American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting offers evidence that patients with malignant melanoma who undergo inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia (a regional anesthetic) have a better prognosis than patients who undergo the same surgery with general anesthesia.

20 Oct 2010

MannKind begins MKC1106-MT Phase 2 trial for advanced melanoma

MannKind Corporation today announced the first patient has been dosed in a phase 2 clinical trial of the novel, investigational cancer vaccine MKC1106-MT. As a part of MannKind's cancer immunotherapy program, this phase 2 study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, immune response and clinical response of MKC1106-MT in patients with advanced melanoma.

20 Oct 2010

Jefferson researchers progress in understanding mechanism behind systemic fibrotic disorder

Scientists from the Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University are now several steps closer to understanding the mechanism behind a novel systemic fibrotic disorder that affects some patients with renal insufficiency who receive imaging contrast agents for MRI. Two of their studies on the disorder appear together in the November issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.

20 Oct 2010

European Commission grants orphan drug status to OBI-1 for hemophilia treatment

Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the European Commission has granted orphan drug status for OBI-1 for the treatment of hemophilia.

20 Oct 2010

Johnson & Johnson third quarter sales decrease 0.7% to $15.0 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $15.0 billion for the third quarter of 2010, a decrease of 0.7% as compared to the third quarter of 2009. Operational results increased 0.1% and the negative impact of currency was 0.8%. Domestic sales declined 2.5%, while international sales increased 1.1%, reflecting operational growth of 2.6% and a negative currency impact of 1.5%.

19 Oct 2010