Immune System News and Research

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ROCK2 protein may be a good therapeutic target for autoimmune disorders: Research

Autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), occur when an individual's immune system turns on other cells in the body. Inappropriate and excessive production of the soluble immune mediators IL-17 and IL-21 have been linked to several autoimmune disorders. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this aberrant production might identify new therapeutic targets.

10 Aug 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals reports significant progress in discovery of novel technologies for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The University of British Columbia (UBC), AlCana Technologies, Inc., and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, presented results from multiple ongoing research efforts regarding the discovery of novel technologies for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

10 Aug 2010

NIH begins human clinical testing for dengue virus vaccine

After more than a decade of development at the National Institutes of Health, a vaccine to prevent infection by the mosquito-borne dengue virus has begun human clinical testing. The vaccine was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is undergoing clinical study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

10 Aug 2010

New scaffold supports growth, integration of stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells

These days people usually don't die from a heart attack. But the damage to heart muscle is irreversible, and most patients eventually succumb to congestive heart failure, the most common cause of death in developed countries.Stem cells now offer hope for achieving what the body can't do: mending broken hearts. Engineers and physicians at the University of Washington have built a scaffold that supports the growth and integration of stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells. A description of the scaffold, which supports the growth of cardiac cells in the lab and encourages blood vessel growth in living animals, is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest daily intake of vitamin D helps to reduce disease frequency

Anthony Norman, a leading international expert in vitamin D, proposes worldwide policy changes regarding people's vitamin D daily intake amount in order to maximize the vitamin's contribution to reducing the frequency of many diseases, including childhood rickets, adult osteomalacia, cancer, autoimmune type-1 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and muscle weakness.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists work towards creating a vaccine for Parkinson's disease

Nina Brown, 68, and millions of others with a debilitating neurological condition called Parkinson's disease are counting on researchers for a cure. At The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), protein chemists are working to develop a therapeutic vaccine.

10 Aug 2010

UCLA study identifies neurocognitive pathways involved in inflammatory responses to acute social stress

Everyone experiences social stress, whether it is nervousness over a job interview, difficulty meeting people at parties, or angst over giving a speech. In a new report, UCLA researchers have discovered that how your brain responds to social stressors can influence the body's immune system in ways that may negatively affect health.

10 Aug 2010

RNL BIO research identifies adult stem cell's ability to inhibit cancer

The leading biopharmaceutical company specialized in adult stem cell therapeutics, RNL BIO Co., Ltd, announced on July 27th that adult stem cell was identified to have cancer suppressive activity in a preclinical study.

10 Aug 2010

Lentigen receives NIH SBIR grant for program on clinical vector for TCR immunotherapy targeted to melanoma

Lentigen Corporation, a biotechnology company specializing in the development and manufacture of lentiviral gene delivery technologies, announced today that it has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research grant (SBIR) for a program on "Clinical Vector for TCR Immunotherapy Targeted to Melanoma". In this program, Lentigen will collaborate with Dr. Michael Nishimura, Professor of Surgery, at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

9 Aug 2010

CryoPatch SG pulmonary human cardiac patch receives FDA clearance for 5-year shelf-life extension

CryoLife, Inc., an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a five-year shelf-life on its CryoPatch® SG pulmonary human cardiac patch processed with the Company's proprietary SynerGraft® technology. CryoLife's SynerGraft technology is designed to remove allogeneic donor cells and cellular remnants from tissue without compromising the integrity of the underlying collagen matrix.

9 Aug 2010

Apte wins Elkeles Prize for outstanding scientist in field of medicine

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Professor Ron N. Apte has been awarded the 2010 Samuel and Paula Elkeles Prize for Outstanding Scientist in the Field of Medicine.

9 Aug 2010

Allergy shots can cause systemic side effects: Study

Allergy shots can reduce symptoms of asthma, use of inhaled medications and allergy-related asthma attacks, confirms an updated review of studies. Yet, the treatment can also cause systemic side effects that range from a stuffy nose to fatal anaphylactic shock.About 30 percent of asthma patients experience improved breathing after receiving a series of injections that desensitize their immune systems to specific irritants, according to the review. The medical term for this treatment protocol is allergen immunotherapy.

9 Aug 2010

Anti-viral drug addition to standard treatment regimen increases cure rate for hepatitis C

Adding a direct acting anti-viral drug to the standard treatment regimen for hepatitis C significantly increases the cure rate in the most difficult to treat patients, according to a research report published Monday in the online edition of the journal The Lancet.The research team, led by Paul Kwo, M.D., of Indiana University School of Medicine, reported that adding the drug nearly doubled the treatment's effectiveness when given for 48 weeks in one treatment arm of the study.

9 Aug 2010

Genetic factors lead to meningitis development: Study

Genetic differences that make some people susceptible to developing meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia, and others naturally immune, are revealed in a new study of over 6,000 people, published today in Nature Genetics.The research, led by Imperial College London and the Genome Institute of Singapore, is the largest ever genetic study of meningitis and septicaemia caused by meningococcal bacteria. It suggests that people who develop these diseases have innate differences in their natural defences that leave them unable to attack meningococcal bacteria successfully.

9 Aug 2010

Hemispherx Biopharma second-quarter net loss decreases to $3.67 million

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2010. The net loss (including non-cash expenses) for the 2nd fiscal quarter was approximately $3,676,000 or $0.03 per share compared to a loss of approximately $3,870,000 or $0.04 per share for the same period in 2009.

7 Aug 2010

Vemma joins with Presbyterian Hospital to provide ultra-premium nutrition for underprivileged children

Vemma Nutrition Company announces a partnership with Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina to provide ultra-premium nutrition to underprivileged children. Through Vemma's NEXT Helping Now Project, for each month's supply sold, the company donates a month's supply of its children's nutritional supplement, Vemma NEXT, to a child in need. Vemma will make ongoing donations to the Presbyterian Hospital Community Care Cruiser so children in need throughout Charlotte can receive proper nutrition.

7 Aug 2010

Elsevier Properties congratulates Stewart for achieving Lectureship

Elsevier Properties SA is pleased to congratulate Dr. Scott Stewart on his winning the Royal Australian Chemical Institute's (RACI) 2010/11 Athel Beckwith Lectureship, sponsored by Reaxys.

6 Aug 2010

Researchers reprogram human embryonic stem cells to iPS cells for use in regenerative medicine

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state-so-called induced pluripotent stem or iPS cells-exhibit very few differences in their gene expression signatures and are nearly indistinguishable in their chromatin state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers.The pluripotency of ES cells fueled excitement over their use in regenerative medicine. While ethical hurdles associated with the clinical application of human ES cells appeared to have been overcome with the development of methods to create iPS cells, some recent research has suggested that ES and iPS cells have substantial differences in which sets of genes they express.

6 Aug 2010

Studies show biological agents play important role in maintaining remission in Crohn's disease

Biological agents may play an important role in maintaining remission in Crohn's disease, according to two new studies in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

6 Aug 2010

Summer Academy Meeting highlights benefits of HPV, Herpes Zoster vaccines

Vaccines have a long history of successfully preventing disease and, in effect, improving the lives of countless Americans. Now, two serious diseases - human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes zoster - could become a thing of the past as people better understand the safety and efficacy of vaccines to prevent these serious viral infections in specific populations.

6 Aug 2010

Immune System News and Research

ROCK2 protein may be a good therapeutic target for autoimmune disorders: Research

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals reports significant progress in discovery of novel technologies for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics

NIH begins human clinical testing for dengue virus vaccine

New scaffold supports growth, integration of stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells

Scientists suggest daily intake of vitamin D helps to reduce disease frequency

Scientists work towards creating a vaccine for Parkinson's disease

UCLA study identifies neurocognitive pathways involved in inflammatory responses to acute social stress

RNL BIO research identifies adult stem cell's ability to inhibit cancer

Lentigen receives NIH SBIR grant for program on clinical vector for TCR immunotherapy targeted to melanoma

CryoPatch SG pulmonary human cardiac patch receives FDA clearance for 5-year shelf-life extension

Apte wins Elkeles Prize for outstanding scientist in field of medicine

Allergy shots can cause systemic side effects: Study

Anti-viral drug addition to standard treatment regimen increases cure rate for hepatitis C

Genetic factors lead to meningitis development: Study

Hemispherx Biopharma second-quarter net loss decreases to $3.67 million

Vemma joins with Presbyterian Hospital to provide ultra-premium nutrition for underprivileged children

Elsevier Properties congratulates Stewart for achieving Lectureship

Researchers reprogram human embryonic stem cells to iPS cells for use in regenerative medicine

Studies show biological agents play important role in maintaining remission in Crohn's disease

Summer Academy Meeting highlights benefits of HPV, Herpes Zoster vaccines

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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