Immune System News and Research

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New method to diagnose active tuberculosis

Active tuberculosis can be rapidly identified in patients with negative sputum tests by a new method, according to European researchers. Active tuberculosis (TB) is the seventh-leading cause of death worldwide, and while the diagnosis of active TB can be rapidly established when the bacteria can be identified on sputum microscopy, in about half of all cases, the TB bacterium cannot be detected, making another diagnostic option critical in efforts to control the spread of TB.

23 Sep 2009

Obesity can increase cancer incidence in leukemic children

Obesity is an important factor contributing to chemotherapy resistance and increasing relapse rates among children with leukemia, according to recent findings published online first in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

23 Sep 2009

BioMarin commences PEG-PAL Phase 2 clinical trial for phenylketonuria

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) announced today that the first patient has initiated treatment in the Phase 2 clinical study of PEG-PAL (PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase) for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). Initial top-line results are expected in mid-2010.

23 Sep 2009

Chan calls for additional H1N1 vaccines for poor countries during WHO Asia-Pacific regional meeting

During the WHO Asia-Pacific regional meeting Monday, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan discussed the organization's efforts to ensure that poor nations have access to H1N1 vaccines, VOA News reports (Bayron, 9/21).

23 Sep 2009

Government orders additional H1N1 vaccine

Associated Press/Boston Globe reports that on Monday, "the United States ordered more swine flu vaccine, bringing its eventual total to 251 million doses, up from the long-planned 195 million doses.

23 Sep 2009

Advaxis' patent approval enables the development of new vaccines with additional properties

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted and issued Advaxis, Inc. (OTCBB: ADXS), the live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) vaccine company, patent 7,588,930 “Compositions and Methods for Enhancing Immunogenicity of Antigens.” This patent expands the Company’s intellectual property portfolio to cover another family of adjuvant proteins based upon the Lm protein Act-A.

22 Sep 2009

Cancer Research UK invests £16 million in new Drug Discovery Programes at Manchester and Glasgow

CANCER RESEARCH UK is set to extend its drug discovery effort by investing up to £16 million in two new Drug Discovery Programmes at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow.

22 Sep 2009

Macrophages play a crucial role in muscle regeneration

For scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, what seemed like a disappointing result turned out to be an important discovery.

22 Sep 2009

Next Generation Waters wins "Best New Functional Drink" award

In a category that seems to be expanding by the second, Next Generation Waters is pleased to announce that it has won "Best New Functional Drink" at the 2009 Beverage Innovation Awards, the academy awards of the Beverage Industry. NGW beat out 38 other competitors from 12 different countries including PepsiCo's Lipton Linea, Gatorade's No Artificials, and SoBe's Pure Rush to name a few.

22 Sep 2009

Antigen to block infection by genetically-diverse strains of HIV

Scientists working to develop a vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report they have created the first antigen that induces protective antibodies capable of blocking infection of human cells by genetically-diverse strains of HIV. The new antigen differs from previously-tested vaccines by virtue of its chemically-activated property that enables close sharing of electrons and produces strong covalent bonding.

22 Sep 2009

Tregs to set the pace of recovery after serious lung injury

After more than 50 experiments in mice, medical scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out the basic steps taken by a particular set of white blood cells in setting the pace of recovery after serious lung injury.

22 Sep 2009

Study on mice reveals that short term stress can prevent cancer

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that, at least in laboratory mice, bouts of relatively short-term stress can boost the immune system and protect against one type of cancer. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of this occasional angst seem to last for weeks after the stressful situation has ended. The finding is surprising because chronic stress has the opposite effect -- taxing the immune system and increasing susceptibility to disease.

22 Sep 2009

Investigative drug hampers the survival of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells

An investigative drug deprived non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells of their ability to survive too long and multiply too fast, according to an early study published recently in the journal Experimental Hematology.

22 Sep 2009

GeoVax requests FDA meeting to discuss IND for its therapeutic HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GOVX) (the "Company"), an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents, today announced that it has requested a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss a proposed IND for GeoVax's therapeutic vaccine as a treatment for individuals infected with HIV/AIDS.

22 Sep 2009

Results from a trial testing a 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in children look promising

Early results from a trial testing a 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in children look promising, according to the trial sponsor, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

22 Sep 2009

Importance of residual thymopoiesis in aged adults

Doctor Manuel Leal is managing the Experimental Immune Virology Laboratory (in Virgen del Rocío University Hospital and Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), where clinic and basic science researchers work) where he leads a project to establish the functional nature of the thymus gland in adults. So far, it has been proven that this gland keeps on producing lymphocytes in the old age (Ferrando-Martínez et al. AGE, in press), which is a novelty because until very recently it was considered that this organ lost its immune capacity after the puberty.

22 Sep 2009

Researcher can anticipate immune response in Alzheimer's patients

A researcher who is working on a vaccine for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has demonstrated that it is possible to test and measure specific immune responses in mice carrying human genes and to anticipate the immune response in Alzheimer's patients. This continuing research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev could one day lead to specific Alzheimer's vaccines that reduce plaque, neuronal damage and inflammation associated with the disease.

22 Sep 2009

Interim data from Micromet's T-cell engaging BiTE antibody study for treating solid tumors

Micromet, Inc. (Nasdaq: MITI), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, proprietary antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases, today presented first interim data from a phase 1 dose-escalation clinical study for BiTE antibody MT110, the first T-cell engaging antibody for the treatment of solid tumors.

22 Sep 2009

Bacterium responsible for outbreaks identified

University of Central Florida Microbiology Professor Keith Ireton has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that plays an important role in the spread of a deadly food-borne bacterium.

22 Sep 2009

Older adults with vitamin D deficiency at a greater risk of heart disease and death

A new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows vitamin D plays a vital role in reducing the risk of death associated with older age. The research, just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and the death rates of those 65 and older. The study found that older adults with insufficient levels of vitamin D die from heart disease at greater rates that those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

22 Sep 2009