Immune System News and Research

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Human immune system has not adapted to changes in the environment

It seems that the current "allergy epidemic" is due not so much to an increase in allergenic risk factors as to the disappearance of factors protecting people against allergies.

25 Jan 2007

New drug to combat Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease in stem-cell patients shows significant reduction in deaths

Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease is a common and potentially deadly side effect for patients who undergo an allogeneic stem-cell transplant to treat certain blood cancers.

23 Jan 2007

New understanding of the hit-and-run tactics used by infectious bacteria

New research from scientists at the University of Cambridge has the potential to radically change our understanding of how infection spreads around the body and improve the methods used to control it.

22 Jan 2007

Researchers to study use of carbon monoxide in treating disease

Scientists at the University of York have won a grant of £110,000 to investigate potential uses of carbon monoxide in treating disease.

22 Jan 2007

Novavax's pandemic flu vaccines show promise

Novavax, Inc.'s novel virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines have been shown to be effective in generating protection against pandemic influenza as well as cross protection against different strains of the virus in pre-clinical studies, according to data presented at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum.

22 Jan 2007

New approach offers hope for an effective herpes vaccine

A researcher at Montana State University has called for an innovative, new approach in developing a vaccine against genital herpes.

10 Jan 2007

Study shows why the body's immune system doesn't attack tissues in the small intestine

Answering one of the oldest questions in human physiology, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered why the body's immune system - perpetually on guard against foreign microbes like bacteria - doesn't attack tissues in the small intestine that harbor millions of bacteria cells.

9 Jan 2007

Viral Genetics identifies two key peptides for potential HIV/AIDS drug

Viral Genetics has identified two key peptides involved in its thymus nuclear protein or "TNP" technology currently under development for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

9 Jan 2007

A Trojan horse for gliomas

Gliomas are a group of brain tumors where the most common type is also the most aggressive one.

9 Jan 2007

Modified skin cells that may help protect cultured skin substitutes from infection

Cincinnati burn researchers have created genetically modified skin cells that, when added to cultured skin substitutes, may help fight off potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns.

9 Jan 2007

Allergic reactions to insulin have declined and Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion could reduce them further

A review of published research from the University of Liege, Belgium, reveals a decline in the number of people experiencing allergic reactions to insulin. This is largely due to better purification of animal insulin and the introduction of human recombinant insulin.

8 Jan 2007

Scientists discover how body fights to control spread of cancer

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found how two molecules fight in the blood to control the spread of cancer cells.

8 Jan 2007

Interleukin-13 receptor-targeted nanovesicles are a potential therapy for glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme is among the most aggressive and difficult cancers to treat. Now, researchers at Penn State University have shown that a lipid-based nanoparticle, designed to bind to a specific receptor found on malignant brain cells but not healthy ones, improves the potency of a common anticancer drug and slows significantly the growth of glioblastoma in mice.

8 Jan 2007

DNA vaccine for H5N1 avian influenza enters human trial

The first human trial of a DNA vaccine designed to prevent H5N1 avian influenza infection began on December 21, 2006, when the vaccine was administered to the first volunteer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

3 Jan 2007

Herpes appears to play a role in bringing about Alzheimer's disease

A gene known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease puts out the welcome mat for the virus that causes cold sores, allowing the virus to be more active in the brain compared to other forms of the gene.

3 Jan 2007

Contaminated U.S. spinach causes food scare in Canada

In the latest food scare to hit North America Canadians are being warned against eating an American brand of fresh spinach.

12 Dec 2006

Exercise can reduce a smoker's lung cancer risk, but quitting smoking is still most important

In a study of more than 36,000 women, researchers observed that smokers can reduce their risk of developing lung cancer by being physically active. However, they strongly caution that any relative benefit is dwarfed by the benefits gained from quitting smoking.

12 Dec 2006