Immune System News and Research

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Organic biosensor detects onset of acute myocardial ischemia

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have fabricated and tested a unique biosensor that measures concentrations of potassium and hydrogen ions in the human heart with high specificity.

22 Apr 2009

Lymphocytes promote cancer spread

Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have new evidence that a type of immune system cell thought to be part of the first line of defense against breast cancer may also help promote its spread.

22 Apr 2009

Double-lung transplants work better than single for long-term survival

Having both lungs replaced instead of just one is the single most important feature determining who lives longest after having a lung transplant, more than doubling an organ recipient's chances of extending their life by over a decade, a study by a team of transplant surgeons at Johns Hopkins shows.

22 Apr 2009

Why an effective vaccine for HIV has proven so elusive

Some 25 years after the AIDS epidemic spawned a worldwide search for an effective vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), progress in the field seems to have effectively become stalled.

22 Apr 2009

Engineered antibody gives cancer the recognition it deserves

In concept, the human immune system has the power to destroy cancer cells with great specificity.

22 Apr 2009

New Dengue virus discovery could lead to development of anti-dengue drugs

Doctors have no specific drugs to treat dengue fever, a viral illness spread by mosquitoes that sickens 50 million to 100 million people worldwide each year. Instead, the only treatments they can recommend for this painful and sometimes fatal illness (20,000 deaths globally each year) are fluids, rest and non-aspirin pain and fever reducers.

22 Apr 2009

Discovery of two important molecules that underlie the pathology of lupus, particularly kidney disease

Kidney damage associated with the autoimmune disease lupus is linked to a malfunction of immune cells that causes them to congregate in and attack the organs, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a mouse study.

22 Apr 2009

Children who witness violence show symptoms of post-traumatic stress

They also suffer physiological effects with a disruption to their normal cortisol production pattern during the day, which may have long-term negative effects on their health.

22 Apr 2009

Peregrine's PS-targeting antibodies highlighted in AACR Annual Meeting studies

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has reported that two preclinical studies presented during the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 provided further confirmation of the immunomodulatory mechanisms contributing to the anti-tumor activity of its phosphatidylserine (PS) targeting antibodies.

22 Apr 2009

Novel microparticle-based immune response modifier shows broad effects against recurrent or metastatic cancer

MIS416, a novel microparticle-based immune response modifier, demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce the number and size of metastatic tumors in preclinical mouse models of lung and breast cancers, Innate Therapeutics (formerly Virionyx Corporation) announced.

22 Apr 2009

Louse infestation calibrates immune system regulation

Some parasites can exert a moderating effect on the immune system, perhaps reducing the risk of developing immune dysfunctions like asthma, allergies and some forms of arthritis.

22 Apr 2009

New insights into how to combat avian flu

An in-depth analysis of blood from patients recovering from the H5N1 avian influenza virus has provided important insights into how to combat the potentially lethal virus.

22 Apr 2009

Removal of ovaries during hysterectomy increases risk of death, outweighs benefits

Results of a landmark study led by a doctor at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center raises serious questions about the long-term survival benefits of removing a woman's ovaries during routine hysterectomy.

20 Apr 2009

NanoBio starts clinical trial for adjuvanted intranasal flu vaccine

NanoBio has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the Phase 1 clinical study of NB-1008, a seasonal influenza vaccine administered via a nasal dropper.

20 Apr 2009

Humanized mouse infected with HIV vaginally and rectally allows testing

The "humanized mouse" developed by Dr. J. Victor Garcia-Martinez has allowed the University of Texas Southwestern physician-scientist to conduct HIV/AIDS studies that would have been impossible without such a small animal model of HIV infection.

20 Apr 2009

New insights into transcription factors in human cells

Bioinformatics researchers from UC San Diego just moved closer to unlocking the mystery of how human cells switch from "proliferation mode" to "specialization mode."

20 Apr 2009

Grapefruit juice boosts efficacy of drug rapamycin

In a small, early clinical trial, researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center have found that combining eight ounces of grapefruit juice with the drug rapamycin can increase drug levels, allowing lower doses of the drug to be given.

20 Apr 2009

Researchers identify mechanism by which an anti-TNF therapy impairs host defense against tuberculosis

The life of many individuals with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis has been dramatically improved by treatment with drugs that target the protein TNF, so called anti-TNF therapies.

20 Apr 2009

Rockefeller University Hospital opens new Sleep Research Center

A good night's sleep is good for your health, but the details have long been sketchy.

20 Apr 2009

Maternal immune response to fetal brain during pregnancy a key factor in some autism

New studies in pregnant mice using antibodies against fetal brains made by the mothers of autistic children show that immune cells can cross the placenta and trigger neurobehavioral changes similar to autism in the mouse pups.

20 Apr 2009