Immune System News and Research

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New understanding of tropical disease schistosomiasis

Researchers have provided new details about the inner workings of a parasitic worm that causes a tropical disease called schistosomiasis, which leads to itchy skin, fever, chills, muscle aches, and liver disease that, in some cases, can be fatal.

13 Sep 2007

Disease activity increases after multiple sclerosis patients stop natalizumab

People with multiple sclerosis who stop taking the drug natalizumab may experience a rebound increase in disease activity, according to a study published September 12, 2007, in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

13 Sep 2007

Research identifies how insulin-producing islet cells from pigs may cure diabetes

Within three years, insulin-producing islet cells from pigs may be used in clinical trials on a path to finally cure insulin dependant diabetes.

13 Sep 2007

Embryonic stem cell strategy advanced with UCSF finding

UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells.

12 Sep 2007

Potential new drug target for preventing postmenopausal bone loss

Scientists have discovered new information about an immune pathway in mice that explains how oxidative stress that results from acute estrogen deficiency leads to the loss of bone.

11 Sep 2007

Vitamin D for a longer healthier life!

According to the latest research people who take regular doses of vitamin D have a significantly lower risk of dying early than those who do not.

11 Sep 2007

Community superbug a growing menace

A strain of the superbug MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is causing concern across the U.S. because it is becoming more common in the wider community.

11 Sep 2007

Incidents of serious adverse drug events more than double

Incidents of serious adverse drug events including deaths reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rose by more than double over a seven year period and painkillers and immune-system boosters were responsible for most.

11 Sep 2007

HIV patients with declining platelet counts appear to be at increased risk for HIV-associated dementia

Therapies leading to longer life for HIV patients have paradoxically increased the prevalence of this condition. Identifying biological markers for the development of HIV–associated dementia is critical both for diagnosing the disorder and for understanding its underlying mechanisms.

11 Sep 2007

Adverse drug events on the rise

The number of serious adverse drug events reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more than doubled between 1998 and 2005, as did deaths associated with adverse drug events, according to a report in the September 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Sep 2007

Genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis

The human genome has now been thoroughly screened in the hunt for the genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis. The results, which both confirms previous hypotheses and turn the spotlight on entirely new genes, are presented in two articles in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Sep 2007

New genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

A genetic variation has been identified that increases the risk of two chronic, autoimmune inflammatory diseases: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus).

10 Sep 2007

New insights into the complexity of HIV/AIDS

Three related papers published in the Sept. 1 edition of The Journal of Immunology provide key new insights into the complexity of HIV/AIDS. Don Sodora, Ph.D., a principal investigator in SBRI's Viral Vaccines Program who recently joined SBRI from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, is senior author on one of three papers that collectively show CD4 T-cell depletion, a critical symptom of AIDS, is likely a part of a multifaceted scenario that triggers disease rather than the only cause.

10 Sep 2007

Scientists shed new light on how antibodies fight HIV

By furthering scientists' understanding of the molecular mechanisms that separate the minority of successful HIV antibodies from the majority of ineffective antibodies, the work may have implications for future attempts to design an HIV vaccine.

10 Sep 2007

Bad news for disease-causing bacteria!

Scientists have what could be some very bad news for disease-causing bacteria. All three major classes of antibiotics that kill infectious bacteria do so in part by ramping up the production of harmful free radicals, researchers report in the September 7, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

10 Sep 2007

Safer gene therapy - biodegradable polymers to deliver genes

In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes.

10 Sep 2007

Ultraconserved elements in the genome: Are they indispensable?

Three years ago, "ultraconserved elements" were discovered in the genomes of mice, rats, and humans.

5 Sep 2007

Radiation and drug combo helps boost efficacy of lung-cancer treatment

Combining radiation therapy with a drug that helps destroy blood vessels nourishing malignant tumors has been shown in mice to be significantly more effective in treating lung cancer than either approach alone, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

5 Sep 2007

Decitabine and interferon gamma show promise for ocular melanoma that has spread

A combination of two drugs shows promise in treating a rare and therapy-resistant type of melanoma that originates in the eye and spreads to other organs, according to a new study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.

5 Sep 2007

Halting rabies in the brain

While rabies, an ancient scourge that still kills 70,000 every year in developing countries worldwide can be combated with a series of vaccines today, it nearly is always fatal when it reaches the brain.

5 Sep 2007