Immune System News and Research

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Attention turns to brain as driver of Chronic Fatigue symptoms

New research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has delivered a final blow to the theory that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is driven by the body's immune system and in particular by its production of cytokines.

14 Sep 2007

Proteins Nox1 and Nox2 play important role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

University of Iowa researchers investigating the basic biology of cell signaling have made a discovery that may have therapeutic implications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Sep 2007

Global child deaths have reached a record low

Global child deaths have reached a record low, falling below 10 million per year to 9.7 million, down from almost 13 million in 1990, according to UNICEF.

13 Sep 2007

New understanding of immune infertility

Most of us have never heard of immune infertility, yet it prevents many prospective parents from conceiving. Immune infertility is one of 80 autoimmune disorders, a group that includes better-known diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes.

13 Sep 2007

Delivery of anti-cancer drug paclitaxel on a tiny ball of gold

Rice University chemists have discovered a way to load dozens of molecules of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel onto tiny gold spheres. The result is a tiny ball, many times smaller than a living cell that literally bristles with the drug.

13 Sep 2007

Genetic link to loneliness

It's already known that a person's social environment can affect their health, with those who are socially isolated - that is, lonely suffering from higher mortality than people who are not.

13 Sep 2007

GeoVax Labs presents successful human trial results for its HIV/AIDS vaccines

GeoVax Labs, Inc. has announced the presentation of successful human trial results for its HIV/AIDS vaccines at the AIDS Vaccine 2007 Conference held August 20-23, 2007 in Seattle, Washington.

13 Sep 2007

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