Immune System News and Research

RSS

Reducing inflammation plays key role in type 1 diabetes therapy

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that a triple combination therapy consisting of both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties is successful in abolishing adverse autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes.

1 Aug 2007

Novavax begins human clinical testing of novel pandemic flu vaccine

Novavax has announced that it has begun vaccinating healthy volunteers in the first human clinical trial of its virus-like particle ("VLP") based pandemic influenza vaccine.

1 Aug 2007

New way to predict how cells will respond to targeted drug therapies

Models based on this approach could help doctors make better treatment choices for individual patients, who often respond differently to the same drug, and could help drug developers identify the ideal compounds on which to focus their research.

1 Aug 2007

Baby boomers are starting to feel the aches, pains and weight gain of aging

Because they, like others, want to feel younger for longer, food companies and food researchers are striving to meet their needs. Increased amounts of nutritional supplements and antioxidants, including calcium, vitamin D and zinc, can slow the rate of age-related disease and increase the number of healthy years, according Jeffrey Blumberg, a nutrition scientist at Tufts University and speaker here at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo.

1 Aug 2007

New risk genes for multiple sclerosis

Two new large-scale genomic studies have honed in on the main genetic pathway associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), while also uncovering new genetic variations in the disease and suggesting a possible link between MS and other autoimmune diseases.

1 Aug 2007

New target for Hodgkin lymphoma

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have identified a protein that prevents the body's immune system from recognizing and attacking Hodgkin lymphoma cells.

1 Aug 2007

Interferon-alpha levels may predict who might be at risk to develop lupus

Certain families produce higher levels of a specific molecule, called interferon-alpha, that primes the body's immune system to turn on, and in some cases initiate an autoimmune attack on itself, according to new research from Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

1 Aug 2007

Insulin produced in genetically modified lettuce relieves diabetes in mice

Capsules of insulin produced in genetically modified lettuce could hold the key to restoring the body's ability to produce insulin and help millions of Americans who suffer from insulin-dependent diabetes, according to University of Central Florida biomedical researchers.

1 Aug 2007

Genomics study provides insight into the evolution of unique human traits

Researchers from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, along with colleagues from Stanford University, report the results of a large-scale, genome-wide study to investigate gene copy number differences among ten primate species, including humans.

1 Aug 2007

Functional food research

As consumers around the globe increasingly keep attuned to the effects diet can have on their health, researchers are now eyeing innovations in functional foods that could address disease prevention as well as maintain a fit lifestyle.

1 Aug 2007

New report on HIV/AIDS globally

Thirty-nine million people have been infected by the HIV virus, and seventeen million have died as a result, mostly in the developing world.

1 Aug 2007

Interferon alpha and sorafenib combined work better than either alone against kidney cancer

A combination of two drugs works better than either drug alone for patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer, according to a pilot study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.

1 Aug 2007

New TB vaccine could save over a million lives

Initial trials of a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine mean the drug will now progress to phase II trials.

31 Jul 2007

Bone marrow restores fertility in female mice

A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers confirms that female mice that receive bone marrow transplantation after fertility-destroying chemotherapy can go on to have successful pregnancies throughout their normal reproductive life.

31 Jul 2007