Leukocyte News and Research

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A new mechanism regulates type I interferon production in white blood cells

A study from a team of researchers led by Dr. Andrew P. Makrigiannis, Director of the Molecular Immunology Research Unit at the IRCM, has identified a new mechanism regulating interferon production.

12 Jan 2009

Tuberculosis commandeers body's defenses to gain foothold

Tuberculosis bacteria can commandeer the body's defenses in the early stages of infection and redirect them for their own offensive strategies, according to results reported in the scientific journal, Cell.

9 Jan 2009

Gene abnormality found to predict childhood leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

8 Jan 2009

Gene mutations found to predict acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse

Scientists have identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

7 Jan 2009

Active Hexose Correlated Compound shown to enhances immune system by increasing production of key dendritic cells

A recently published study in Nutrition and Cancer (60(5), 643-651) by researchers at Kansai Medical University in Osaka, Japan has shown that AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) enhances immune function by increasing the number of dendritic cells (DCs).

6 Jan 2009

Many babies with simple febrile seizures can avoid spinal tap

When babies develop a fever high enough or abrupt enough to cause a seizure, frightened parents often rush them to the emergency room, where their workup frequently includes a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to rule out bacterial meningitis.

6 Jan 2009

Discovery of new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia

A team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome: mutations in the gene Glucose-6-phosphatase, catalytic subunit 3 (G6PC3).

5 Jan 2009

New blood fights cancer

"New blood" can revitalize a company or a sports team. Recent research by Tel Aviv University finds that young blood does a body good as well, especially when it comes to fighting cancer.

1 Jan 2009

Lung cancer cells activate inflammation to induce metastasis

A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a protein produced by cancerous lung epithelial cells that enhances metastasis by stimulating the activity of inflammatory cells.

1 Jan 2009

A rigorous method for liver biopsy

Liver biopsy is still considered the gold standard for grading, staging and "stad-ging" the chronic liver disease.

1 Jan 2009

New therapy for transplant rejection

Researchers in the U.S. have discovered a new cancer drug which effectively treats transplant rejections.

29 Dec 2008

Stem cells and leukemia battle for marrow microenvironment

Learning how leukemia takes over privileged "niches" within the bone marrow is helping researchers develop treatment strategies that could protect healthy blood-forming stem cells and improve the outcomes of bone marrow transplantation for leukemia and other types of cancer.

18 Dec 2008

FDA approves Mozobil (plerixafor) for multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Mozobil (plerixafor), a drug that helps increase the number of blood stem cells for bone marrow transplantation in patients with certain forms of blood cancer.

18 Dec 2008

Lessons from Northwick Park drug-trial disaster

Scientists investigating the 2006 Northwick Park drug-trial disaster that left six healthy volunteers hospitalised say they have developed new pre-clinical tests that could have stopped the trial from ever going ahead.

From The University of Manchester 15 Dec 2008

Researchers create tiny, implantable device that captures and kills cancer cells in the bloodstream

In a new tactic in the fight against cancer, Cornell University researcher Michael King has developed what he calls a lethal "lint brush" for the blood -- a tiny, implantable device that captures and kills cancer cells in the bloodstream before they spread through the body.

12 Dec 2008

Mathematical models of adaptive immunity

More than five million people die every year from infectious diseases, despite the availability of numerous antibiotics and vaccines. The discovery of penicillin to treat bacterial infections, along with the development of vaccines for previously incurable virus diseases such as polio and smallpox, achieved great reductions in mortality during the mid-20th century.

11 Dec 2008