Immune System News and Research

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Topical therapies show promise for Psoriasis

Psoriasis, a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly patches that itch and bleed, not only makes the activities of daily life difficult, but also can affect a person's emotional well being.

6 Mar 2006

UCB submits application to FDA for new treatment in Crohn's disease

UCB has announced the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the approval of CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol, CDP870) for the treatment of patients with Crohn's disease.

6 Mar 2006

Attaching new cytokine to neural stem cells derived from bone marrow kills brain tumor cells

Attaching a recently discovered cytokine to neural stem cells derived from bone marrow, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have developed a tool to track and kill malignant brain tumor cells and provide long-term protection against their return.

1 Mar 2006

The incidence, distribution, and control of tuberculosis

A reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, prevalence and death rate can be achieved by 2015 in most parts of the world, with the greatest challenges occurring in Africa and Eastern Europe, according to a projection by the Stop TB Department of the World Health Organization.

1 Mar 2006

FDA approves Rituxan (Rituximab)

Rituxan is the first treatment for RA that selectively targets immune cells known as CD20-positive B-cells. Through this unique mechanism of action, Rituxan may affect multiple pathways by which B-cells are believed to contribute to the initiation and development of RA.

1 Mar 2006

Ancient DNA helps unearth potential hemophilia therapy

A cut can be life-threatening for people with hemophilia, whose bodies don't produce enough of a protein that prevents prolonged bleeding.

1 Mar 2006

Defective apoptosis of dendritic cells can be a critical component of autoimmune diseases

The failure of programming that sparks the death of dendritic cells - those that activate the immune system - can initiate autoimmune disease, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Science.

1 Mar 2006

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

1 Mar 2006

Night blindness is a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease

"This is a new observation, a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease," said Levin, head of the Laboratory of the Molecular Biology of Chagas Disease at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Levin and colleagues report their findings in the March 2006, issue of the FASEB Journal.

1 Mar 2006

Link between rheumatoid arthritis and cancer examined

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the immune system and is thought to be linked to an increased risk of cancers of the lymphatic system.

28 Feb 2006

Stress affects male rats more than female rats

A new study reinforces the growing body of evidence on health disparities between men and women and may possibly shed light on why socially isolated men are more vulnerable to disease and death than isolated women.

28 Feb 2006

Is persistent bacterial infection good for your health?

Bacteria are bad. Mothers and doctors, not to mention the cleaning product industry, repeatedly warn of their dangers. But a Stanford University School of Medicine microbiologist is raising the intriguing idea that persistent bacterial and viral infections have benefits.

27 Feb 2006

Cervical cancer vaccines in development

Two preventative vaccines, Gardasil (Merck) and Cervarix (GlaxoSmithKline) that work against the Human Papilloma virus (HPV) - a sexually transmitted infection and the primary cause of cervical cancer - are gaining favorable attention.

27 Feb 2006

Why people of African descent are more vulnerable to tuberculosis infection

A team of scientists has identified a cellular mechanism that may help explain the puzzle of why people of African descent are more susceptible to tuberculosis infection and why, once infected, they develop more severe states of the disease than whites.

27 Feb 2006

New generation gold-based drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Gold compounds have been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases for more than 75 years, but until now, how the metals work has been a mystery.

27 Feb 2006

Combination therapy improves Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-Related Lymphoma outcome

Combining aggressive HIV therapy and chemotherapy significantly improves the survival rates of HIV-positive men and women treated for lymphoma, according to a new study.

27 Feb 2006

Study associates chronic, severe inflammation with increased lymphoma risk among RA patients

An inflammatory disease of the immune system, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased occurrence of lymphoma--or cancers of the lymphatic system, which plays an integral role in the body's ability to fight infection.

27 Feb 2006

Viagra could cure Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder which causes ulcerations in the gut and can make digesting food painful.

27 Feb 2006

$1 million of mesothelioma research funding

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) has announced awards of almost $1 million in additional research funding aimed at curing mesothelioma.

24 Feb 2006

Research points to a novel approach to treating serious Strep infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered that so-called flesh-eating "Strep" bacteria use a specific enzyme to break free of the body's immune system, a finding which could potentially lead to new treatments for serious infections in human patients.

24 Feb 2006