Immune System News and Research

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Nabi Biopharmaceuticals granted Staphylococcus Antigen and Vaccine patent

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,936,258 entitled "Staphylococcus Antigen and Vaccine" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the composition of a strategically important glycoprotein-based antigen (GP-1) associated with three Staphylococcal strains: S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus and S. hominis.

11 Oct 2005

New way to measure the impact of AIDS on the living brain

A new University of California - Los Angeles/University of Pittsburgh imaging study for the first time shows the selective pattern of destruction inflicted by AIDS on brain regions that control motor, language and sensory functions. High-resolution 3-D color scans created from magnetic resonance images (MRI) vividly illustrate the damage.

10 Oct 2005

High fat foods can soothe inflammation

"Take two cheeseburgers and call me in the morning," may sound like far-fetched medical advice. After all, high fat foods can worsen blockages in blood vessels.

10 Oct 2005

Real dangers from environmental toxins most likely occur early in life

Exposure of developing fetuses and newborns to low levels of environmental toxins such as lead, mercury and dioxin, as well as nicotine and ethanol, could be behind the recent sharp rises in asthma, allergies and autoimmune disorders like lupus, says a Cornell University researcher.

10 Oct 2005

The rise of breast cancer

In a continuing increase in breast cancer, one in nine women in the UK now risk contracting the disease during their lifetime.

10 Oct 2005

Biothera's beta glucan patents upheld

Cypress Systems Inc. has agreed to stop selling yeast beta glucan and has acknowledged the validity of Biothera's patents as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed in federal district court last March.

10 Oct 2005

Tonsils reveal information that helps understand lupus

By snipping out and analyzing tiny samples of patients' tonsils, scientists have identified a key cellular checkpoint that is somehow bypassed in lupus patients, where harmful immune cells that normally are squelched by the body are mistakenly granted access.

9 Oct 2005

Researchers find gene that is important for the control of fundamental rhythms in nematode worms

University of Utah biologists found a gene that controls rhythmic events in a worm's life: swallowing food, laying eggs and pooping.

9 Oct 2005

Researchers find CCL5 protein produced in the course of respiratory viral infections can serve to protect macrophages from an untimely death

Enlisted to help fight viral infections, immune cells called macrophages consume virus-infected cells to stop the spread of the disease in the body.

9 Oct 2005

Gut antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for Crohn's disease

A collaboration led by the Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found that an antibody which binds to an unusual sugar molecule residing in the gut halts the inflammation seen in Crohn's disease and other intestinal inflammations. The antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for these common chronic intestinal disorders.

9 Oct 2005

Tissue engineering used to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report using tissue engineering to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs, first using cells from the amniotic fluid to grow sections of cartilage tube, and then implanting these living grafts into the lambs while still in the womb.

9 Oct 2005

Avian influenza and the U.S

If a virulent strain of avian influenza ever struck the U.S. poultry industry, this country probably would fare better than many other nations due to careful biosecurity procedures in force.

9 Oct 2005

New role for the blood protein serum amyloid P in the body's response to medical materials

Using a technique called proteomics, the researchers identified many of the blood proteins that stick (adsorb) to the surfaces of medical devices. Blood proteins that adsorb to the surfaces of materials unfold and can be recognized by the body, which then mounts a response against the device.

5 Oct 2005

Influenza evolution in action

On the eve of the 2005-06 flu season, scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) have captured influenza evolution in action. In a study published in this week's journal Nature, the researchers report the first large-scale project to sequence the influenza virus.

5 Oct 2005

Researchers "should rethink what they are doing" in creating drugs based on a fruit-fly model

The first close-up look at a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule involved in immune response in mammals suggests that researchers "should rethink what they are doing" in creating drugs based on a fruit-fly model, scientists say.

4 Oct 2005

Discovery of molecular roots of asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis

The molecular roots of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS) have been discovered by a team of researchers led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. They say their findings may point to ways to effectively treat these diseases - if not stop them before they start.

4 Oct 2005

Protein secreted by the dog hookworm may advance vaccine development in humans

A paper published in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that vaccination against a protein secreted by the dog hookworm can protect against blood loss and anaemia caused by the same hookworm in dogs.

4 Oct 2005

Johns Hopkins awarded $12 million to study how stem cell therapies can be used to treat hearts damaged by heart attack

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins Heart Institute have been awarded more than $12 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study how stem cell therapies can be used to treat hearts damaged by heart attack or heart failure.

4 Oct 2005

Body's own defenses may cause HIV-related dementia

Publishing in the Sept. 2005 issue of the Journal of Virology, the researchers show that HIV in the temporal lobe mutates at a rate 100 times faster than in other parts of the body, triggering white blood cells to continually swarm to attack the infection. The associated overcrowding and inflammation appear to cause the dementia.

3 Oct 2005