Immune System News and Research

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Gene that regulates normal embryonic development is found at high levels in virtually all forms of breast cancer

A gene that appears to help regulate normal embryonic development is found at high levels in virtually all forms of breast cancer, according to a new study led by Laszlo Radvanyi, Ph.D., associate professor of breast and melanoma medical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

25 Jul 2005

Stem cell therapy can be used effectively to treat heart attacks, or myocardial infarction, in pigs

In just two months, stem cells harvested from another pig's bone marrow and injected into the animal's damaged heart restored heart function and repaired damaged heart muscle by 50 percent to 75 percent.

25 Jul 2005

Pneumonia - another use for statins

Patients hospitalised because of pneumonia are at less risk of dying from the disease if they have been taking the widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs 'statins' before hospital admission.

25 Jul 2005

17 percent of infants living near "stop and go" traffic suffer from wheezing

University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers have found that 17 percent of infants living near "stop and go" traffic suffer from wheezing.

24 Jul 2005

Bacteria use host's immune response to their competitive advantage

Millions of bacteria live within the recesses of our noses and upper respiratory tracts, waiting for a chance to infiltrate and infect. But long before these bacteria break through our immune defenses, they must first compete against other bacterial species to colonize the mucus-lined surfaces of our noses.

24 Jul 2005

Potential new target for stomach cancer therapy

It started several years ago with the observation that a large group of seemingly unconnected genes were behaving differently in patients with stomach cancer.

24 Jul 2005

Role of IL-24 in regulating the immune system

Researchers at Introgen Therapeutics and their collaborators at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have published new findings on the role of IL-24 in regulating the immune system in the current online issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

21 Jul 2005

Imiquimod and fluorouracil emerge as effective weapons for treating superficial basal cell carcinomas

Basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, affects millions of people worldwide. While traditional treatment has been surgery and radiation, topical treatments in combination with surgery are showing more promise for patients with basal cell carcinoma.

21 Jul 2005

Biologic treatments to treat the physical symptoms of psoriasis

More than 4.5 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with psoriasis and 21 percent of those have moderate to severe psoriasis. This chronic condition, characterized by thick, red, scaly plaques that itch and bleed, not only makes the activities of daily life difficult, but also can affect a person's emotional well being.

21 Jul 2005

Sunscreens may play an increasingly important role in defending the skin

The benefits of using sunscreen when heading outdoors are well established - protection from overexposure to the harmful effects of the sun, prevention of prematurely aging skin and defense against future skin cancer.

21 Jul 2005

Researchers have doubled the potency of a protein that drives blood to clot

...according to research to be published in the July 26 edition of Biochemistry. The study results may have profound implications for the treatment of hemophilia, the inherited blood disorder that causes easy or excessive bleeding in 30,000 Americans.

20 Jul 2005

Moraxella catarrhalis found to be responsible for 10 percent of exacerbations of COPD

A ubiquitous bacterial strain thought to be uninvolved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in fact is responsible for 2-4 million flare-ups of the condition that occur annually in the United States, researchers from the University at Buffalo have shown.

20 Jul 2005

SIRT1 gene suppresses longevity

Researchers have determined that a gene present in mouse cells limits the number of times that a cell can divide. The gene is involved in a process, called senescence, which is thought to ensure that aging cells do not pass on harmful mutations.

20 Jul 2005

Combination of ribavirin and interferon is more effective in treating hepatitis C than using interferon alone

The researchers reviewed 72 randomized trials and 9,991 patients who had chronic hepatitis C for more than six months and were previously untreated, who had relapsed after treatment or who had not responded to other treatment.

19 Jul 2005

One of the first studies to define how unique we are on the genetic level

We all share the same genetic code, but a team from the Institute of Food Research (IFR) has found that the way our genes function varies significantly between individuals, particularly in some key areas including the immune system.

19 Jul 2005

Pineapple stems that show anti-tumour activity

Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have discovered two molecules from pineapple stems that show anti-tumour activity in laboratory studies. One molecule called CCS blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in approximately 30% of all cancers. The other molecule called CCZ, stimulates the body's own immune system to target and kill cancer cells.

19 Jul 2005

Removing warts without scarring

If burning and freezing warts hasn't worked, ask your dermatologist about getting a shot.

19 Jul 2005

Results demonstrate the safety and tolerability of ABthrax treatment for Anthrax infection

Human Genome Sciences has announced that results published in the current issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases demonstrate that the first investigational agent against anthrax infection to be evaluated in a clinical study since the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, is safe, well tolerated and achieves the blood levels predicted by relevant animal models as necessary to afford significant protection from the lethal effects of the anthrax toxin

19 Jul 2005

New way to fight antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital and Health Center, San Diego have discovered that "Staph" bacteria use a protective golden armor to ward off the immune system, a finding with the potential to lead to new treatments for serious infections now increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics.

19 Jul 2005