Immune System News and Research

RSS

Stanford researchers identify leukemia stem cells

A handful of leukemia cells constantly replenish the supply of cancerous cells, according to new work by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

11 Aug 2004

Million-dollar grant to trial potential stem cell therapies to repair injured spinal cords

An Australian team headed by UNSW's Professor Phil Waite has won a million-dollar grant from the NSW Department of Health to trial potential stem cell therapies to repair injured spinal cords.

11 Aug 2004

Serious new side effects of performance enhancing drugs

As the countdown continues to the Athens Olympics, a new Australian study by a team of Southern Cross University (SCU) scientists has revealed serious new side effects of performance enhancing drugs.

11 Aug 2004

Not only has life evolved, but life has evolved to evolve

That's the conclusion drawn by two Rice University scientists who have designed a computer simulation to test the idea that evolvability — the likelihood of genetic mutation — is a trait that can itself be favored or disfavored through the process of natural selection.

11 Aug 2004

Changes to the UK's childhood vaccination programme

From the end of September these vaccines will be given in the routine vaccination schedule in a combined vaccine along with Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Hib.

9 Aug 2004

Austrian researchers in a world first have successfully engineered an allergy vaccine

Austrian researchers in a world first have successfully engineered an allergy vaccine using a genetically modified version of the birch pollen allergen.

9 Aug 2004

Liver transplantation outcomes have significantly improved for patients with hepatitis B

Since the early 1990s, therapeutic options for patients undergoing liver transplantation for hepatitis B have evolved to include HBV immune globulin (HBIG) and lamivudine.

9 Aug 2004

Reminder to avoid handling bats for risk of rabies

In the wake of an increase in calls reporting human and pet contacts with bats, the Washington Department of Health has reminded people that avoiding bats can protect them from rabies. Bats are not aggressive animals and they generally do not intentionally attack humans.

9 Aug 2004

Possible role for BK virus in development of prostate cancer

Now, new research by scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School suggests the intriguing possibility that this common virus also may play a role in prostate cancer – the second-leading cause of deaths from cancer in American men.

9 Aug 2004

Significant advance in the understanding of the hepatitis C virus (HCV)

Researchers have made a significant advance in the understanding of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by identifying new genetic factors associated with clearing the virus spontaneously without the necessity for additional treatment.

9 Aug 2004

Correlation between HCV viral load and severity of liver disease

The significance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) serum titers (HCV viral load) has been examined in several clinical situations. There is much evidence that patients with a lower viral load have better response rates to anti-viral therapy compared to those with higher levels.

9 Aug 2004

Self-recovery from Hep C infection linked to genes that suppress action of killer immune cells

In a study to be published in Science online Aug. 6, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that genes involved in suppressing the body's defensive "killer" immune cells are a potential key factor in spontaneous recovery from hepatitis C.

5 Aug 2004

First evidence of the molecular link between inflammation and cancer

The investigators found that a gene called I-kappa-B kinase (IKK beta), a pro-inflammatory gene, acts differently in two cell types to cause cancer. When IKK beta was deleted, the cancer incidence and tumor growth in mice was decreased by nearly 80 percent.

5 Aug 2004

Experimental vaccine against ricin

Scientists have developed an experimental vaccine against ricin, a potential biological threat agent, which fully protected mice from aerosol challenge with lethal doses of the toxin.

5 Aug 2004

One-third of U.S. adults use some form of alternative medicine

More than one-third of U.S. adults use some form of alternative medicine such as herbal supplements and other therapies, showed in a nationwide survey by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine published in May 2004.

2 Aug 2004

College freshmen, beware of dorm diseases

High school graduates have more in common with newborn babies than one would think. Although departing the proverbial family nest, incoming college freshmen need vaccinations, too.

2 Aug 2004

New approach to cancer vaccines may eradicate skin cancer tumors

Mayo Clinic and British researchers have developed a new approach to cancer vaccines that purposely kills healthy skin cells to target the immune system against tumors. The new approach has eradicated skin cancer tumors in mice.

2 Aug 2004

Up to 220 young children a day could be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of pesticides from eating fruit

New research by Friends of the Earth, published in a peer-reviewed journal this weekend, shows that up to 220 young children a day could have been exposed to potentially dangerous levels of pesticides just from eating a single apple or pear.

2 Aug 2004

New glycan arrays discover autoimmunogenic activities of SARS-CoV

Researchers in New York City and Guangzhou, China applied the rapidly-developing carbohydrate microarray technology to study an inactivated SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) vaccine and discovered autoimmunogenic activity of this newly identified human viral pathogen.

2 Aug 2004