Inflammasome News and Research

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Research on inflammasomes lays foundations for developing new RA treatments

Patients with more or less severe forms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may have the same painful symptoms, but does this mean that the cause of their illness is the same? And therefore that they should all receive the same treatment? Scientists at VIB and Ghent University have demonstrated with their research into inflammasomes that RA should be considered as a syndrome rather than a single disease.

2 Jul 2014

Study reveals that inflammasomes remain active even after cell death

Even after a cell dies, components of the immune system remain active and continue to fuel inflammatory reactions.

23 Jun 2014

Cystinosis Research Foundation granted $2.15M in 2013 to researchers investigating cure for cystinosis

The Cystinosis Research Foundation awarded $2,153,048 in 2013 to researchers investigating better treatments and a cure for cystinosis, a rare metabolic and genetic disease that afflicts about 500 children and young adults in the United States and 2,000 worldwide.

19 Feb 2014

Inflammation causally linked to functional decline in aging

Inflammation is the common denominator of many chronic age-related diseases such as arthritis, gout, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. But according to a Yale School of Medicine study, even in the absence of a disease, inflammation can lead to serious loss of function throughout the body, reducing healthspan - that portion of our lives spent relatively free of serious illness and disability.

23 Oct 2013

Probiotics help stress-associated gastrointestinal disorders, study says

For those with irritable bowel syndrome who wonder if stress aggravates their intestinal disorder, a new University of Michigan Health System study shows it's not all in their head.

15 Mar 2013

Protein complex plays critical role in development of Alzheimer's disease

The Bonn site of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn are leading contributors.

21 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms.

14 Dec 2012

Combining 5-fluorouracil and IL-1 beta inhibitor can improve effectiveness of chemotherapy

These results reveal how the immune system can then limit the effectiveness of some cancer chemotherapies. The researchers now intend to block the molecules responsible for negative immune system activation to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy. A clinical trial to test this hypothesis should begin very soon.

5 Dec 2012

Hypertonic solution effective in reducing inflammation

Research carried out at The University of Manchester has found further evidence that a simple solution, which is already used in IV drips, is an effective treatment for reducing inflammation.

From The University of Manchester 21 Sep 2012

Targeting double-stranded RNA dependent protein kinase could treat inflammation

Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that inflammation could be treated by targeting a molecule called the double-stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR). These findings are published in the July issue of Nature.

9 Jul 2012

University of Kentucky researchers make major breakthrough in GA

University of Kentucky researchers, led by Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, have made a major breakthrough in the "dry" form of age-related macular degeneration known as geographic atrophy.

27 Apr 2012

Study examines role of NLRP3 inflammasome in ventilator-induced lung injury

Mechanical ventilation is often lifesaving, but can also initiate or aggravate lung injury. A new study in the May issue of Anesthesiology examined the role of one particular receptor in the inflammatory pathway, the NLRP3 inflammasome, and whether it impacts ventilator-induced lung injury.

26 Apr 2012

Inflammasome involved in regulating Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that a part of the immune system called the inflammasome is involved in regulating the development of one of the most common forms of blindness, called Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

9 Apr 2012

Study investigates how cytokine IFN-λ release is regulated

In new research appearing in this month's issue of the journal Nature Immunology, Roy Curtiss, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, along with international collaborators, investigates the coordination of a particular type of immune response, involving the release of of IFN-λ- a cell-signaling protein molecule known as a cytokine.

10 Feb 2012

Statin use may influence susceptibility to ILD in smokers

Use of statins may influence susceptibility to or the progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in smokers, according to a new study.

6 Jan 2012

Inflammasome may lead to more damage following heart attack

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that an inflammatory mechanism known as inflammasome may lead to more damage in the heart following injury such as a heart attack, pointing researchers toward developing more targeted strategies to block the inflammatory mechanisms involved.

30 Nov 2011

Scientists uncover how immune system responds to invading anthrax bacteria

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have uncovered how the body's immune system launches its survival response to the notorious and deadly bacterium anthrax.

17 Jun 2011

Discovery on immune system paves way to new vaccine against pneumococcal disease

A new breakthrough in the fight against pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia has been announced today by scientists in Leicester and Dublin. The discovery will lead to a dramatic shift in our understanding of how the body's immune system responds to infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and pave the way for more effective vaccines.

12 Nov 2010

Highlights from June 2010 issue of American Journal of Pathology

Dr. Kanneboyina Nagaraju and colleagues at the Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC demonstrate that affected muscle may directly contribute to inflammation in muscular dystrophy. Their report can be found in the June 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

26 May 2010

Higher the blood cholesterol level, greater the risk of atherosclerosis: Study

In addition to crystallized cholesterol, atherosclerotic plaques always contain large quantities of immune cells but, surprisingly, no bacteria or viruses. It was previously unclear just how the body's own defence forces are called into action. Even animals that are kept in an absolutely sterile environment can suffer from "clogging" or "furring" of the arteries when their food contains high levels of cholesterol.

29 Apr 2010