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MMR vaccine could offer protection against COVID-19

Administering the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine could serve as a preventive measure to dampen septic inflammation associated with COVID-19 infection, say a team of experts in this week's mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

19 Jun 2020

Severity of COVID-19 linked to heparanase activity and heparan sulfate levels

Researchers at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands reported an increase of heparanase activity and heparan sulfate levels in the plasma of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which was also associated with the severity of the condition – suggesting, in turn, potential treatment utility of low molecular weight heparins. The paper is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

16 Jun 2020

Texas Heart Institute and 7 Hills Pharma receive $1.9 million to improve stem cell transplants

The Texas Heart Institute and 7 Hills Pharma received a $1.9 million, Phase II STTR (R42) grant from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute to advance further their lead product 7HP349, a novel integrin activator, to define the optimal dosing schedule for cord blood transplant along with a focus on development and production of a formulation that meets safety standards for filing an IND application with the FDA.

12 Jun 2020

Researchers investigate possible causes of high COVID-19 mortality in Italy

On March 11th, 2020 the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic.

29 May 2020

New Thermo Scientific Proteome Discoverer 2.5 software strengthens laboratory workflows

Scientists in the life sciences can now benefit from upgrades to a suite of analytical software solutions with new features designed to enhance productivity, confidence and accuracy in numerous fields, including proteomics, food safety and biotherapeutic drug development.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 28 May 2020

New strategy identified to address the underlying cause of LAD1 patients' symptoms

Owing to a rare genetic mutation, individuals with leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1 (LAD1) experience a suite of symptoms that trace back to an immune system dysfunction.

27 May 2020

New discovery may contribute to early identification of aggressive breast tumors

Immune system cells in the blood of breast cancer patients undergo alterations early in the disease course, according to a study published in the journal Clinical & Translational Immunology.

12 May 2020

Study provides genetic explanation behind the sex bias observed in certain diseases

Some diseases exhibit a clear sex bias, occurring more often, hitting harder or eliciting different symptoms in men or women.

12 May 2020

Study shows COVID-19 vulnerability is highly dependent on host genetic architecture

A new US study available on the preprint server medRxiv reveals certain genetic variations that are associated with infection susceptibility and diverse clinical presentation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – including asymptomatic cases and severe forms of the disease in younger patients.

10 May 2020

Modified dialysis device treats COVID-19

As part of a randomized controlled trial, a team from Lawson Health Research Institute is the first in the world to treat a patient with COVID-19 using a modified dialysis device.

7 May 2020

Study discovers inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 entry priming protein by approved drug

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome -coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread to most of the world, causing millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* shows that a protease inhibitor drug already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could inhibit viral entry.

6 May 2020

Bioactive lipids are key for diagnosis and treatment of cardiac repair after heart attack

Black men and women have higher incidences than whites of developing advanced heart failure following a heart attack.

5 May 2020

Scientists receive $12-million grant to explore molecular mechanisms of heart injury and repair

Heart disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. But significant disparities exist in the incidence and severity of heart disease, particularly between men and women, and major barriers remain for the successful long-term care of heart disease patients.

5 May 2020

Mapping complex peripheral immune response to severe COVID-19

In a recent article publicly available at medRxiv, researchers from Stanford have presented a single-cell atlas of the peripheral immune response to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), highlighting pertinent immunological features associated with the severe forms of the disease.

26 Apr 2020

New findings could make immunotherapy treatments effective for more cancer patients

Scientists have developed a new way to map the molecules on tumour cells that flag their presence to the immune system, according to a study published today in eLife.

22 Apr 2020

Male-female cardiac repair differences found in heart failure survival after heart attack

The short-term acute inflammatory response triggered to mend injured cardiac tissue following a heart attack can lead to weakening of the heart's pumping function if the inflammation remains active over the long-term.

20 Apr 2020

Researchers discover new way to refine production of retinal cells to treat blindness

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and St Erik Eye Hospital in Sweden have discovered a way to refine the production of retinal cells from embryonic stem cells for treating blindness in the elderly.

30 Mar 2020

Microbiome could help identify pre-cancer risk in women with HPV

A new study published in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens in March 2020 reports the possible use of the bacteria Gardnerella found in the cervix and vagina of women with Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, as a marker of precancerous change. The findings could help to find new methods of treatment that involve inducing changes in the microbiome to arrest the course of the disease.

26 Mar 2020

Abdominal aortic aneurysm in older men associated with levels of leukocyte subsets

Abdominal arterial (or aortic) aneurysm in older men is associated with levels of certain subtypes of white blood cells, a study from the University of Gothenburg shows.

16 Mar 2020

Comprehensive tumor profiling reveals why osteosarcoma does not respond to immunotherapy

Comprehensive profiling of tumor samples taken from patients with osteosarcoma shows that multiple factors contribute to the traditionally poor responses observed from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

22 Feb 2020