Immunosuppression News and Research

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Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.

Experts publish a review of lung cancer treatments for patients with COVID-19

Lung cancer patients are at heightened risk for COVID-19 and the reported high mortality rate among lung cancer patients with COVID-19 has given pause to oncologists who are faced with patients with not one, but two severe, life-threatening diseases.

15 May 2020

Does HIV infection increase the severity of COVID-19?

A new study by researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports that being infected with HIV at the time of acquiring COVID-19 does not significantly increase the severity of illness or the risk of complications.

13 May 2020

COVID-19 could accelerate activation of dormant tuberculosis (TB)

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has thrown much of the world into disarray, with over 4 million people reported infected and well over 282,000 deaths. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 suggests that the long-term impact of the virus could include activation of dormant bacterial infections like tuberculosis (TB).

10 May 2020

Children are immune prepared for SARS-CoV-2

At least 30 new diseases have emerged in the last 20 years and now together threaten the health of hundreds of millions of people. For many of these diseases, there is no treatment, cure, or vaccine. While most of these diseases are dangerous to children, especially those younger than five years old, the novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), seems to spare most of them.

8 May 2020

Lipo-ImmunoTech receives grant to develop novel adoptive cell therapy technology for cancer

Lipo-ImmunoTech, LLC, a startup based in Charleston, South Carolina, recently received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer grant of just over $224,000 to continue to develop its novel adoptive cell therapy technology for cancer.

2 May 2020

COVID-19 and immunodeficiency

COVID-19 disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly infectious disease. As of today, over 170,000 people worldwide have succumbed to the infection. Reports have shown that some comorbidities and illnesses raise the risk of getting infected and also influence the severity of the disease. Having a compromised immune system can also drastically raise the risk of getting COVID-19.

21 Apr 2020

Pregnancy and fetal outcomes with COVID-19

A new study published preprint in the non-peer-reviewed journal medRxiv in April 2020 provides a systematic review of maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy affected by COVID-19, as well as the risk of vertical transmission of the virus.

16 Apr 2020

Molecular pathway that controls immunosuppression in tumors identified

An active immune system plays an important role in stopping cancer progression by identifying tumor cells and targeting them for destruction. Any deviation in the normal activities of the immune system could lead to accelerated tumor growth.

14 Apr 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

Critical guidance to identify COVID-19 patients at risk of drug-induced sudden cardiac death

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to spread, leading to more than 20,000 deaths worldwide in less than four months. Efforts are progressing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but it's still likely 12 to 18 months away.

25 Mar 2020

Key COVID-19 information for gastroenterologists and patients with digestive conditions

A paper published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology by clinicians at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai outlines key information gastroenterologists and patients with chronic digestive conditions need to know about COVID-19, or coronavirus.

18 Mar 2020

mRNA vaccine against novel coronavirus goes on a trial in Seattle

A clinical trial for a vaccine to protect against the novel coronavirus commenced this Monday in the U.S.. If successful, this could mean an end to the current global pandemic of COVID-19 infections, feel experts.

16 Mar 2020

Researchers engineer microparticles that show promise against transplant rejection

Inspired by a tactic cancer cells use to evade the immune system, University of Pittsburgh researchers have engineered tiny particles that can trick the body into accepting transplanted tissue as its own.

13 Mar 2020

Researchers prove the ability to grow human-derived blood vessels in a pig

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School recently proved the ability to grow human-derived blood vessels in a pig--a novel approach that has the potential for providing unlimited human vessels for transplant purposes.

11 Mar 2020

Study: Death rates after liver transplantation drop by more than 50% in the UK

In the past two decades, death rates after liver transplantation have dropped by more than half in the UK, according to a recent analysis of almost 10,000 liver transplant recipients published in BJS (British Journal of Surgery).

4 Mar 2020

New inhalation therapy could relieve lung fibrosis in mice and rats

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications in February 2020 shows that secretions from stem cells in the lung can be utilized to nebulize injured lungs due to several types of lung fibrosis in rats and mice. This could well result in the development of less invasive and more effective therapies for lung fibrosis.

1 Mar 2020

Measles re-emerging globally

Measles is a common childhood illness but can cause more than a passing fever with rash. It could turn out to be a complicated and severe illness, warn doctors in a new paper published in February 2020 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

17 Feb 2020

UCLA researcher designs ways for immune cells to 'outsmart' solid tumors

Yvonne Chen engineers immune cells to target their most evasive enemy: cancer. New cancer immunotherapies generate immune cells that are effective killers of blood cancers, but they have a hard time with solid tumors.

16 Feb 2020

Sexual orientation affects skin cancer risk in the USA

A new study published in the journal JAMA Dermatology in February 2020 shows a higher rate of indoor tanning and a corresponding increase in skin cancer, among men with homosexual or bisexual preferences compared to heterosexual men.

12 Feb 2020

Promising HIV vaccine fails in a large-scale clinical trial

The human immune deficiency virus (HIV) is an infectious disease that can lead to immunosuppression called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). For decades, scientists race to discover a vaccine that can help prevent the spread of the virus. The latest trial testing a new experimental vaccine in South Africa end in disappointment after deeming ineffective in preventing infection.

4 Feb 2020