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Immune system found to be more versatile than previously thought

By studying how mice fight off infection by intestinal worms - a condition that affects more than 1 billion people worldwide - scientists have discovered that the immune system is more versatile than has long been thought.

26 Feb 2009

New understanding on how inflammatory disease causes fatigue

New animal research in the February 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience may indicate how certain diseases make people feel so tired and listless.

18 Feb 2009

Scientists discover new cause of fatal brain injury from acute viral meningitis

In a November 16 advance, online publication of the journal Nature, the researchers say their discovery revamps common beliefs about how such potentially lethal infections may be ravaging the brain and suggests the possibility of new treatments.

17 Nov 2008

Chronic stress alters our genetic immune response

Most people would agree that stress increases your risk for illness and this is particularly true for severe long-term stresses, such as caring for a family member with a chronic medical illness. However, we still have a relatively limited understanding of exactly how stress contributes to the risk for illness. In the August 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, researchers shed new light on one link between stress and illness by describing a mechanism through which stress alters immune function.

27 Aug 2008

Like father like son - history of heart attacks in the family

Scientists know that heredity plays an important role in causing heart attacks. However the exact genetic mechanisms that transmit the risk of heart attacks from generation to generation still elude them.

17 Jun 2008

Avoiding spleen removal for Cooley's anemia sufferers

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College may have discovered the precise role of a gene in one of the world's most common blood disorders, beta-thalassemia, commonly known as Cooley's anemia. Along with sickle-cell anemia, Cooley's anemia is the most commonly inherited disease in the world, affecting many people of Mediterranean descent, and 20 out of every 100,000 African-Americans. The World Health Organization estimates that between 50,000-100,000 children are born with the disease each year.

27 May 2008

Nanomagnets used to carry genes to fight tumours

A revolutionary cancer treatment using microscopic magnets to enable 'armed' human cells to target tumours has been developed by researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

17 Apr 2008

Biomarkers allow doctors to match therapy to patient

Genetic variations ensure that no two people are exactly alike, nor are their cancers.

13 Apr 2008

Scientists block early step in metastasis of prostate cancer cells

Recent studies have suggested an association between chronic inflammation and cancers of the prostate, colon, stomach and liver.

9 Apr 2008

Expansion of monocyte subset could serve as a biomarker for HIV progressions

An increase in the CD163+/CD16+ monocyte subset could be a biomarker for the progression of HIV disease, according to researchers at Temple University.

31 Mar 2008

Adult stem cell application effective in treatment of peripheric vascular disease

Multipotent adult progenitor stem cells extracted from bone marrow, and known as MAPCs, have proved to be effective in the regeneration of blood vessel tissue and also in muscle tissue when treating peripheric vascular disease.

25 Jan 2008

An emerging candidate for protecting patients from liver injury after abdomen surgery

Many patients worldwide are going to receive major abdomen surgery or intestine transplantation every year and expect to be afflicted with liver injury afterwards.

17 Jan 2008

Supplements of lipoic acid could reduce atherosclerosis, weight gain

A new study done with mice has discovered that supplements of lipoic acid can inhibit formation of arterial lesions, lower triglycerides, and reduce blood vessel inflammation and weight gain - all key issues for addressing cardiovascular disease.

15 Jan 2008

Anemia drugs linked with leukemic transformation in patients with primary myelofibrosis

Mayo Clinic researchers have reported the discovery of a link between erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) and leukemic transformation (conversion to leukemia) of the blood disorder myelofibrosis.

10 Dec 2007

Discovery of novel pathway to increased inflammation in diabetes patients

Researchers at UC Davis Health System have discovered a novel pathway that results in increased inflammation of blood vessels in patients with type 1 diabetes.

27 Nov 2007

Diesel exhaust fumes increase clot formation and blood platelet activity

Increased roadway pollution produced by diesel fuel in vehicles is leading to a cascade of conditions that could result in heart attack or stroke, researchers suggested in the report of a small study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2007.

6 Nov 2007

Role of cholesteryl ester hydrolase in reducing heart disease identified

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified the role of a key enzyme called CEH in reducing heart disease, paving the way for new target therapies to reduce plaques in the arteries and perhaps in the future, help predict a patient's susceptibility to heart disease.

24 Oct 2007

Coronary heart disease: Spotting the culprit(s) is the way towards prevention

A Public Lecture at Bristol University to rise awareness on a socially relevant still belittled disease

24 Sep 2007

IDM Pharma receives not approvable letter for Mifamurtide for treatment of osteosarcoma

IDM Pharma, Inc. ( NASDAQ:IDMI ) announced today that it received a not approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after completing the review of the new drug application (NDA) for the investigational drug mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE), formerly known as Junovan, for the treatment of non-metastatic osteosarcoma, a rare and often fatal bone tumor that typically affects children and young adults.

28 Aug 2007

Chitosan for space travel injuries

A team of researchers is seeking to determine if an ingredient found in shrimp and lobster shells might make future missions to Mars safer for space crews who could be injured along the way.

24 Jul 2007