Antigen News and Research

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Discovery of molecular roots of asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis

The molecular roots of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS) have been discovered by a team of researchers led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. They say their findings may point to ways to effectively treat these diseases - if not stop them before they start.

4 Oct 2005

Rapid weight gain between the ages of 25 and 40 doubles likelihood of prostate cancer recurrence

Men who gain weight rapidly between the ages of 25 and 40 are twice as likely to have recurrence of prostate cancer after surgery as men without rapid rates of weight gain, researchers from University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported in the October 1 issue of "Clinical Cancer Research."

4 Oct 2005

Discovery of mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have discovered a mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or diabetes.

3 Oct 2005

PSA doubling time is an important indicator of how well a patient will recover from prostate cancer

The clinical outcome for prostate cancer patients who have been treated with hormone therapy and radiation therapy can usually be determined by how rapidly their prostate specific antigen level rises following treatment

3 Oct 2005

Development of aggressive forms of prostate cancer may be influenced by environmental effects that occur early in life

How heavy a man is at the time he is diagnosed with prostate cancer, as well as his history of weight gain, appear to play significant roles in how aggressive his cancer may become, say researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

3 Oct 2005

Pain-free needles!

Millions of fearful patients could be saved the pain of vaccinations thanks to revolutionary pain-free needles to be revealed today for the first time at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

28 Sep 2005

New virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer

A Mayo Clinic research team has devised a new virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer. Researchers say their findings will help overcome hurdles that have hindered gene therapy cancer treatments.

27 Sep 2005

Cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, can cure mice with breast tumors

A team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that by using a cancer vaccine based on the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, they can cure mice with established breast tumors. Cancer vaccines, which are more properly described as immunotherapy, work by boosting an immune response against tumor-associated antigens.

27 Sep 2005

Vaccine candidate? Researchers synthesize oligosaccharide from anthrax pathogen

For weeks a white powder caused fear and shock for the American population: a few days after the attacks on September 11th, 2001, four innocent people became the victims of letters that contained the powder - spores of the anthrax pathogen. German researchers have now synthesized a molecule characteristic of anthrax in the laboratory which may be the basis for a new anthrax vaccine.

26 Sep 2005

Surprising immune system cells discovery

Immune system cells are connected to each other by an extensive network of tiny tunnels that, like a building's hidden pneumatic tube system, are used to shoot signals to distant cells.

26 Sep 2005

Polymorphisms in a receptor called CD32 influence the response to antibody therapy in cancer

In a paper appearing online in advance of print publication of the October 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Adam Boruchov and colleagues from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center dissect the contributions of CD32 isoforms in human dendritic cell (DC) activation and function.

26 Sep 2005

22 biomarkers that provide a more accurate screening for prostate

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a panel of 22 biomarkers that together provide a more accurate screening for prostate cancer than the current prostate specific antigen, or PSA, test.

22 Sep 2005

PSA remains the best measure of the likelihood of prostate cancer recurrence after surgery

Despite recent claims by some urologists that measuring the blood protein prostate-specific antigen (PSA) may not be effective in predicting risk of prostate cancer, a Johns Hopkins study of more than 2,000 men confirms that PSA remains the best measure of the likelihood of cancer recurrence after surgery.

19 Sep 2005

Study suggests chronic infections may create autoimmune response

New research finds the human immune system has foregone evolutionary changes that would allow it to produce better antibodies in less time because the improved antibodies would be far more likely to attack the body's own tissues.

19 Sep 2005

Screening test for cells that activate immune system

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are the first to create a large-scale, cell-based screening method that identifies which compounds activate immune-response cells that hold promise for future cancer-fighting vaccines.

12 Sep 2005

Sugar-coated markers of brain cell development may help success of stem cell transplants

Four sugar-coated faces made by stem cells as they differentiate into brain cells during development have been identified by scientists.

10 Sep 2005

Stressgen granted new U.S. patent for treatment of Hepatitis B

Stressgen Biotechnologies announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Patent Number 6,921,534 covering fusion protein compositions comprised of a hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen fused to a heat shock protein (Hsp), as well as DNA encoding such fusion proteins, and methods of treating an HBV infection using these fusion proteins.

7 Sep 2005