Immune System News and Research

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Timing of antibody testing is critical for accurate COVID-19 detection

Scientists have analysed data from around the world to examine the accuracy of antibody tests for COVID-19, and have shown that the timing of testing is critical. The tests do not work accurately when administered at the wrong time.

26 Jun 2020

International study uncovers three molecules with potential for treating epilepsy

A major international study has uncovered three molecules that have the potential to be developed into new drugs to treat epilepsy.

26 Jun 2020

Understanding dexamethasone’s role in treating COVID-19

While the steroid medicine dexamethasone may help people with serious COVID-19 illness, it should only be given to people very ill in hospital and shouldn’t be taken by anyone to try to prevent COVID-19 or for less severe cases.

26 Jun 2020

Seniors in low-income housing live in fear of COVID infection

Davetta Brooks, 75, who has heart failure, a fractured hip and macular degeneration, is afraid. Conditions in her low-income senior building on Chicago's Near West Side — the Congressman George W. Collins Apartments — are "deplorable," she said.

26 Jun 2020

Vitamin D supplements may help prevent serious side effect of anti-cancer therapy

New research indicates that taking vitamin D supplements may help prevent a potentially serious side effect of a revolutionary form of anti-cancer therapy. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

26 Jun 2020

Antibody tests may give false hope of immunity, health experts warn

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health experts warn against the use of antibody tests to determine if a person has immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An antibody test determines if a person developed antibodies against the infection due to past exposure.

26 Jun 2020

Irritable bowel disease heightens the risk of dementia

Scientists have long explored the link between the gut and the brain. Now, a new study shows that older adults with chronic inflammation of the digestive tract may develop dementia more than seven years earlier than those who do not have the condition.

26 Jun 2020

Groundbreaking experiment marks first successful delivery of mitochondria to liver cells

University of Connecticut researcher Dr. George Wu recently published a paper in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology outlining his successful experiment delivering mitochondria to liver cells.

25 Jun 2020

Study identifies new allergy pathway

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have identified the sequence of molecular events by which tiny, tick-like creatures called house dust mites trigger asthma and allergic rhinitis.

25 Jun 2020

USask researchers receive $900,000 to help strengthen Canada's rapid response to COVID-19

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has awarded three University of Saskatchewan research teams a total of $900,000 to help strengthen Canada's rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic which had killed more than 450,000 people worldwide.

25 Jun 2020

Survey: Most American women have not heard of breast implant-related lymphoma

Only about 1 out 7 American women have heard about breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) - an immune system cancer occurring in a small percentage of women with breast implants, according to a new survey.

25 Jun 2020

New Cochrane review assesses the accuracy of COVID-19 antibody tests

Today Cochrane, a global independent organization that reviews evidence from research to inform health decision-making, publishes a review of studies looking at the accuracy of COVID-19 antibody tests.

25 Jun 2020

Research team profiles the body's immune response to COVID-19

A team from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University are the first in the world to profile the body's immune response to COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Certain genes that predispose to cancer also affect the immune system, study shows

The study shows that the involvement of certain genes that predispose to cancer also affects the immune system, which could facilitate tumor growth.

25 Jun 2020

G6PD enzyme offers a promising therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases

A team from the University of Valencia, the La Fe Hospital Health Research Institute, and the INCLIVA Institute have participated in the identification of an enzyme (G6PD) as a possible therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases or in controlling exacerbated inflammatory responses such as the one caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

25 Jun 2020

Early childhood vaccinations may offer protection against COVID-19

A group of Lithuanian and Kurdish scientists have raised a hypothesis that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could protect children from COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Protein profile in serum reflects COVID-19 severity

The wide range of manifestations of COVID-19 has continued to baffle investigators. Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 shows that blood proteins in COVID-19 patients change over time, and these can possibly predict or reflect the severity of disease. More, they may present targets for treatment.

25 Jun 2020