Immune Response News and Research

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Flu vaccine: the facts. An interview with Dr Lisa Maragakis

There are different formulations of the flu vaccine but in general they all do the same thing, which is to stimulate our body's immune system to recognize and fight against the influenza virus.

21 Dec 2015

Janssen collaborates with Bavarian Nordic to develop, commercialize vaccine for chronic HPV infections

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the company has entered into a definitive collaboration and license agreement with Bavarian Nordic to leverage their MVA-BN technology, jointly with Janssen's own AdVac® technology, in the development and commercialization of a heterologous prime-boost vaccine for the treatment of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) chronic infections which can lead to cancer.

20 Dec 2015

Findings show promising evidence for creating broad-spectrum antiviral

UW researchers working in collaboration with Kineta Inc. and the University of Texas at Galveston have shown that making a drug-like molecule to turn on innate immunity can induce genes to control infection in several -known viruses.

18 Dec 2015

Patient's mental health prior to radical cystectomy can influence postoperative outcomes

A patient's mental health prior to surgery can influence postoperative outcomes. Removal of the bladder, or radical cystectomy (RC), is an effective treatment for locally advanced bladder cancer, but complications occur in as many as 66% of patients.

18 Dec 2015

Cardiff scientists find way to aid recovery, reduce risk of life-threatening infections in brain damaged patients

Cardiff University scientists believe they may have found a way to aid recovery and minimise the risk of life-threatening infections in patients with traumatic brain injuries.

17 Dec 2015

TSRI scientists track how HIV-fighting antibodies develop over time

In a new study, a team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute tracked how a family of these HIV-fighting antibodies develops over time. The research shows how a future vaccine might trigger the immune system to produce these antibodies more effectively.

16 Dec 2015

Molecular signatures can predict flu vaccine responses in young and old

What factors inhibit strong responses to seasonal flu vaccines in the elderly? Why do anti-flu antibodies last longer after vaccination in some people? Answers are emerging from an Emory University-based systems biology analysis of blood samples from more than 400 volunteers who received seasonal flu vaccines. Bali Pulendran, PhD, led a team of researchers who tracked patterns of gene expression, known as molecular signatures, of strong immune responses in volunteers' blood across five consecutive seasons from 2007 to 2011.

16 Dec 2015

New research sheds light on how gut damage can cause malnutrition, oral vaccine failure

It has been estimated that if every nutritional measure known to be helpful were applied to every child in the world, global malnutrition would be decreased by only a third. New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the University of Vermont and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh sheds light on why: Damage to the gut from infection explains why food alone is not a solution to malnutrition.

15 Dec 2015

Study: Brain cell death may trigger multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) may be triggered by the death of brain cells that make myelin, the insulation around nerve fibers, according to research on a novel mouse model developed by scientists from the University of Chicago and Northwestern Medicine. The death of these cells initiates an autoimmune response against myelin, the main characteristic of the disease, which leads to MS-like symptoms in mice.

14 Dec 2015

NIAID scientists successfully test prime-boost H7N9 influenza vaccine concept in clinical trial

In clinical trials, several candidate H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccines made from inactivated viruses have been shown to be safe and to generate an immune response. However, scientists believe for practical use, these potential vaccines would require multiple doses or the addition of adjuvants, which enhance the immune response.

12 Dec 2015

Abbott, UCSF identify human pegivirus 2 among some patients with hepatitis C

Abbott and University of California San Francisco published research identifying a newly discovered human virus, known as human pegivirus 2 (HPgV-2), and proving it is found among some patients with hepatitis C (HCV).

12 Dec 2015

Oxford University researchers find that a blood test could predict rheumatoid arthritis risk

Scientists have found a marker that can indicate your likelihood of suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) even sixteen years before the condition takes effect. A team from the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at Oxford University found that a blood test that looks for antibodies that recognize the protein tenascin-C could reliably show those who will contract the condition.

10 Dec 2015

Scientists reveal why loss of CD73 enzyme in human cancer promotes tumor progression

Scientists have shown for the first time why loss of the enzyme CD73 in human cancer promotes tumor progression.

8 Dec 2015

Scientists decipher details of cloaking proteins that protect the toxin that causes botulism

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University and the Institute of Advanced Sciences in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, have discovered new details about how "cloaking" proteins protect the toxin that causes botulism, a fatal disease caused most commonly by consuming improperly canned foods.

7 Dec 2015

Yale researchers develop vaccine strategy that reduces risk of flu in cancer patients

Yale Cancer Center researchers have developed a vaccine strategy that reduces the risk of flu infections in cancer patients at highest risk for influenza. The findings were presented Dec. 6 at the 57th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Orlando, Florida.

7 Dec 2015

Personalised peptide vaccination promising in bladder cancer

Metastatic bladder cancer patients who have progressed on first-line platinum-based chemotherapy could derive survival benefits from personalised peptide vaccination, according to phase II trial results.

27 Nov 2015

New combination approach to eradicate established tumors

A laboratory study conducted at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands has found that immunotherapy can be efficiently combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT) to eradicate established tumors. The approach results in strong local tumor destruction and a robust systemic immune response against the disease.

27 Nov 2015

Researchers successfully combine antibody-drug conjugate with immunotherapy to attack breast cancer cells

To more efficiently treat breast cancer, scientists have been researching molecules that selectively bind to cancer cells and deliver a substance that can kill the tumor cells, for several years. Researchers from the University and University Hospital Basel have now for the first time successfully combined such an antibody-drug conjugate with a therapy that stimulates the immune system to attack tumor cells.

26 Nov 2015

Seqirus announces FDA approval of Fluad for seasonal influenza

Seqirus announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Fluad (Influenza Vaccine, Adjuvanted) to help protect those aged 65 years and older against seasonal influenza. Fluad is the first adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine approved in the United States; it was specifically developed for the adult population aged 65 and older.

25 Nov 2015

People with viral infections and identical gene mutations may be prone to hyperinflammatory disorder

A group of people with fatal H1N1 flu died after their viral infections triggered a deadly hyperinflammatory disorder in susceptible individuals with gene mutations linked to the overactive immune response, according to a study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.