Immunosuppression News and Research

RSS

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.

HemoSep device significantly reduces need for blood transfusions during major surgeries

A pioneering surgical blood salvage technology developed at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, is set to transform the way major surgery is carried out by reducing blood loss in patients.

21 Aug 2012

Diabetes Research Institute to receive JDRF-HCT grant for islet encapsulation study

JDRF, in collaboration with The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (HCT), announced today that it has finalized a grant in the area of islet cell encapsulation to Dr. Camillo Ricordi, M.D. and a team of investigators at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), based at the University of Miami (FL).

17 Aug 2012

FDA requests Biovest to conduct second Phase III trial of BV301 for NHL

Biovest International, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it conducted a formal clinical guidance meeting with the U.S. FDA to determine the most expeditious U.S. registration pathway for BiovaxID, its personalized cancer vaccine for the consolidation treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

15 Aug 2012

Combination therapy does not change safety and efficacy relationship of TORISEL for advanced RCC

Pfizer Inc. announced that the Phase 3 INTORACT trial (B1771006), evaluating the combination of bevacizumab plus TORISEL (temsirolimus) compared with bevacizumab plus interferon-alfa-2a (IFN-α-2a) in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) across risk groups, did not meet its primary endpoint of superiority in extending progression free survival (PFS) in the study population.

12 Aug 2012

Schizophrenia may be linked to immune function

New Australian research shows that the brains of people with schizophrenia may be under attack by the immune system, providing the strongest evidence to date of a link between immune function and schizophrenia.

7 Aug 2012

Rituximab also benefits patients with kidney disorder

A drug commonly used to treat immune disorders such as lymphoma and arthritis also benefits patients with an immune disorder of the kidneys that can lead to kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of new study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

28 Jul 2012

Sirolimus has anti-skin cancer effect in kidney transplant patients

Switching from calcineurin inhibitors to a sirolimus-containing immunosuppression regimen may help reduce the incidence of secondary skin cancer after kidney transplantation, suggests research published in TheNew England Journal of Medicine.

27 Jul 2012

Pneumococcal revaccination needed in kidney transplant patients

Kidney transplant patients vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae appear to be protected against pneumococcal infection for at least 15 months, research shows.

23 Jul 2012

Thrombopoietin mimetic offers aplastic anemia hope

Eltrombopag significantly improves blood counts in some patients with refractory severe aplastic anemia, suggests research published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Jul 2012

UCLA Heart Transplant Program performs 2,000th heart transplant surgery

The UCLA Heart Transplant Program performed its 2,000th heart transplant surgery earlier this month, becoming the first program in the western United States and only the second in the world to achieve this remarkable milestone.

28 Jun 2012

Scientists reverse diabetes in mice using stem cells

University of British Columbia scientists, in collaboration with an industry partner, have successfully reversed diabetes in mice using stem cells, paving the way for a breakthrough treatment for a disease that affects nearly one in four Canadians.

28 Jun 2012

REG3A molecule may lead to new treatments for psoriasis, wound-healing

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder in which skin cells proliferate out of control. For some hard-to-heal wounds, the problem is just the opposite: Restorative skin cells don't grow well or fast enough. In a paper published in the June 21, 2012 issue of Immunity, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine describe a molecule that may lead to new treatments for both problems.

22 Jun 2012

Transplantation of tissue-engineered vein is a success and offers hope for patients who lack suitable veins for dialysis or bypass surgery

The first biologically tissue-engineered vein grown from a patient’s own stem cells has been successfully transplanted into a 10-year-old girl with portal vein obstruction, dramatically enhancing her quality of life.

15 Jun 2012

Study strengthens link between HHV-6B and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

A ten-year NIH-funded study has determined that a third of infants with prolonged seizures and fever suffer from either a new or reactivated roseola virus infection. Roseola viruses are the cause of the common childhood rash, but can also cause limbic encephalitis, a condition that frequently progresses to epilepsy. Investigators discovered one of the roseola viruses, human herpesvirus-6B (HHV-6B) in the blood of 32% of 169 infants with prolonged seizures, a condition known as status epilepticus.

15 Jun 2012

Data from several clinical trials of ADCETRIS to be presented at ASCO annual meeting

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that data from several clinical trials of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) will be presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held June 1-5, 2012 in Chicago, IL.

4 Jun 2012

Glucocorticoid steroids in intelligent medicine specifically hits relevant cells

Scientists at Aarhus University, Denmark in collaboration with the biotech company Cytoguide now publish a key to use glucocorticoid steroids in a kind of intelligent medicine that specifically hits the relevant cells. Data are based on rodent studies but if this principle is translated to humans it may greatly improve todays hazardous treatment with this type of potent steroids.

1 Jun 2012

Common pain killers linked to decreased skin cancer risk

Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is associated with a decreased risk for skin cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma, study findings indicate.

31 May 2012

EPO issues patent to Cytune’s CYP0150 for treatment of cancer

Cytune Pharma, an emerging leader in innovative immunomodulatory agents against cancer and infectious diseases, announced today that it will attend the BIO2012 to present its major achievements over the last 12 months and to foster partnering discussions.

30 May 2012

Tulane to initiate XM-ONE clinical trial in kidney transplantation

Tulane University Hospital, New Orleans, LA, USA will in May start a prospective trial in Kidney Transplantation investigating the potential of cross match XM-ONE as part of the risk assessment of their patients.

28 May 2012

Pfizer fails to meet primary endpoint in TORISEL Phase 3 study for advanced RCC

Pfizer Inc announced that the Phase 3 INTORSECT (B1771003) study, evaluating TORISEL(temsirolimus) in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) whose disease had progressed on or after SUTENT (sunitinib malate) therapy, did not meet the primary endpoint of prolonging progression free survival (PFS) when compared to sorafenib.

16 May 2012