Immune System News and Research

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Scientists explore role of IgG4 Abs in IgG4-related disease

Autoimmune diseases are a medical conundrum. In people with these conditions, the immune system of the body, the designated defense system, starts attacking the cells or organs of its own body, mistaking the self-cells for invading disease-causing cells. Often, the cause for this spontaneous dysfunction is not clear, and hence, treatment of these diseases presents a major and ongoing challenge.

18 Dec 2019

Being around dogs from early age may lessen chance of developing schizophrenia as adult

Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being. Now, a study from Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that being around "man's best friend" from an early age may have a health benefit as well -- lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an adult.

18 Dec 2019

Study finds air pollution increases suicide risk and depression

Cutting air pollution could significantly reduce global rates of depression, a new study finds.

18 Dec 2019

Radiation-induced brain damage: new study reveals the mechanism

Following radiation therapy to the head for brain tumors, more than 80% of patients who live six months at least after the treatment report a loss of some cognitive functions such as memory, thinking and related tasks. Now a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports shows why this happens, which in turn could pave the way to correct this damage and protect the brain in future patients.

17 Dec 2019

Immune cells may link body composition to how cognition changes with age, study suggests

Iowa State researchers have found for the first time that less muscle and more body fat may affect our thinking as we age, and changes in parts of the immune system could be responsible.

17 Dec 2019

Study shows how immune cells quickly switch to attack mode

Macrophages have two faces: In healthy tissue, they perform important tasks and support their environment. However during an infection, they stop this work and hunt down the pathogens instead.

17 Dec 2019

Study finds new drivers of destructive inflammation

Scientists describe in Nature Immunology an entirely new molecular process in mice that triggers T cell-driven inflammation and causes different auto-immune diseases.

17 Dec 2019

Researchers identify protein that is key for successful viral DNA uncoating

Viruses have been part of animals and humans for eons. When viruses invade a cell, they can infiltrate the nucleus with their genome and become part of the genome of the infected organism. Viruses transfer their genes between various organisms, as well as between tissues containing well differentiated cells inside a living creature. But how they uncoat their well-packed genes and release them to cause infection is largely unknown.

17 Dec 2019

Researchers identify molecular machinery that drives rapid polymerization of actin filaments

Many cells in our body constantly change their shape and move within our tissues. For example, wound healing and the immune system depend on migrating cells.

17 Dec 2019

The sympathetic nervous system can modulate action of defense cells in autoimmune disease

The results of a study conducted in Brazil suggest that the sympathetic nervous system - the part of the autonomous nervous system that controls responses to danger or stress - can modulate the action of defense cells in patients with autoimmune diseases.

16 Dec 2019

Immunotherapy: A promising new alternative to cancer therapies

Sophie Lucas, a researcher at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) de Duve Institute, studies the immune responses that cancer patients can develop against their own tumor.

16 Dec 2019

E-cigarette use linked to increased risk of chronic lung diseases

E-cigarette use significantly increases a person's risk of developing chronic lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to new UC San Francisco research, the first longitudinal study linking e-cigarettes to respiratory illness in a sample representative of the entire U.S. adult population.

16 Dec 2019

Novel HIV vaccine shows promise

There are millions living with HIV and researchers have been working towards making a successful vaccine against the deadly infection for the past 35 years with no success. Now a new blueprint is being developed to prevent the infection.

15 Dec 2019

UAB seminar on the extraordinary science of the immune system

"The human immune system makes my head explode," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel recently told a University of Alabama at Birmingham freshman seminar on immunology. "This is by far the hardest subject I have ever had to explore."

15 Dec 2019

Eating raw or undercooked meat may lead to Toxoplasma infection

A new study by Flinders researchers highlights the possibility of catching Toxoplasma infection from eating undercooked meat.

13 Dec 2019

New strategy could prevent side effects of targeted cancer treatment

Targeted, highly effective cancer treatments often produce debilitating side effects. This is the case with one commonly used therapy which works by blocking the epidermal growth factor receptor, a protein that stimulates cell proliferation.

13 Dec 2019

Scientists develop an approach to vaccinate against gut inflammation

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term that describes many disorders that involve chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These conditions are tied to certain alternations in the gut flora.

12 Dec 2019

Rice University study aims to clarify microscopic aspects of cancer initiation

When do cancer-prone cells turn into full-blown cancer? A Rice University scientist and his colleague believe there's a way to know.

12 Dec 2019

JDRF announces more than $8 million in new funds to accelerate cutting-edge T1D research

JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, announced that it has committed 23 training grants, totaling more than $8 million in new funds to accelerate T1D research and the next generation of T1D experts, representing 9 states, as well as Australia, France, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, in partnership with 20 institutions.

12 Dec 2019

NIH-funded research finds differences in energy use by immune T cells in ME/CFS

New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest that specific immune T cells from people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) show disruptions in the way they produce energy.

12 Dec 2019