Immune Response News and Research

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Adverse effects in childhood lead to immune impairment later in life

The emotional pains we suffer in childhood can lead to weakened immune systems later in life, according to a new study.Based on this new research, the amount of this immune impairment even enhances that caused by the stress of caregiving later in life."What happens in childhood really matters when it comes to your immune response in the latter part of your life," explained Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University. She explained her work at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Diego.

16 Aug 2010

Obesity diabetes link found

Melbourne researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have found that inflammatory cells in fat tissue cause the body to become resistant to the effects of insulin – a common precursor to type II diabetes.

16 Aug 2010

Study identifies use of acetaminophen may increase asthma symptoms in adults

New evidence linking the use of acetaminophen to development of asthma and eczema suggests that even monthly use of the drug in adolescents may more than double risk of asthma in adolescents compared to those who used none at all; yearly use was associated with a 50 percent increase in the risk of asthma.

13 Aug 2010

Severe inflammatory response to initial UTI causes bladder damage: Research

The immune system may open the door to recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) by overdoing its response to an initial infection, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.Researchers showed in mice that severe inflammatory responses to an initial UTI cause bladder damage and allow infection to persist longer. After one to two weeks of infection, the bladder wall undergoes additional changes that leave mice more vulnerable to later infection. Suppressing the immune system during initial infection decreases these vulnerabilities, they report Aug. 12 in PLoS Pathogens.

13 Aug 2010

Exposure to immune proteins during pregnancy increases risk for schizophrenia in offspring

Infections like the flu are common occurrences during pregnancy, and research has shown that children born to mothers who suffered from flu, viruses and other infections during pregnancy have about a 1.5 to 7 times increased risk for schizophrenia. A new study out of Temple University examines what's behind that link.

13 Aug 2010

University of Maryland receives grant from NCRR to acquire superconducting NMR spectrometer

The University of Maryland, in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore County, has received a $7.9 million federal grant to acquire a superconducting 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnet that will help researchers unravel the mysteries of molecules and develop new agents to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

12 Aug 2010

Chimpanzee adenoviruses can be used as vaccine vectors: Research

In recent years, scientists have studied the possibility of using engineered human adenoviruses as vaccines against diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. In this approach, adenoviruses, which commonly cause respiratory-tract infections, are rendered relatively harmless before they are used as vectors to deliver genes from pathogens, which in turn stimulate the body to generate a protective immune response.

12 Aug 2010

NKTreg white blood cells migrate into liver, suppress immune responses: Research

After a transplant - and to assure that the new organ is not rejected - patients are put on life-long therapy to suppress their immune system, which, nevertheless, needs to be left intact enough to be able to defend the body against all kinds of disease. A tricky balance as the many rejected organs attest. But a discovery by Maria Monteiro and Luis Graça, two Portuguese scientists, could change all this, at least for the liver.

11 Aug 2010

Study suggests zinc supplementation may reduce pneumonia risk

A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.

11 Aug 2010

Study results provide rationale for use of PI3K inhibitors in therapeutic settings

Research at the Babraham Institute, investigating how white blood cells known as B cells develop, has revealed that genes from the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase family of enzymes are critical in enabling the B cells to produce antibodies in the spleen and lymph nodes.

10 Aug 2010

NIH begins human clinical testing for dengue virus vaccine

After more than a decade of development at the National Institutes of Health, a vaccine to prevent infection by the mosquito-borne dengue virus has begun human clinical testing. The vaccine was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is undergoing clinical study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

10 Aug 2010

CryoPatch SG pulmonary human cardiac patch receives FDA clearance for 5-year shelf-life extension

CryoLife, Inc., an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a five-year shelf-life on its CryoPatch® SG pulmonary human cardiac patch processed with the Company's proprietary SynerGraft® technology. CryoLife's SynerGraft technology is designed to remove allogeneic donor cells and cellular remnants from tissue without compromising the integrity of the underlying collagen matrix.

9 Aug 2010

Hemispherx Biopharma second-quarter net loss decreases to $3.67 million

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2010. The net loss (including non-cash expenses) for the 2nd fiscal quarter was approximately $3,676,000 or $0.03 per share compared to a loss of approximately $3,870,000 or $0.04 per share for the same period in 2009.

7 Aug 2010

Studies show biological agents play important role in maintaining remission in Crohn's disease

Biological agents may play an important role in maintaining remission in Crohn's disease, according to two new studies in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

6 Aug 2010

Summer Academy Meeting highlights benefits of HPV, Herpes Zoster vaccines

Vaccines have a long history of successfully preventing disease and, in effect, improving the lives of countless Americans. Now, two serious diseases - human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes zoster - could become a thing of the past as people better understand the safety and efficacy of vaccines to prevent these serious viral infections in specific populations.

6 Aug 2010

Vesicular stomatitis virus kills tumour, stimulates immune response against cancer: Research

Cancer Research UK scientists have used the immune system coupled with a virus found in horses and cattle, to hunt and purge cancer cells through the lymphatic system, a study reveals in Nature Medicine.Studying mice, the researchers found that the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), carried by a type of white blood cell called T cells acted as a 'cancer hunter', tracking down tumour cells in the lymph nodes, liver and spleen, and killed them, leaving normal healthy cells unharmed. At the same time, VSV also helped to trigger an immune response against the tumour, significantly improving the anti-cancer effect.

6 Aug 2010

CEL-SCI produces and fills first lot of Multikine

CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that it has successfully produced and filled its first lot of Multikine® in preparation for the upcoming pivotal Phase III trial targeting advanced primary head and neck cancer.

5 Aug 2010

Scientist invents new approach to boost body's response to vaccinations

As the medical community searches for better vaccines and ways to deliver them, a University of Rochester scientist believes he has discovered a new approach to boosting the body's response to vaccinations.Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D., found that the same molecules used in drugs that treat diabetes also stimulate B cells in the immune system, pushing them to make antibodies for protection against invading microorganisms.

5 Aug 2010

Researchers identify TACI; MyD88 activates immune system against infection

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found a new mechanism that explains how certain immune cells are activated to create protective antibodies against infections or pathological antibodies such as those present in autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. The research is published online in the September issue of Nature Immunology.

4 Aug 2010

Study explores role of genetic influence on ulcerative colitis

Adults diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after age 50 are more likely to achieve remission from their symptoms than patients diagnosed at younger ages, even when those patients receive similar treatments, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Aug 2010