Immune System News and Research

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Study represents a major step in seeking alternative cancer treatments for non-responders

Research led by VHIO's Alena Gros signposts a new, less invasive approach to identify killer T lymphocytes in patients with gastrointestinal tumors with low mutational burden who are refractory to approved immune-based treatments.

16 Oct 2019

Scientists harness the power of immune system to test novel cancer treatment

The field of immunotherapy has revolutionized the way people with incurable cancers are treated, saving the lives of many people whose disease would have otherwise been seen as a death sentence. Despite its success in treating people with deadly forms of leukemia and lymphoma, there are still many people who do not benefit from the treatment or eventually experience a relapse of their cancer.

16 Oct 2019

New discovery paves way for better treatment of diabetes

Insulin, a hormone essential for regulating blood sugar and lipids, is normally produced by pancreatic β cells. In many people with diabetes, however, pancreatic cells are not (or no longer) functional, causing a chronic and potentially fatal insulin deficiency that can only be controlled through daily insulin injections.

16 Oct 2019

Study: Genetic differences in the immune system shape bacteria that colonize the digestive system

Genetic differences in the immune system shape the collections of bacteria that colonize the digestive system, according to new research by scientists at the University of Chicago.

16 Oct 2019

Inactive receptor prevents cancer drugs from reactivating the immune system

The aim of immunotherapies is to enable the immune system once again to fight cancer on its own. Drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors are already in clinical use for this purpose.

15 Oct 2019

Heavier babies more likely to develop childhood allergies

A new study shows that babies who weigh more at any gestational age have a higher risk of later developing food allergies or eczema in childhood. However, there was no increase in the risk of hay fever. The paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that the risk of food allergy went up by 44% and of eczema by 17% for each kilogram of added weight. On the other hand, restricted growth in the womb appears to be protective.

15 Oct 2019

CRISPR helps find difficult to detect cancer cells

Immunotherapy is one of the latest and most effective armaments against various types of cancers. Some of the immunotherapy drugs such as PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda from Merck can block certain proteins in the cancer cells that can make the cells invisible to the immune system normally. Some of the cancers cells can now develop other ways to disguise themselves from being killed by the immune system.

15 Oct 2019

New class of drugs could prevent cancer from becoming resistant to treatment

Scientists at Massey University in New Zealand have taken the first step towards a new class of drug that could stop cancer from becoming resistant to treatment. Treatment resistance is a serious problem to the successful treatment of cancer patients because it leads to cancer returning and becoming harder to treat.

15 Oct 2019

Scientists develop more accurate method to find good targets for cancer immunotherapy

Ludwig Cancer Research scientists have developed a new and more accurate method to identify the molecular signs of cancer likely to be presented to helper T cells, which stimulate and orchestrate the immune response to tumors and infectious agents.

15 Oct 2019

UCLA researchers discover new way to eliminate leukemia stem cells

The introduction of the drug imatinib in 2001 revolutionized the treatment of a type of cancer called chronic myelogenous leukemia. In more than 80% of people with CML who received the drug, the disease went into complete remission.

15 Oct 2019

Flu test: Is it needed?

Flu season is fast approaching. When flu symptoms strike, you may wonder if you or your loved ones should get a flu test before beginning treatment.

15 Oct 2019

Research reveals increased inflammatory activity in patients with frontotemporal dementia

Recent research from the University of Eastern Finland revealed increased inflammatory activity in a subgroup of patients with frontotemporal dementia. Increased inflammation was associated with parkinsonism symptoms and more rapid disease progression.

15 Oct 2019

New cancer treatment developed at Yale

Scientists at Yale have developed a method that assists the immune system in identifying and eliminating cancer cells that may be missed by other forms of immunotherapies.

15 Oct 2019

Advances in translational genetics unlocked by Bio-Rad technologies to be presented at ASHG 2019

Scientists will present 24 abstracts and three talks, highlighting research driven in part by Bio-Rad Laboratories' Droplet Digital PCR and single-cell ATAC-Seq (scATAC-Seq) technologies, at the 2019 American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in Houston, October 15-19.

15 Oct 2019

Maternal stress during pregnancy could affect baby's sex and birth outcomes

It's becoming well established that maternal stress during pregnancy can affect fetal and child development as well as birth outcomes, and a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian now identifies the types of physical and psychological stress that may matter most.

14 Oct 2019

Ludwig scientists develop robust method to refine personalized cancer immunotherapy

14 Oct 2019

New system can help the immune system spot and eliminate tumors

Cancer cells are masters at avoiding detection, but a new system developed by Yale scientists can make them stand out from the crowd and help the immune system spot and eliminate tumors that other forms of immunotherapies might miss, the researchers report Oct. 14 in the journal Nature Immunology.

14 Oct 2019

New Penn Medicine study unravels the early makings of an exhausted T cell

The immune system struggles to defeat cancer or chronic infections because many of the T cells that leap into action end up "exhausted," rendering them ineffective against disease.

14 Oct 2019

Rotavirus plays role in development of type 1 diabetes

A new article published in the journal PLOS Pathogens on October 10, 2019, claims that the common rotavirus may be responsible for the occurrence of type 1 diabetes, a form of diabetes which occurs in children and is due to destruction of the pancreatic islet cells that produce the hormone insulin to normalize blood glucose levels.

13 Oct 2019

Antibody-based eye drop treatment reduces signs and symptoms of dry eye disease

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are the first to identify the presence of a specific type of antibody, called anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies, or ACPAs, in human tear fluid.

11 Oct 2019