immunity News and Research

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Researchers identify nine blood proteins that alter with age

Loss of muscle mass is not only associated with disease, such as HIV and cancer, but also with the normal aging process. Anabolic steroids are sometimes used to reverse loss of lean muscle tissue but they can have unwanted side effects.

20 Jun 2011

Boosting immune response may cause cold-induced asthma flare-ups

People often talk about "boosting" their immunity to prevent and fight colds. Nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods claim to stave off colds by augmenting the immune system.

18 Jun 2011

Scientists uncover how immune system responds to invading anthrax bacteria

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have uncovered how the body's immune system launches its survival response to the notorious and deadly bacterium anthrax.

17 Jun 2011

Boosting immune response could increase inflammation

People often talk about "boosting" their immunity to prevent and fight colds. Nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods claim to stave off colds by augmenting the immune system.

16 Jun 2011

Scientists discover new cell type in the immune system

A team of Australian scientists has discovered a new type of cell in the immune system. The new cell type, a kind of white blood cell, belongs to a family of T-cells that play a critical role in protection against infectious disease.

16 Jun 2011

Local misconceptions of children's immune systems hindering HIV treatment in Malawi, study says

Some caregivers in rural Malawi have expressed a reluctance to begin antiretroviral therapy for children living with HIV because of a belief that their "bodies were too weak for pills and their blood was 'still raw,' but that as it 'ripened' with time, HIV-related opportunistic infections would leave them," according to a study presented this week at the 1st International HIV Social Science and Humanities Conference in Durban, South Africa, PlusNews reports.

15 Jun 2011

Universal influenza vaccination may reduce health care costs in the U.S.

Implementing a recommendation that all Americans be vaccinated against influenza may dramatically reduce health care costs and the number of people infected with seasonal influenza in the United States.

14 Jun 2011

Researchers unearth secret of immune system's success

After eight years of work, researchers have unearthed what has been a well-kept secret of our immune system's success. The findings published online on June 9th in Immunity, a Cell Press publication, offer an explanation for how specialized immune cells are able to kill infected or cancerous cells without killing themselves in the process.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 10 Jun 2011

Swine flu may have been more widespread in Scotland than previously believed, study says

Up to two million people in Scotland may have been infected with swine flu during the outbreak of winter 2009-2010, making the flu much more widespread than previously thought, according to a study published by researchers from the University of Edinburgh in PLoS One, BBC News reports.

10 Jun 2011

Valuable insight into how people develop B-cell lymphoma

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered valuable insight into how people develop B-cell lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in the UK.

9 Jun 2011

Scientists, advocacy experts form new international Foundation for Vaccine Research

Fourteen leading scientists and advocacy experts in vaccines and infectious diseases have announced the formation of a new international Foundation to advance and accelerate vaccine research and development against infectious diseases.

9 Jun 2011

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease continues to be the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States accounting for nearly 50% of all liver transplants. Recurrence is universal in patients viremic at the time of transplantation with histological hepatitis developing in the majority of patients. Although the natural history of recurrent HCV is difficult to predict, it is widely accepted that cirrhosis from recurrent HCV occurs in up to 30% of patients within five years of transplantation.

8 Jun 2011

OncoSec announces additional evaluation of ElectroImmunotherapy Phase I trial on melanoma

OncoSec Medical Incorporated, which is developing its advanced-stage ElectroOncology therapies to treat solid tumor cancers, announced today that additional evaluation of a previous Phase I trial provided further evidence that a DNA plasmid encoded to produce IL-12 delivered by electroporation into melanoma lesions induces responses to known and novel antigens, resulting in regression of local treated lesions as well as distant untreated lesions.

7 Jun 2011

Initial positive results from ZIOPHARM's ZIN-CTI-001 Phase Ib study against advanced melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today that Douglas J. Schwartzentruber, MD, FACS, of the Indiana University Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care, presented initial positive clinical results from the first-ever treatment demonstrating control over transgene encoding of a therapeutic anticancer protein in humans using a small molecule activator ligand.

7 Jun 2011

New data from Argos AGS-003, sunitinib Phase 2 combination study on RCC presented at ASCO

Argos Therapeutics today announced that new data from its Phase 2 combination study of its Arcelis immunotherapy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), AGS-003, in combination with sunitinib showed improvement over expectations for sunitinib alone in progression-free survival (PFS) in newly diagnosed metastatic RCC patients with unfavorable prognosis.

6 Jun 2011

Super microscopes help scientists identify exact molecular 'switch' that spurs T-cells into action

Using the only microscope of its kind in Australia, medical scientists have been able for the first time to see the inner workings of T-cells, the front-line troops that alert our immune system to go on the defensive against germs and other invaders in our bloodstream.

6 Jun 2011

Scientists use super microscope to pinpoint body’s immunity ‘switch’

5 Jun 2011

DFG to form new collaborative research centers as of 1 July 2011

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish 21 new Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) as of 1 July 2011. This was decided by the relevant Grants Committee at its spring meeting in Bonn.

4 Jun 2011

Mimicry allows bacteria to evade host's defense responses

Deadly bacteria may be evolving antibiotic resistance by mimicking human proteins, according to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

3 Jun 2011

Removal of tonsils and appendix heightens risk of heart attack: Study

According to a new study surgical removal of tonsils and the appendix before the age of 20 is likely to elevate the risk of a premature heart attack. The researchers found that tonsillectomy (removal of tonsils) increased the risk by 44 per cent and removal of the appendix by 33 per cent. The risk increases were even higher when both the tonsils and appendix were removed.

2 Jun 2011