immunity News and Research

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Immune reaction to dystrophin may contribute to muscle disease: Study

An immune reaction to dystrophin, the muscle protein that is defective in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, may pose a new challenge to strengthening muscles of patients with this disease, suggests a new study appearing in the October 7, 2010, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Oct 2010

Microglial inflammation promotes MAPT pathologies

Cells that help to protect the central nervous system may also contribute to pathological changes in the brain. New research, published by Cell Press in the October 7th issue of the journal Neuron, provides mechanistic insight into a link between the immune system and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease that are associated with abnormal accumulation of tau protein.

7 Oct 2010

Dangers of not vaccinating children

Deadly diseases are making a comeback. Pertussis, or whooping cough, has killed nine infants this year in California, and outbreaks of measles and Hib meningitis have struck U.S. communities in the past three years.

5 Oct 2010

Research on T cell may lead to new treatment options for type 1 diabetes

A research team from the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital has identified the role of a type of T cell in type 1 diabetes that may lead to new treatment options for young patients.

5 Oct 2010

Celldex Therapeutics presents initial clinical data on CDX-1401 cancer vaccine candidate at iSBTc meeting

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company presented initial clinical data on CDX-1401 at the 25th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) in Washington, DC. CDX-1401 is a novel antibody-based targeted cancer vaccine candidate being evaluated as a treatment for patients with melanoma and other cancers that are known to express the tumor antigen NY-ESO-1.

5 Oct 2010

$3.4M grant for study to distinguish bacterial infections from viral infections in infants with fevers

Octavio Ramilo, MD, chief of Infectious Diseases at Nationwide Children's Hospital, is one of three principal investigators who will share in a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Ramilo and a team of more than 50 physicians across the United States are investigating the use of novel technologies for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections in infants with fevers within emergency departments.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers examine new genes to control mosquito-borne diseases

An Iowa State University researcher searched for new genes that are turned on during infection in a type of mosquito that is not only a pest, but transmits disease-causing pathogens.

4 Oct 2010

Suspected hand, foot and mouth disease on Denver flight

Two children arrived on a flight from Mexico to Denver showing symptoms of the contagious illness called ‘hand, foot and mouth’ disease (HFMD) and were checked by paramedics. They were allowed to leave after experts said they were no threat to public health.

4 Oct 2010

Study suggests balance between NF-kB and p53 signaling as a promising target for new cancer drugs

A new report published in the October 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal offers a ray of hope in the search for new cancer drugs. By examining the seemingly conflicting roles of how oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes handle cellular stress, scientists from the Institute for Advanced Studies in New Jersey argue that each of these opposing systems could be potent drug targets in the effort to stop cancer. In addition, their hypothesis provides new insights into what contributes to immunological disorders such as chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases.

1 Oct 2010

NIH awards three grants to explore novel treatment strategies for muscular dystrophy

Three grants totaling more than $4.5 million, from agencies of the National Institutes of Health, will be used to explore novel treatment strategies for muscular dystrophy.

30 Sep 2010

Swine flu no longer a threat to Americans: Report

According to the latest research most Americans are immune to the swine flu virus. Results of the study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, published in the journal mBio show that around 59 percent of the 310 million U.S. population has developed immunity to H1N1 either from exposure to similar viruses, vaccination, or natural H1N1 infection.

29 Sep 2010

Outbreak of whooping cough mirrors challenges in developing world, global health official says

The outbreak of whooping cough in Texas, California, and other states this year underscores the critical importance of widespread vaccination coverage, both locally as well as around the world, said a leading global health official attending conferences on world affairs and immunization in Fort Worth this week.

29 Sep 2010

Humans have similar immune system like plants

In addition to known antiviral agents such as antibodies and interferons, people also seem to have a similar immune system to that previously identified in plants. This is the result of research carried out by Esther Schnettler at Wageningen University.

28 Sep 2010

Key pathway used by malaria parasite to infect human cells identified

Development of an effective vaccine for malaria is a step closer following identification of a key pathway used by the malaria parasite to infect human cells. The discovery, by researchers at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, provides a new vaccine target through which infection with the deadly disease could be prevented.

24 Sep 2010

Scientists uncover alternative source for damage associated with MS

Scientists have uncovered an alternative source for some of the damage associated with multiple sclerosis, an incurable neuroinflammatory disorder. The research, published online by Cell Press on September 23rd in the journal Immunity, reveals a direct interaction between immune cells and neurons that plays a significant role in neuronal injury and may respond to therapeutic intervention.

24 Sep 2010

Immune-mediated disturbances of neurons contribute to MS: Research

Researchers in Germany have gained new insight into how the immune system causes damage associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable neuroinflammatory disorder.

24 Sep 2010

Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation to initiate clinical trial of new investigational vaccine

At an international gathering of TB vaccine researchers in Tallinn today, the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation announced it will initiate a clinical trial of an investigational live recombinant tuberculosis vaccine to be led by researchers at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The announcement was made at the Second Global Forum on TB Vaccine Development.

23 Sep 2010

Scientists develop humanized mouse model to study typhoid fever

Better treatments and prevention for typhoid fever may emerge from a laboratory model that has just been developed for the disease. The model is based on transplanting human immune stem cells from umbilical cord blood into mice that are susceptible to infections.

23 Sep 2010

Study may help develop preventative treatments for womb infections

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have established in mice the mechanism that detects and responds to the presence of bacteria in the womb a discovery that opens up the possibility of new preventative treatments for diseases like pelvic inflammatory disease and Chlamydia.

23 Sep 2010

MIDAS researchers continue to model how H1N1 may spread

As the United States prepares for the upcoming flu season, a group of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health continues to model how H1N1 may spread.

22 Sep 2010