Immune System News and Research

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Asthmatics have lower degree of DNA methylation in certain immune cells

Children with asthma have epigenetic DNA changes in certain cells of their immune system, a major international study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows. The finding, which is presented in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, can one day lead to improved diagnostics and treatment.

23 Feb 2018

Researchers discover how the body skillfully extinguishes inflammation

Inflammation needs energy An important source for this energy is oxygen, which is indispensable for the cells of the immune system to work properly.

23 Feb 2018

UT Dallas researchers use new technique to isolate cancer stem cells

Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have devised a new technique to isolate aggressive cells thought to form the root of many hard-to-treat metastasized cancers -- a significant step toward developing new drugs that might target these cells.

22 Feb 2018

Researchers discover new regulator of the immune system

Academy Professor Riitta Lahesmaa's research group from Turku Centre for Biotechnology of the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, Finland, has discovered a new regulator of the immune system, a key factor that controls development of regulatory T cells.

22 Feb 2018

Scientists discover new treatment approach to curb severe myocarditis

The outcome of viral myocarditis is closely associated with the immune response of the affected individual. An inhibitor of the immunoproteasome, a protein degradation complex in immunocompetent cells, reduces the extent of the inflammation and thus also the damage to the heart during myocarditis.

22 Feb 2018

Duke researchers show how to retrain immune system of peanut-allergy mice

Treating food allergies might be a simple matter of teaching the immune system a new trick, researchers at Duke Health have found.

21 Feb 2018

Reformulating vaccines to prevent relapse

Substance abuse, particularly opioid abuse, is an ongoing issue in the U.S. While treatments such as drug counseling and a handful of medications to combat withdrawal symptoms and cravings exist, the fear and risk of relapsing is real.

21 Feb 2018

Research opens up new avenue to minimize risks of transplants

A bone marrow transplant is often the only therapy available to save leukemia patients, but the risk of complications is high. In spite of devoting considerable time and effort to finding a suitable donor, nearly half of all patients experience an unwanted reaction of their immune system, which often attacks their skin and liver and in up to 50% of cases the intestines.

21 Feb 2018

Pioneering study may pave way for effective painkillers to treat neuropathic pain

A pioneering international study, carried out by the University of Granada, Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Florida, Laval University and the Jackson Laboratory has conducted an in-depth analysis of the molecular differences between the most common symptoms associated with neuropathic pain.

21 Feb 2018

Study reveals increased disease risk after early heart surgery

Infections and autoimmune diseases are more common among people who have undergone heart surgery as children and had their thymus removed at the same time, which is often done to get access to the heart. This is evident in a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

21 Feb 2018

Low protein levels linked to posture and gait problems in Parkinson’s, finds study

A new study has linked low levels of alpha-synuclein in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Parkinson’s to postural instability and gait difficulty.

21 Feb 2018

Immune history influences person's response to flu vaccine

New research on why the influenza vaccine was only modestly effective in recent years shows that immune history with the flu influences a person's response to the vaccine.

20 Feb 2018

Clinical trial studying type 1 diabetes reaches full enrollment

A clinical trial studying type 1 diabetes has reached full enrollment. The Sanford Project: T-Rex Study, a Phase 2 clinical trial conducted collaboratively by Sanford Health and Caladrius Biosciences, Inc., has completed enrollment of 110 children with type 1 diabetes. The study started with two sites at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Fargo, North Dakota, and expanded to 13 additional sites across the United States.

19 Feb 2018

'Click chemistry' approach may improve disease-fighting properties of drugs

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a quick and easy way to simultaneously modify dozens of drugs or molecules to improve their disease-fighting properties.

19 Feb 2018

Early childhood immune signature predicts risk of developing asthma later on

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease driven by the interplay of genetics, environmental factors and a diverse cast of immune cells.

19 Feb 2018

Research finds rising trend in incidence of merkel cell carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare type of skin cancer, affecting only a few thousand people each year, compared to tens of thousands with melanoma. But while it may not be as common as other skin cancers, MCC is highly aggressive and often deadly - and it's also becoming more common, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and presented at the American Academy of Dermatology 2018 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

19 Feb 2018

Shot may help reduce risk of shingles

Anyone who has had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine is at risk for the painful skin condition herpes zoster, more commonly known as shingles. Both diseases are caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which stays in the body after chickenpox clears and may reactivate later in life.

18 Feb 2018

FDA approves first treatment to reduce risk of NSCLC progression

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Imfinzi (durvalumab) for the treatment of patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors are not able to be surgically removed (unresectable) and whose cancer has not progressed after treatment with chemotherapy and radiation (chemoradiation).

18 Feb 2018

Study provides new insights on why healthy children die from flu

With this year's severe flu season, one statistic is especially chilling. Each year, around 50 percent of all children under 5 years old who die from the flu were previously healthy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

16 Feb 2018

Stem cell vaccine helps protect mice against numerous cancers, finds study

Lab mice injected with inactivated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) displayed a significant immune response against lung, breast, and skin cancers. The vaccine also prevented relapses in animals with removed tumors.

16 Feb 2018