immunity News and Research

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Vitamin E's status as a super supplement questioned

Over the past decade, vitamin E has become one of the top-selling supplements in the United States, in part because research released in the early- to mid-1990s suggested that taking vitamin E supplements might protect against heart disease, boost the immune system and reduce the risk of macular degeneration.

14 Oct 2004

New Jersey to receive additional flu vaccine

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) received information on October 5, 2004 that, due to manufacturing problems in the United Kingdom, the United States will have only one-half of the expected supply of the influence vaccine available for this year’s flu season.

13 Oct 2004

A change in the national polio vaccination policy has led to the elimination of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis

The researchers found that from 1990 through 1999, 61 cases of paralytic polio were reported; 59 (97 percent) of these were VAPP (1 case per 2.9 million OPV doses distributed), 1 case was imported, and 1 case was indeterminate.

12 Oct 2004

Discovery of a central memory form of helper T cells that can offer immunity to leishmaniasis

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a "central memory" form of "helper" T cells that can offer immunity to leishmaniasis, a disease that causes considerable death and disfigurement across the globe and has been found in U.S. military personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

8 Oct 2004

Research shows C. botulinum uses SONO to detect nitric oxide

A deadly bacterium's defense against a mortal molecular enemy illuminates the origins and structure of a vital protein involved in human cell signaling, University of Texas Medical School scientists report in Science Express.

8 Oct 2004

Expert says it is unlikely bird flu will reach Canada

United Nations officials warn the outbreak of bird flu is far from over and continues to spread in Thailand and Vietnam. An expert at The University of Western Ontario says it is unlikely the disease will reach Canada but travellers should take precautions.

5 Oct 2004

Cancer vaccine based on listeria bacteria shows promise

An experimental cancer vaccine using defanged listeria bacteria is showing great promise in animal studies, successfully treating new cancers that have spread into the lungs of mice.

29 Sep 2004

Unrecognized iron deficiency can impair immunity in older women

Iron deficiency, which can masquerade as routine, old-age symptoms, was found to impair measures of immunity from 28 percent to 50 percent in a group of seemingly healthy, well-nourished, homebound, older women, age 60 and above, in a Penn State study.

29 Sep 2004

Whooping cough at highest levels since 1997 in Western Australia

Western Australia is experiencing the highest level of whooping cough (pertussis) notifications since 1997, when more than 1200 cases were notified.

22 Sep 2004

Imperative that strategies to control tuberculosis include measures to treat individuals with MDR disease

Challenging the notion that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) poses a low threat to populations, epidemiologists at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have constructed a mathematical model of the disease variant's potential course

20 Sep 2004

Hib infection on the rise in children despite vaccination programme

Cases of the Hib infection (haemophilus influenzae type b) among children and adults have risen in recent years, despite a vaccination programme which initially proved successful, say researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Sep 2004

The same gene functions in vision and immune system, research shows

Scientists have learned that a family of genes long known to be integral to the immune system also plays a role in vision, perhaps preventing certain blinding diseases.

16 Sep 2004

RNAi enlisted in hunt for prawn vaccines

CSIRO researchers are using a biological phenomenon called RNA interference (RNAi) in an effort to develop a major biotechnological breakthrough for the aquaculture industry - vaccines for common prawn diseases.

16 Sep 2004

WHO calls enhanced preparedness for SARS and avian influenza

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to put in place preventive measures and enhance preparedness ready for the possible re-emergence of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and avian influenza A (H5N1) in humans.

14 Sep 2004

Long-term outcomes for liver transplantation due to hepatitis C

A new study on liver transplants necessitated by the hepatitis C virus (the most common indication for this type of transplant) found that long-term outcomes are similar to patients receiving transplants due to other diseases.

8 Sep 2004

50 year old frozen smallpox vaccines are nearly 100 percent effective

Diluted doses of a smallpox vaccine, originally manufactured in the 1950s and stored as a frozen preparation, are nearly 100 percent effective, allowing for expansion of the current stockpile if needed, according to an article in the September 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Sep 2004

MRSA bugs immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics

Dangerous multi-drug-resistant bacteria are also developing immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics, according to new research presented today at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

8 Sep 2004

Australian research studies health impacts of living in a high-rise apartment

More Australians are choosing to live in inner city high-rise apartments with estimates for Melbourne and Sydney pointing to a three-fold increase in this style of living. But are those living high living healthy?

7 Sep 2004

Chickenpox (Varicella) vaccine has saved the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction

A new University of Michigan study has found that the Chickenpox (Varicella) vaccine has saved the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction in 1995 by preventing the kinds of severe cases that used to send children, teens and adults to the hospital.

7 Sep 2004

Generic tritherapy can be used as a basic treatment for AIDS

A clinical trial, conducted in Cameroon by IRD researchers working with other organizations and supported by the ANRS, has demonstrated that one of the most common combinations currently deployed in Africa, using nevirapine, stavudine and lamivudine, satisfies these criteria.

5 Sep 2004