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Scientists identify genes that may help predict steroid responsiveness in people with EoE

Results from a clinical trial show that high doses of the corticosteroid fluticasone propionate safely and effectively induce remission in many people with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic inflammatory disease of the esophagus characterized by high levels of white blood cells called eosinophils.

19 Jul 2014

Researchers release evidence substantiating unexpected dual role of immune system

University of Leicester researchers have released evidence substantiating an unexpected dual role of an important component of the immune system.

17 Jul 2014

Women with history of pregnancy loss are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease later

The Annals of Family Medicine today published an article detailing research showing that women with a history of pregnancy loss are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease later in adulthood than other women, work completed by physicians in the Center for Primary Care and Prevention (CPCP) at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island.

17 Jul 2014

Scientists build artificial cells programmed to eat their undesirable neighbors

A team of researchers has devised a Pac-Man-style power pellet that gets normally mild-mannered cells to gobble up their undesirable neighbors. The development may point the way to therapies that enlist patients’ own cells to better fend off infection and even cancer, the researchers say. A description of the work will be published July 15 in the journal Science Signaling.

16 Jul 2014

New tools for detecting and monitoring TB in captive elephants

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis in humans, also afflicts Asian (and occasionally other) elephants. Diagnosing and treating elephants with TB is a challenge, however, as little is known about how their immune systems respond to the infection.

16 Jul 2014

New research opens up potential new therapeutic targets for hard-to-treat food allergy

New research in Nature Genetics identifies a novel genetic and molecular pathway in the esophagus that causes eosinophillic esophagitis (EoE), opening up potential new therapeutic strategies for an enigmatic and hard-to-treat food allergy.

14 Jul 2014

New genetic programs for taking blank-slate stem cells and turning them into human blood

The ability to reliably and safely make in the laboratory all of the different types of cells in human blood is one key step closer to reality.

14 Jul 2014

Immune marker predicts infection risk in critically ill children with traumatic injuries

Researchers studying critically ill children with traumatic injuries have identified an immune marker that predicts which patients are likely to develop a hospital-acquired infection.

10 Jul 2014

Scientists uncover mechanisms that can protect against lethal bacteria

An important development in understanding how the bacterium that causes pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia remains harmlessly in the nose and throat has been discovered at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Global Health.

8 Jul 2014

Research: New protein complex fights against bacterial infection that causes gastric cancer

New study by Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at NUS show that the protein is produced as an immune response and requires the tumour suppressor RUNX3.

4 Jul 2014

TxCell announces launch of POSITIVE project to automate manufacturing process for Ovasave

TxCell SA, a biotech developing innovative, personalized cell-based immunotherapies using antigen-specific regulatory T-cells (Ag-Tregs) for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announces today the launch of, and funding awarded to, the POSITIVE project in collaboration with the Gene and Cell therapy Unit (UTCG) developing new antiviral cell-based immunotherapies and Biosafe, a Swiss private company, a developer of innovative solutions for cell processing.

4 Jul 2014

Study finds deployment-related respiratory symptoms in veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan

In a new study of the causes underlying respiratory symptoms in military personnel returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, a large percentage of veterans had non-specific symptoms that did not lead to a specific clinical diagnosis.

3 Jul 2014

Prophage autologous cancer vaccine extends survival in patients with newly diagnosed GBM

Agenus Inc., announced final results from a single-arm, multi-institutional, open-label, Phase 2 study showing that patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) who received Agenus' Prophage autologous cancer vaccine added to the standard of care treatment, lived nearly twice as long as expected.

1 Jul 2014

Study finds link between high CD4 cell counts and reduced ischemic stroke risk in people with HIV

A 15-year study found that HIV-positive individuals had a 40 percent increased risk of ischemic stroke, however stroke rates were nearly the same for HIV-positive individuals with high CD4 cell counts as for HIV-negative subjects.

24 Jun 2014

Alcoholic liver disease: an interview with Dr Vinood Patel, University of Westminster

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and also in the UK. As its name indicates this disease arises due to consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (80 g/day) over an extended period, normally 10-20 years.

24 Jun 2014

New model for HIV-1 infection offers promising option for clinical research

HIV-1, the virus responsible for most cases of AIDS, is a very selective virus. It does not readily infect species other than its usual hosts — humans and chimpanzees.

20 Jun 2014

New breakthrough in pediatric leukaemia treatment

Melbourne researchers have shown a type of leukaemia can be successfully 'reversed' by coaxing the cancer cells back into normal development.

18 Jun 2014

Discovery may lead to new treatments for common autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the University of Georgia report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that an enzyme known as Tumor Progression Locus 2, or Tpl2, plays a key role in directing and regulating several important components of the body's immune system.

17 Jun 2014

Type I interferons can block development of allergy- and asthma-driving Th2 cells

A mechanism that could underlie the development of cells that drive asthma and allergies has been uncovered by immunology researchers at UT-Southwestern Medical Center.