Immune System News and Research

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Research: Some immune cells convert into cells that trigger disease

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine have unraveled one of the mysteries of how a small group of immune cells work: That some inflammation-fighting immune cells may actually convert into cells that trigger disease.

22 May 2015

Chemical compound shows promise in treating rheumatoid arthritis

Montana State University researchers and their collaborators have published their findings about a chemical compound that shows potential for treating rheumatoid arthritis.

22 May 2015

Certain proteins may slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease

Certain proteins may slow the devastating memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease, according to a groundbreaking Iowa State University study.

21 May 2015

Nanoparticle-based therapy effective in treating mice with multiple myeloma

Researchers have designed a nanoparticle-based therapy that is effective in treating mice with multiple myeloma, a cancer of immune cells in the bone marrow.

21 May 2015

New study shows that infections can affect cognitive ability

New research shows that infections can impair your cognitive ability measured on an IQ scale. The study is the largest of its kind to date, and it shows a clear correlation between infection levels and impaired cognition.

21 May 2015

Johns Hopkins scientists safely use immune cells to treat multiple myeloma

In a report on what is believed to be the first small clinical trial of its kind, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have safely used immune cells grown from patients' own bone marrow to treat multiple myeloma, a cancer of white blood cells.

21 May 2015

Second-generation antibiotic shows promise against common bacterial infections

Researchers led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have developed a second-generation antibiotic that shows early effectiveness against common bacterial infections that pose a serious health threat to children and adults.

21 May 2015

Novel drug target identified for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, in collaboration with colleagues the University of California, San Diego, identified a novel drug target for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis that focuses on the cells that are directly responsible for the cartilage damage in affected joints.

21 May 2015

Researchers find that blocking MCAM molecule could slow progression of multiple sclerosis

A drug that could halt the progression of multiple sclerosis may soon be developed thanks to a discovery by a team at the CHUM Research Centre and the University of Montreal. The researchers have identified a molecule called MCAM, and they have shown that blocking this molecule could delay the onset of the disease and significantly slow its progression.

21 May 2015

Scientists reveal how lymphatic system develops in embryo

For over one hundred years, scientists have debated the question of the origins of the lymphatic system - a parallel system to the blood vessels that serves as a conduit for everything from immune cells to fat molecules to cancer cells. This issue has now been resolved by Dr. Karina Yaniv of Weizmann Institute's Biological Regulation Department. In a study reported online today in Nature, she and her team revealed how the lymphatic system develops in the embryo and for the first time managed to grow lymphatic cells in the lab.

21 May 2015

Stereotactic body radiotherapy appears to be safe, effective for some pancreatic cancer patients

Two studies from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers add to preliminary evidence that high-dose radiation treatment, called stereotactic body radiotherapy, appears to be safe and as effective as standard radiation treatment for certain patients with pancreatic cancer whose tumors are advanced but have not spread.

20 May 2015

Research shows how immune system controls biological clock in times of inflammation, infection

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered an important link between our body clock and the immune system that will have relevance to the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases.

20 May 2015

New study suggests ways to accelerate recovery from dangerous diarrheal disease

A new study delineates a sequential pattern of changes in the intestinal microbial population of patients recovering from cholera in Bangladesh, findings that may point to ways of speeding recovery from the dangerous diarrheal disease.

20 May 2015

Specific bacterial community in female genital tract induces inflammation, increases HIV risk

A team led by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard has found that the most common bacterial community in the genital tract among healthy South Africa women not only is significantly different from that of women in developed countries but also leads to elevated levels of inflammatory proteins.

20 May 2015

HIV infections continue to rise among YMSM despite prevention efforts

HIV infections continue to rise in a new generation of young, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (YMSM) despite three decades of HIV prevention as well as recent availability of biomedical technologies to prevent infection.

20 May 2015

New research points to potential therapeutic target for treating multiple sclerosis

New research into the causes of the excessive inflammation that drives multiple sclerosis has identified a faulty "brake" within immune cells, a brake that should be controlling the inflammation. This points to a potential target for developing new therapies to treat multiple sclerosis and could have important implications for other autoimmune diseases, such as the colon disease colitis and the chronic skin condition atopic dermatitis.

20 May 2015

hESC-derived cells offer source of macular tissue repair and replacement

Subretinal transplantation of retinal pigment epithelium derived from human embryonic stem cells appears to be a well-tolerated means of treating age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, suggest two open-label phase I/II studies.

19 May 2015

New microfluidic chip can capture rare clusters of circulating tumor cells

Researchers have developed a microfluidic chip that can capture rare clusters of circulating tumor cells, which could yield important new insights into how cancer spreads. The work was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health.

19 May 2015

BioNTech, Genmab to jointly develop and commercialize immunomodulatory antibodies for cancer

BioNTech AG, a fully integrated biotechnology company developing truly personalized cancer immunotherapies, announces that it has signed an agreement with Genmab A/S to jointly research, develop and commercialize multiple bispecific antibodies for cancer immunotherapy using proprietary technologies from both companies: BioNTech's proprietary immunomodulatory antibodies and Genmab's DuoBody technology platform.

19 May 2015

Study shows significant benefits of microclinics in rural Kenyan HIV patients

A team led by researchers from UC San Francisco, Organic Health Response, and Microclinic International is reporting results of a study that showed significant benefits of microclinics -- an innovative intervention that mobilized rural Kenyan HIV patients' informal social networks to support their staying in care.

19 May 2015