Immune System News and Research

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ImmusanT secures $20M in Series A financing

ImmusanT, Inc. announced today it has raised $20 million in Series A financing from Vatera Healthcare Partners LLC to advance development of the biotechnology company's immunotherapeutic vaccine Nexvax2, companion diagnostic and monitoring tool for celiac disease.

14 Dec 2011

Researchers discover how bloodstream malaria infection manipulates immune system

University of Iowa researchers and colleagues have discovered how malaria manipulates the immune system to allow the parasite to persist in the bloodstream. By rescuing this immune system pathway, the research team was able to cure mice of bloodstream malaria infections.

13 Dec 2011

Scientists discover how intestinal tract influences B cells to prevent infection

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found an explanation for how the intestinal tract influences a key component of the immune system to prevent infection, offering a potential clue to the cause of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

13 Dec 2011

Scientists create antigenic myeloma peptide 'cocktail'

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have created a "cocktail" of immune-stimulating peptides they believe could provoke the body's defenses to attack multiple myeloma in its early "smoldering" phase and slow or prevent the blood cancer.

13 Dec 2011

Study describes new method that synthesizes novel anti-HIV protein

The most abundant and important molecules in all living organisms are proteins; after all they manage to participate in every single one of life's essential reactions. So it is easy to see why scientists have been making such a fuss trying to learn how to synthesise them in laboratory as this would provide them with a tool of extraordinary potential. Unfortunately, this has not proved easy.

13 Dec 2011

Study: One kind of leukemia sometimes masquerades as another

One kind of leukemia sometimes masquerades as another, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

13 Dec 2011

Technique expands scarce resources used for cord blood transplant procedure

A new method to boost the number of immune cells in umbilical cord blood prior to cord blood transplants for cancer patients appears to lead to a quicker rebuilding of a new immune system in the patient's body than with a conventional cord blood transplant procedure, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented today at the 53rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.

12 Dec 2011

Treatment with leukemia patients' own cells may prevent infections after chemotherapy

A new treatment using leukemia patients' own infection-fighting cells appears to protect them from infections and cancer recurrence following treatment with fludarabine-based chemotherapy, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

12 Dec 2011

Research assesses safety and efficacy of pre-operative transfusions, hydroxyurea therapy for SCD

Research assessing the safety and efficacy of hydroxyurea therapy in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and the use of pre-operative transfusions for patients with SCD who undergo low- and moderate-risk elective surgery will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

12 Dec 2011

Alcohol consumption directly impacts a person's intention to have unsafe sex

A new study has found that alcohol consumption directly impacts a person's intention to have unsafe sex. In other words, the more you drink, the stronger becomes your intention to engage in unsafe sex.

12 Dec 2011

Immunomodulators show promise against multiple myeloma

Research on the same protein that was a primary mediator of the birth defects caused by thalidomide now holds hope in the battle against multiple myeloma, says the study's senior investigator, Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B. of Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Dr. Stewart presented the results at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego.

12 Dec 2011

Breakthroughs in hematopoietic cell transplantation to be presented at 53rd ASH meeting

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), the transplantation of blood-forming stem cells from the bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, is the primary option for treatment for many patients who suffer from various hematologic disorders, including blood cancers, sickle cell disease, bone marrow deficiencies, bleeding disorders, and autoimmune disorders. Research investigating breakthroughs in hematopoietic cell transplantation will be presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

12 Dec 2011

Rare genetic condition provides insight into how pancreas develops

A rare genetic disorder has given researchers at the University of Exeter a surprising insight into how the pancreas develops. The finding provides a clue to how it may be possible to 'programme' stem cells - master cells in the body that can develop into specialised cells - to become pancreatic cells.

12 Dec 2011

Biochip can quickly predict blood poisoning

Is the patient suffering from blood poisoning? To answer this question, the doctor draws a blood sample and sends it to a central laboratory for testing. This takes up valuable time, which could cost the patient his life. In future, physicians will be able to analyze blood there and then and have the results within twenty minutes.

12 Dec 2011

New cancer research findings presented at 53rd ASH annual meeting

Researchers from Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine presented new research findings in 25 presentations this weekend at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) at the San Diego Convention Center.

12 Dec 2011

Gene therapy can reduce painful bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia B

Symptoms improved significantly in adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B following a single treatment with gene therapy developed by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and demonstrated to be safe in a clinical trial conducted at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K.

12 Dec 2011

New method to design Alzheimer's antibodies

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to design antibodies aimed at combating disease. The surprisingly simple process was used to make antibodies that neutralize the harmful protein particles that lead to Alzheimer's disease.

12 Dec 2011

New guidelines for managing latent tuberculosis from CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new guidelines on treating so-called “latent” tuberculosis (TB) infection in the United States. They suggest the course of the therapy from about 9 months could be shortened to 3 months.

11 Dec 2011

Breast cancer hope with new drug and new combination regimens

last week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, researchers announced encouraging results from studies of two cancer medications that appeared to keep breast cancer from advancing.

11 Dec 2011

Shorter, effective treatment for latent TB infection

Research, led by Timothy Sterling, M.D., professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has led to an important change in CDC recommendations in the regimen for prevention of the centuries-old scourge, tuberculosis (TB).

9 Dec 2011