Immune System News and Research

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Short-term glucocorticoid treatment may prevent osteoarthritis after joint injury

Joint injury can result in irreversible damage of cartilage which, despite treatment and surgery, often eventually leads to osteoarthritis (OA) in later life. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy demonstrates that short term treatment of damaged cartilage with glucocorticoids can reduce long term degenerative changes and may provide hope for prevention of OA after injury.

2 Sep 2011

UTHealth inaugurates new center for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases research

The University of Texas Health Science at Houston (UTHealth) announced the opening of a center devoted to researching and treating diseases associated with malfunctioning immune systems.

2 Sep 2011

Dendritic cells play central role in regulation of acetaminophen's toxicity

NYU School of Medicine researchers have discovered that dendritic cells in the liver have a protective role against the toxicity of acetaminophen, the widely used over-the-counter pain reliever and fever reducer for adults and children.

2 Sep 2011

CRI announces winners of 2011 Coley Award for distinguished research in tumor immunology

The Cancer Research Institute, Inc. (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 1953 to advance the science of tumor immunology and drive the discovery of new cancer immunotherapies, announced today the winners of the 2011 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology.

2 Sep 2011

Engineered virus shows promise in cancer therapy via bloodstream

Scientists have engineered a virus that when injected into the blood, can selectively target cancer cells throughout the body. The virus attacked only tumours, leaving the healthy tissue alone, in a small trial on 23 patients, according to the journal Nature.

2 Sep 2011

Tamiflu resistant flu found in Newcastle, Australia

The influenza pandemic has gathered a lot of action, advice and coverage over the last few years. In 2009, an international H1N1 influenza pandemic led to concerns that there would be a repeat of the 1918 influenza pandemic which resulted in millions of deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization recorded over 37,000 cases of the H1N1 pandemic influenza in Australia and 193 confirmed deaths.

2 Sep 2011

SAIC awards Selecta a subcontract to develop synthetic nanoparticle vaccine for malaria

Selecta Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing an entirely new class of targeted vaccines and immunotherapies, today announced that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has awarded Selecta a subcontract to develop a targeted synthetic vaccine particle product for malaria.

31 Aug 2011

Research shows numerous health benefits of Modified Citrus Pectin

New research published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) packs a powerful immune punch.

31 Aug 2011

Patients with sarcopenia more likely to have worse outcomes from melanoma

It's not how old but how frail patients are that can predict how well they will fare after a melanoma diagnosis. In fact, young patients in poor health may have worse outcomes than older patients in good shape.

31 Aug 2011

Hospitalized children with colonized with MRSA more likely to develop full-blown infections

A Johns Hopkins Children's Center study of more than 3,000 hospitalized children shows that those colonized but not sick with the antibiotic-resistant bacterium MRSA are at considerable risk for developing full-blown infections.

31 Aug 2011

Biophysicists discover how to turn body's own resistance to radiation treatment on and off

Radiation can make cancer cells resistant to radio- and chemotherapy. University of Oslo researchers have now figured out how resistance can be switched on and off.

30 Aug 2011

ZIOPHARM initiates ZIN ATI-001 Phase 1 clinical study in advanced melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical study of ZIN ATI-001, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate, in patients with advanced melanoma.

30 Aug 2011

An advance toward using stem cells in 'regenerative medicine'

With stem cells so fickle and indecisive that they make Shakespeare's Hamlet pale by comparison, scientists today described an advance in encouraging stem cells to make decisions about their fate.

30 Aug 2011

Tel Aviv University develops Facebook app to track the spread of infections

From SARS to swine flu, virus outbreaks can be unpredictable - and devastating. But now a new application through the ubiquitous social networking site Facebook, developed in a Tel Aviv University lab, is poised to serve as a better indicator of how infections spread among populations.

30 Aug 2011

UT Southwestern surgeons to perform first hand transplant in North Texas

A team of surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center expects to perform the first hand transplant in North Texas within a year, making the institution just the sixth hospital in the U.S. to perform the rare and intricate surgery.

30 Aug 2011

Vitamin A supplements in children could save up to 600,000 lives a year: Study

Researchers have found that giving vitamin A supplements to children under the age of five in developing countries could save up to 600,000 lives a year. Writing in the British Medical Journal, UK and Pakistani experts assessed 43 studies involving 200,000 children, and found deaths were cut by 24% if children were given the vitamin. They add that it would also cut rates of measles and diarrhea.

30 Aug 2011

Student researchers throughout Australia compete for annual award

Student researchers from throughout Australia will compete for state and national titles in the country’s leading competition for life science, biotechnology and bio-engineering students: the 2011 AusBiotech-GSK Student Excellence Awards. Applications are now open for the 2011 awards.

29 Aug 2011

PREVENT licenses Amorfix's ProMIS to develop vaccines against misfolded prion diseases

The Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise Inc. (PREVENT), a national Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR), has signed an exclusive license with Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. of Missisauga, Ontario for the use of their proprietary ProMIS technology in developing vaccines (active immunotherapy) for the treatment of diseases caused by the formation of misfolded prion.

29 Aug 2011

Researchers use metformin to effectively starve cancer cells

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered how blocking a key controller of energy production in cancer cells and treating them with a diabetes drug, metformin, effectively starves cancer cells.

29 Aug 2011

CD8 alpha+ dendritic cells can help the body beat back infection

The same trait that makes a rare immune cell invaluable in fighting some infections also can be exploited by other diseases to cause harm, two new studies show.

29 Aug 2011