Immune System News and Research

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Immunosuppressive drugs do not increase risk of cancer in lupus patients

People who take immunosuppressive drugs to treat lupus do not necessarily increase their cancer risk according to new research led by scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).

28 Jan 2013

Study sheds new light on why certain people are more likely to suffer from RA

University of Michigan research sheds new light on why certain people are more likely to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis - paving the way to explore new treatments for both arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

28 Jan 2013

IRHOM2-targeted drugs can effectively treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a potential new target for drugs to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a protein known as IRHOM2. The finding could provide an effective and potentially less toxic alternative therapy to tumor necrosis factor-alpha blockers (TNF-blockers), the mainstay of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and could help patients who do not respond to this treatment. Efforts to develop drugs that hone in on this new target are underway.

28 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: GOP's hope to end deficits in 10 years will mean 'dramatic cuts' in entitlements; Mass. health overhaul brings need for more taxes

Ryan has a daunting new assignment that may make that message even more difficult to sell. He's been charged by House Speaker John A. Boehner with drawing up a new budget that will erase the federal deficit within 10 years (the first Ryan budget, written in 2011, needed 30 years) solely through spending cuts

25 Jan 2013

Prenatal inflammation associated with increased risk of autism in children

Maternal inflammation during early pregnancy may be related to an increased risk of autism in children, according to new findings supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found this in children of mothers with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-established marker of systemic inflammation.

25 Jan 2013

New method allows controlled release of drugs; could help develop targeted treatments

Researchers have discovered a method that allows for the controlled release of an active agent on the basis of a magnetic nanovehicle.

25 Jan 2013

Targeting key HIV protein could stop HIV infection from progressing to AIDS

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may have found an "Achilles heel" in a key HIV protein. In findings published online today in Chemistry and Biology, they showed that targeting this vulnerable spot could stop the virus from replicating, potentially thwarting HIV infection from progressing to full-blown AIDS.

25 Jan 2013

Findings could help explain prevalence of urinary tract infections in post-menopausal women

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, show that reservoirs of uropathogenic E. coli within the bladder exist in higher numbers post-menopause than pre-menopause in a mouse model, a finding that could help explain the greater prevalence of urinary tract infections in post-menopausal women.

25 Jan 2013

Study highlights the need for more targeted antibiotic therapy in cancer patients

What cancerous conditions lead to what kinds of bacterial infections? If doctors knew, they could predict which patients would likely benefit from pre-treatment with certain kinds of antibiotics.

25 Jan 2013

Effective therapy needed for chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Ampligen, the first drug ever seeking approval to treat chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), recently hit another roadblock with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

25 Jan 2013

Women taking tacrolimus drug can breast feed their babies

Women taking the immunosuppressant tacrolimus can rest assured that breast feeding will not elevate their babies' exposure to the drug, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

24 Jan 2013

Researchers discover safe and efficient way to get large molecules through the cell membrane

Living cells are surrounded by a membrane that tightly regulates what gets in and out of the cell. This barrier is necessary for cells to control their internal environment, but it makes it more difficult for scientists to deliver large molecules such as nanoparticles for imaging, or proteins that can reprogram them into pluripotent stem cells.

24 Jan 2013

Tofacitinib improves disease activity and inhibits progression of joint damage in RA patients

A Phase 3 clinical trial demonstrates that tofacitinib improves disease activity and inhibits progression of joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who did not respond to methotrexate (MTX).

24 Jan 2013

Boosting estrogen levels may help reduce urinary infections in menopausal women

Estrogen levels drop dramatically in menopause, a time when the risk of urinary tract infections increases significantly.

24 Jan 2013

Normalizing p62 protein levels in immune system cells could reduce infection in CF patients

New research suggests that lowering excessive levels of a protein in immune system cells could be a strategy to clear an infection that is deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

23 Jan 2013

NIH's candidate vaccine safe in treating dengue

A candidate dengue vaccine developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been found to be safe and to stimulate a strong immune response in most vaccine recipients, according to results from an early-stage clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH. The trial results were published online on January 17 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

23 Jan 2013

DFG now extends funding for research on immunological therapy at Charité

The DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) has now extended the funding of a research association which is located at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) will receive funding in excess of ten million Euros over the next four years.

23 Jan 2013

New apatamer can boost therapeutic effect of cell-based vaccines

A small compound called an aptamer that specifically targets and stimulates a human immune cell can greatly increase the effectiveness of an immunotherapeutic drug designed to destroy malignant or virus-infected cells. The development of a novel apatamer that recognizes activated T-lymphocytes and can boost the therapeutic effect of cell-based vaccines is described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers.

23 Jan 2013

BH3-mimetics might be new option for treatment of autoimmune conditions

Melbourne researchers have discovered that the death of immune system cells is an important safeguard against the development of diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which occur when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues.

23 Jan 2013

Tall, thin women face increased risk of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria

Tall, thin women face a greater risk of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), cousins of the organism that causes tuberculosis, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. Women with NTM infections also showed a weakened immune response associated with their fat cells, in a paper published in the Jan. 15, 2013, issue of The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care.

23 Jan 2013

Immune System News and Research

Immunosuppressive drugs do not increase risk of cancer in lupus patients

Study sheds new light on why certain people are more likely to suffer from RA

IRHOM2-targeted drugs can effectively treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Viewpoints: GOP's hope to end deficits in 10 years will mean 'dramatic cuts' in entitlements; Mass. health overhaul brings need for more taxes

Prenatal inflammation associated with increased risk of autism in children

New method allows controlled release of drugs; could help develop targeted treatments

Targeting key HIV protein could stop HIV infection from progressing to AIDS

Findings could help explain prevalence of urinary tract infections in post-menopausal women

Study highlights the need for more targeted antibiotic therapy in cancer patients

Effective therapy needed for chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Women taking tacrolimus drug can breast feed their babies

Researchers discover safe and efficient way to get large molecules through the cell membrane

Tofacitinib improves disease activity and inhibits progression of joint damage in RA patients

Boosting estrogen levels may help reduce urinary infections in menopausal women

Normalizing p62 protein levels in immune system cells could reduce infection in CF patients

NIH's candidate vaccine safe in treating dengue

DFG now extends funding for research on immunological therapy at Charité

New apatamer can boost therapeutic effect of cell-based vaccines

BH3-mimetics might be new option for treatment of autoimmune conditions

Tall, thin women face increased risk of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria

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