Immune System News and Research

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New hope for leukemia patients

Nine of twelve leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells after the cells had been genetically engineered to attack the patients' tumors responded to the therapy, which was pioneered by scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

10 Dec 2012

Ibrutinib may effectively combat chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The promising investigational targeted therapy ibrutinib and its mechanism of silencing gene communication pathways critical to the development of cancer may be an effective way to combat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to studies presented today at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

10 Dec 2012

Angiocidin reduces acute myeloid leukemia cells in vivo by almost two-thirds in pre-clinical studies

Angiocidin, a novel tumor-inhibiting protein, has been shown to reduce acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells in vivo by almost two-thirds in pre-clinical experiments.

10 Dec 2012

Sanofi Pasteur’s IMOJEV vaccine against Japanese encephalitis is now available in Australia

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today that IMOJEV vaccine against Japanese encephalitis (JE) is now available in Australia.

10 Dec 2012

GSK, MD Anderson partner to develop new therapeutic antibodies against cancer

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have signed a research collaboration and license agreement to develop new therapeutic antibodies that promote an immune system attack against cancer.

10 Dec 2012

C5aRA treatment could be effective against periodontitis

Periodontitis, a form of chronic gum disease that affects nearly half of the U.S. adult population, results when the bacterial community in the mouth becomes unbalanced, leading to inflammation and eventually bone loss. In its most severe form, which affects 8.5 percent of U.S. adults, periodontitis can impact systemic health.

9 Dec 2012

Study demonstrates how parasites enter the brain to influence its host

Toxoplasma is a common 'cat parasite', and has previously been in the spotlight owing to its observed effect on risk-taking and other human behaviours. To some extent, it has also been associated with mental illness. A study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now demonstrates for the first time how the parasite enters the brain to influence its host.

7 Dec 2012

Disturbances in several immune-system-related pathways contribute to development of ASDs

Researchers using novel approaches and methodologies of identifying genes that contribute to the development of autism have found evidence that disturbances in several immune-system-related pathways contribute to development of autism spectrum disorders.

7 Dec 2012

Cocktail-treated human NK cells show promise against cancer

Fighting cancer using the body's own defense system is a promising treatment approach. Immune therapies have even become clinical routine in treating a few cancers such as malignant melanoma and prostate cancer. Natural killer cells (or NK cells) are considered to be particularly suitable weapons against cancer.

7 Dec 2012

Scancell announces preliminary results from Part 1 of ImmunoBody vaccine Phase 1/2 MM trial

Scancell Holdings Plc, the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, is pleased to announce preliminary results from Part 1 of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its DNA ImmunoBody vaccine in patients with Stage III/IV malignant melanoma.

6 Dec 2012

C-reactive protein levels increased in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with mentally healthy individuals, US researchers report.

6 Dec 2012

C-reactive protein levels increased in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have elevated levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with mentally healthy individuals, US researchers report.

6 Dec 2012

Case Western Reserve to receive funding through Healthy Growth grant program

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine announced that it will receive funding through the Achieving Healthy Growth program within the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative.

6 Dec 2012

Rice bran offers promising cancer prevention properties

A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center review in the journal Advances in Nutrition shows that rice bran offers promising cancer prevention properties. Meanwhile, an ongoing clinical trial is testing the effectiveness of rice bran in preventing the recurrence of colon cancer.

6 Dec 2012

Children with HIV more likely to develop atherosclerosis

Children with HIV have a 2.5 fold increased risk of atherosclerosis, according to research presented at EUROECHO and other Imaging Modalities 2012. Antiretroviral treatment, lipid lowering drugs and prevention with healthy lifestyles are needed to prevent early death from cardiovascular disease.

5 Dec 2012

Paper reveals how 'kinase' is distributed across membranes

Using a super-resolution fluorescent microscope, Australian medical scientists are a step closer to understanding why and how human immune cells decide to activate or not, thus enabling or preventing disease taking hold in the body.

5 Dec 2012

New method promises to boost stem cell production in laboratory

A new method for generating stem cells from mature cells promises to boost stem cell production in the laboratory, helping to remove a barrier to regenerative medicine therapies that would replace damaged or unhealthy body tissues.

5 Dec 2012

Arthrobotrys oligospora produces nanoparticles that could kill tumors

Arthrobotrys oligospora doesn't live a charmed life; it survives on a diet of roundworm. But a discovery by a team led by Mingjun Zhang, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, could give the fungus's life more purpose-as a cancer fighter.

5 Dec 2012

Natural killer cell response detrimental to glioblastoma virotherapy

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the response of natural killer (NK) cells is detrimental to glioblastoma virotherapy, a novel way of treating malignant brain cancer by injecting a virus into the tumor.

5 Dec 2012

Combining 5-fluorouracil and IL-1 beta inhibitor can improve effectiveness of chemotherapy

These results reveal how the immune system can then limit the effectiveness of some cancer chemotherapies. The researchers now intend to block the molecules responsible for negative immune system activation to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy. A clinical trial to test this hypothesis should begin very soon.

5 Dec 2012