Immune System News and Research

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FDA approves GSK's PROMACTA to treat rare blood disorder

GlaxoSmithKline today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration granted full approval for PROMACTA, an oral tablet that can raise platelet counts in patients with the rare blood disorder chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins or splenectomy.

27 Feb 2011

New study: Immune molecules can regulate synaptic connections in brain

The number of connections between nerve cells in the brain can be regulated by an immune system molecule, according to a new study from UC Davis. The research, published Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, reveals a potential link between immunity, infectious disease and conditions such as schizophrenia or autism.

27 Feb 2011

Less-toxic combination of immune-based drug and chemotherapy drug produce long-term remissions in CLL

New research shows that a less-toxic combination of a targeted immune-based drug and a chemotherapy drug can produce long-term remissions in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. And it does so without increasing the risk of later therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, which can often occur with a three-drug combination used to treat these patients.

25 Feb 2011

Stink bugs may worsen asthma, cause allergy

How rude! They sneak into your home uninvited and when you scare or smush them, they release a foul-smelling substance. "When stink bugs pop up in homes, do they cause allergy? There's not a lot of public information about it," says Nancy Sander, founder and president of Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA), the leading national family-founded nonprofit organization for people with asthma, allergies and related conditions. "So AANMA asked an allergist who knows."

25 Feb 2011

Researchers explain genetic differences that distinguish early-transmitting HIVs-viruses

A new finding from scientists at the National Institutes of Health could help efforts to design vaccines and other prevention tools to block HIV in the early stages of sexual transmission, before infection takes hold. Researchers at the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have helped explain genetic differences that can distinguish some early-transmitting HIVs-viruses found in an infected individual within the first month after infection-from forms of HIV isolated later in infection.

25 Feb 2011

Research sheds new light on problem of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

A research team, led by La Jolla Institute scientist Joel Linden, Ph.D., has shed new light on the problem of insulin resistance, and identified the key participants in a molecular pathway that holds therapeutic promise for reducing the severity of type 2 diabetes.

25 Feb 2011

Ballerinas need to know dangers of excessive weight loss and overexercise

With actress Natalie Portman in Oscar contention, the movie "Black Swan" has taken center stage. So have concerns surrounding the dramatic weight loss Portman underwent for the role. Her depiction of a dangerously thin ballerina sheds light on a potential downside of this art form.

25 Feb 2011

Simpler method of making water-soluble short protein chains with spiral structures

Researchers have developed a simple method of making short protein chains with spiral structures that can also dissolve in water, two desirable traits not often found together. Such structures could have applications as building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures and as agents for drug and gene delivery.

25 Feb 2011

PACAP hormone levels linked to post-traumatic stress disorder

High blood levels of a hormone produced in response to stress are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder in women but not men, a study from researchers at Emory University and the University of Vermont has found.

25 Feb 2011

Advocates say ending violence against women must be top priority for U.N. women

Nearly three quarters of women's rights advocates say ending violence against women must be a top priority for U.N. Women, according to a report released Wednesday at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Inter Press Service reports.

25 Feb 2011

Stemline licenses clinically active oncology vaccine for dual targeting of tumor bulk and cancer stem cells

Stemline Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel oncology compounds that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), today announced that it holds the license, from the University of Pittsburgh ("Pitt"), for the exclusive worldwide rights to a clinically active oncology vaccine directed to multiple defined targets on tumor bulk and CSCs.

25 Feb 2011

Study: Rare genetic mutations may provide clues to improve treatment for schizophrenia

Scientists are eyeing a rare genetic glitch for clues to improved treatments for some people with schizophrenia - even though they found the mutation in only one third of 1 percent of patients.

25 Feb 2011

Study: Low Vitamin D levels can cause allergies in children

A study of more than 3,000 children shows that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased likelihood that children will develop allergies, according to a paper published in the February 17 online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

25 Feb 2011

FDA approves sBLA for CSL's Hizentra to treat PI

CSL Behring announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application to extend the shelf life of Hizentra, Immune Globulin Subcutaneous, 20% Liquid, from 24 months to 30 months.

24 Feb 2011

Steroid administration may impact immune system in children with asthma

Children experiencing an asthma attack who are treated with a short burst of oral steroids may have a transient depression of immune response according to a new study led by Universit- de Montr-al.

24 Feb 2011

Study findings support therapeutic approach for common form of MS

In an effort to develop therapeutic remedies for multiple sclerosis, scientists debate two possible interventional approaches - but they're on opposite sides of the spectrum. Researchers at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, however, have reached a definitive conclusion as to which approach is correct, putting an end to a long-disputed issue.

24 Feb 2011

New vaccine offers hope against Hepatitis C

Immunology: Three percent of the world's population is currently infected by hepatitis C. The virus hides in the liver and can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer, and it's the most frequent cause of liver transplants in Denmark.

24 Feb 2011

Bacteria and fungi may protect against asthma in rural children: Study

Children who grow up on farms are less likely to suffer from asthma than other rural children. An international team of researchers including Dr. Markus Ege and Professor Erika von Mutius at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet has published a large-scale study that now indicates that this may be due to differences in the spectrum of microbes the two groups are likely to encounter.

24 Feb 2011

Oncolytics completes patient enrollment in REOLYSIN trial to treat metastatic colorectal cancer

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced today that enrollment has been completed in a U.K. translational clinical trial investigating intravenous administration of REOLYSIN in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer prior to surgical resection of liver metastases.

23 Feb 2011

Diabetes technology granted patent in Australia

Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX: LCT; OTCQX: LVCLY) a global company pioneering the development of a cell implant therapy to treat diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, has been granted a patent by the Australian Patent Office for IMMUPEL(tm), LCT's industry-leading technology for encapsulating living cells prior to transplantation.

23 Feb 2011