Immune System News and Research

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Scientists decipher molecular causes of life-threatening candida fungal infections

With infectious diseases, it is often not the pathogen itself, but rather an excessive inflammatory immune responses death, for instance as a result of organ damage. On intensive care units, sepsis is the second-most common cause of death worldwide. In patients with a severely compromised immune system specially, life-threatening candida fungal infections represent a high risk of sepsis.

30 Jul 2012

Early ART treatment delays AIDS-related health events in HIV-infected individuals

Further analyses of the landmark NIH-funded treatment-as-prevention study (HPTN 052) have found that providing antiretroviral treatment to HIV-infected individuals earlier, when their immune systems are healthier, delays AIDS-related health events, such as chronic herpes simplex virus and tuberculosis, as well as death. Additionally, researchers found that earlier HIV treatment is also cost-effective because it increases survival, prevents costly opportunistic infections and averts transmission of the virus to uninfected individuals.

30 Jul 2012

Paper highlights clinical and immunological activity of immatics’ IMA901 in renal cell carcinoma

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced that key data covering the scientific and clinical development of its lead cancer vaccine, IMA901, have been published in Nature Medicine.

30 Jul 2012

ACT receives Australian patent for human retinal pigment epithelial cells

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that it has been issued a patent in Australia, patent number 2005325753, "Improved modalities for the treatment of degenerative diseases of the retina."

28 Jul 2012

Rituximab also benefits patients with kidney disorder

A drug commonly used to treat immune disorders such as lymphoma and arthritis also benefits patients with an immune disorder of the kidneys that can lead to kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of new study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

28 Jul 2012

Viral evolution and host protein levels predict rapid disease progression in hepatitis C patients

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified several factors in people infected with the hepatitis C virus that may predict whether the unusually rapid progression of disease from initial infection to severe liver conditions, such as cirrhosis, will occur. Knowing whether a patient's condition is likely to deteriorate quickly could help physicians decide on the best course of treatment.

27 Jul 2012

Vaccine complex delivered safely by piggybacking onto 3D DNA nanostructures

In a quest to make safer and more effective vaccines, scientists at the Biodesign Institute- at Arizona State University have turned to a promising field called DNA nanotechnology to make an entirely new class of synthetic vaccines.

27 Jul 2012

Lymphoma drug dislodges hidden virus in HIV patients

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have published pioneering research showing that a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma was able to dislodge hidden virus in patients receiving treatment for HIV.

27 Jul 2012

HIV drug resistance: an interview with Dr. Silvia Bertagnolio

Sexual intercourse is the major mode of HIV transmission. HIV may also be transmitted through sharing of needles or contaminated blood products (although this is rare).

27 Jul 2012

Bone marrow transplant eradicates traces of HIV in men

Two men with longstanding HIV infections no longer have detectable HIV in their blood cells following bone marrow transplants. The virus was easily detected in blood lymphocytes of both men prior to their transplants but became undetectable by eight months post-transplant. The men, who were treated at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), have remained on anti-retroviral therapy.

27 Jul 2012

HPTN study results show additional benefits of early ART in HIV clinical outcomes

Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show additional benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV clinical outcomes.

27 Jul 2012

Skin microbiota may help protect the body from infection

A research team at the National Institutes of Health has found that bacteria that normally live in the skin may help protect the body from infection. As the largest organ of the body, the skin represents a major site of interaction with microbes in the environment.

27 Jul 2012

Vitamin A insufficiency linked to hand, foot and mouth disease

Vitamin A status is associated with immunity to, and pathogenic condition of, hand, foot, and mouth disease in children, say researchers whose study results show that the majority of those with the infectious disease also had vitamin A insufficiency.

26 Jul 2012

UNITAID to invest more than $140M to evaluate point-of-care HIV diagnostics, monitoring in Africa

International medicines financing mechanism UNITAID said on Monday it "will invest more than $140 million to evaluate point-of-care [PoC] HIV diagnostic and monitoring technology in seven African countries," PlusNews reports.

26 Jul 2012

Obama skipping AIDS conference; Black community still bearing high burden of the disease

For all the dignitaries on the schedule at the International AIDS Conference this week in Washington, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and former President Bill Clinton, it's the absence of one that has activists talking. With the conference being held in the U.S. for the first time in 22 years, President Barack Obama is out of town campaigning and raising money for his re-election. His only presence is a 50-second cameo in a three-minute video welcoming delegates.

26 Jul 2012

Two Ottawa researchers take innovative approaches to improve virus-based cancer therapy

Two Ottawa researchers are taking innovative approaches to improving virus-based cancer therapy with new funding from the Canadian Cancer Society.

26 Jul 2012

ZOLOFT holds promise against cryptococcal meningitis

New research conducted by biologists at Texas A&M University suggests that ZOLOFT, one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world, also packs a potential preventative bonus - potent mechanisms capable of inhibiting deadly fungal infections.

26 Jul 2012

NIDA announces 2012 recipient of Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development

Dr. Gary R. Matyas has been selected the 2012 recipient of the NIDA Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development. Matyas proposes to develop an effective, safe and easily manufactured combination anti-heroin/HIV vaccine that could treat heroin addiction while at the same time prevent HIV infection in those receiving the vaccine.

26 Jul 2012

Molecular explanation for increased susceptibility to intestinal inflammation in malnutrition

More than one billion people in poor countries are starving, and malnutrition remains a major problem even in rich countries, making it a leading cause of death in the world. For over a hundred years, doctors have known that a lack of protein in the diet or low levels of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, can lead to symptoms like diarrhoea, inflamed intestines and other immune system disorders, which weaken the body and can be fatal. However, the molecular mechanism which explains how malnutrition causes such severe symptoms has been largely unexplored.

26 Jul 2012

How an opportunistic fungal pathogen knows when to attack

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans inconspicuously lives in our bodies until it senses that we are weak, when it quickly adapts to go on the offensive. The fungus, known for causing yeast and other minor infections, also causes a sometimes-fatal infection known as candidemia in immunocompromised patients. An in vivo study, published in mBio, demonstrates how C. albicans can distinguish between a healthy and an unhealthy host and alter its physiology to attack.

25 Jul 2012

Immune System News and Research

Scientists decipher molecular causes of life-threatening candida fungal infections

Early ART treatment delays AIDS-related health events in HIV-infected individuals

Paper highlights clinical and immunological activity of immatics’ IMA901 in renal cell carcinoma

ACT receives Australian patent for human retinal pigment epithelial cells

Rituximab also benefits patients with kidney disorder

Viral evolution and host protein levels predict rapid disease progression in hepatitis C patients

Vaccine complex delivered safely by piggybacking onto 3D DNA nanostructures

Lymphoma drug dislodges hidden virus in HIV patients

HIV drug resistance: an interview with Dr. Silvia Bertagnolio

Bone marrow transplant eradicates traces of HIV in men

HPTN study results show additional benefits of early ART in HIV clinical outcomes

Skin microbiota may help protect the body from infection

Vitamin A insufficiency linked to hand, foot and mouth disease

UNITAID to invest more than $140M to evaluate point-of-care HIV diagnostics, monitoring in Africa

Obama skipping AIDS conference; Black community still bearing high burden of the disease

Two Ottawa researchers take innovative approaches to improve virus-based cancer therapy

ZOLOFT holds promise against cryptococcal meningitis

NIDA announces 2012 recipient of Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development

Molecular explanation for increased susceptibility to intestinal inflammation in malnutrition

How an opportunistic fungal pathogen knows when to attack

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