Immune System News and Research

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Removing corticosteroid regimen after surgery results in better graft survival rates

University of Cincinnati (UC) analysis of 10 years of data from local kidney transplant patients shows that patients removed from a corticosteroid regimen shortly after surgery have better graft survival rates, better survival rates and fewer cardiovascular events than patients kept on the traditional regimen of long-term steroids.

24 Aug 2010

Scientists develop nano-sized vehicle to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into cancer cells

Chemotherapy, while an effective cancer treatment, also brings debilitating side effects such as nausea, liver toxicity and a battered immune system.Now, a new way to deliver this life-saving therapy to cancer patients getting straight to the source of the disease.

24 Aug 2010

Research finds variation in sex chromosome may cause lupus in men

Genes reside along long chains of DNA called chromosomes. UCLA researchers have found that a variation in a gene on the sex chromosome X may enhance an immune response that leads to lupus in men.

24 Aug 2010

Study finds high glucose level blocks infectious bacteria detection, affects immunity

Research led by the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that unhealthy glucose levels in patients with diabetes can cause significantly more problems for the body than just the well-known symptoms of the disease such as kidney damage and circulation problems.

24 Aug 2010

Flu vaccine to be available at local pharmacies, doctor's offices

Flu vaccine will soon be available at local pharmacies and doctor's offices, and government officials are urging everyone over 6 months of age to receive it. This year's vaccine protects against H1N1 and two other strains of seasonal flu.

23 Aug 2010

Taligen Therapeutics announces closing on $10M tranche of Series B financing

Taligen Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing therapies that regulate the complement system to treat inflammatory and immune diseases, today announced that it has closed on a $10 million tranche of a Series B financing, based on substantial progress with the company's product pipeline including advancing the lead product candidate, TT30, toward clinical development.

23 Aug 2010

Brain can act as a hiding place for HIV virus: Study

Studies of the spinal fluid of patients given anti-HIV drugs have resulted in new findings suggesting that the brain can act as a hiding place for the HIV virus. Around 10% of patients showed traces of the virus in their spinal fluid but not in their blood.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists develop new synthetic material to grow stem cells

Human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any other kind of body cell, hold great potential to treat a wide range of ailments, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. However, scientists who work with such cells have had trouble growing large enough quantities to perform experiments - in particular, to be used in human studies. Furthermore, most materials now used to grow human stem cells include cells or proteins that come from mice embryos, which help stimulate stem-cell growth but would likely cause an immune reaction if injected into a human patient.

23 Aug 2010

New antisense drugs may help treat accidental infections: Study

New studies show that treatments targeting specific viral genes protected monkeys infected with deadly Ebola or Marburg viruses. Furthermore, the animals were protected even when therapeutics were administered one hour after exposure-suggesting the approach holds promise for treating accidental infections in laboratory or hospital settings.

23 Aug 2010

Beer psoriasis link for women and psoriasis plus depression

According to a new study, women who regularly drink beer may be increasing their risk of developing psoriasis – a disease of the skin. Light beer and wine are not associated with such a risk, the study says. Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterised by itchy red scaly patches that most commonly appear on the knees, elbows and scalp or anywhere else in the body.

23 Aug 2010

GM-CSF protein reduces AD pathology, reverses memory loss: Study

A signaling protein released during rheumatoid arthritis dramatically reduced Alzheimer's disease pathology and reversed the memory impairment of mice bred to develop symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease, a new study by the University of South Florida reports. Researchers found that the protein, GM-CSF, likely stimulates the body's natural scavenger cells to attack and remove Alzheimer's amyloid deposits in the brain.

23 Aug 2010

Hepatitis E vaccine successful in clinical trial: Study

In a Clinical trial in China, a vaccine has been found to protect against Hepatitis E. Hepatitis E virus, usually spread via contaminated food and faeces usually runs its course before the patient recovers. However it can cause severe illness in elderly people and has a mortality rate of 1 to 3 percent. It can also kill 5 to 25 percent of affected pregnant women and those who survive can suffer high rates of miscarriage. Around a third of the world's population have been infected by the virus say researchers.

22 Aug 2010

Hillandale Farms of Iowa voluntarily recalls shell eggs

Hillandale Farms of Iowa is voluntarily recalling shell eggs because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

21 Aug 2010

FDA issues update to nationwide Salmonella infected egg recall

Through tracebacks conducted as part of its ongoing investigation into the increase of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses nationwide, FDA and the State of Minnesota identified Hillandale Farms in Iowa as a second potential source of contaminated shell eggs.

21 Aug 2010

NCF announces formal disease model for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The National CFIDS Foundation Inc., of Needham Mass, has announced its formal disease model for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) also known as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) as well as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). According to the NCF, a subgroup of patients with CFS fit a unique disease profile based on a model for a radioactive toxin.

21 Aug 2010

Melanoma Research Alliance announces grant to support six research programs

The Melanoma Research Alliance today announced $5.2 million in grants to support six multidisciplinary teams pursuing innovative, translational research approaches designed to benefit melanoma patients.

21 Aug 2010

New FDA laws on egg safety would have prevented salmonella outbreak, Feds say

The Washington Post: "Salmonella-infected eggs traceable to a large egg producer in Iowa may have caused as many as 1,200 cases of intestinal illness … The eggs went to distribution companies in 17 states, mostly west of the Mississippi River, but were then sold nationwide. ... Many states, as well as egg-producer associations, have voluntary 'egg quality assurance' programs with guidelines similar to those that are now mandatory. … In healthy people, it rarely causes severe illness.

21 Aug 2010

FDA releases statement on urgent nationwide egg recall

Working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state public health partners, the FDA reviewed epidemiologic and environmental investigation documents and identified 3 best-case clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses. Tracebacks revealed Wright County Egg in Iowa as the common shell egg supplier in these clusters.

20 Aug 2010

Immunosuppressive therapy benefits necrotizing myopathy patients with novel autoantibody specificity

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified a subgroup of patients with necrotizing myopathy who have a novel autoantibody specificity that makes them potential candidates for immunosuppressive therapy. The complete study is published in the September issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

20 Aug 2010

Research on gut mucosa enables effective drug treatment for irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome makes life miserable for those affected an estimated ten percent or more of the population. And what irritates many of them even more is that they often are labeled as hypochondriacs, since physical causes for irritable bowel syndrome have never been identified. Now, biologists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have shed new light on the matter: They have discovered mini-inflammations in the mucosa of the gut, which upset the sensitive balance of the bowel and are accompanied by sensitization of the enteric nervous system.

20 Aug 2010