Autoimmune Disease News and Research

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Autoimmune Disease is a condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.

New virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer

A Mayo Clinic research team has devised a new virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer. Researchers say their findings will help overcome hurdles that have hindered gene therapy cancer treatments.

27 Sep 2005

Discovery of molecule that causes transverse myelitis

Hopkins researchers have discovered a single molecule that is a cause of an autoimmune disease in the central nervous system, called transverse myelitis (TM), that is related to multiple sclerosis.

26 Sep 2005

Aquaporin-4 is the first specific molecule to be defined as a target for the autoimmune response in any form of MS

Researchers have identified a molecular suspect in a disorder similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) that attacks the optic nerve and spinal cord, according to a report presented at the 130th annual meeting of the American Neurological Association in San Diego. The protein, called aquaporin-4, is a channel protein that allows water to move in and out of cells.

26 Sep 2005

First true animal model for psoriasis

Scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna have developed the first true animal model for psoriasis and have been able to address the initial steps and possible causes of the disease.

20 Sep 2005

Study suggests chronic infections may create autoimmune response

New research finds the human immune system has foregone evolutionary changes that would allow it to produce better antibodies in less time because the improved antibodies would be far more likely to attack the body's own tissues.

19 Sep 2005

Cellular mechanism discovery could lead to new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease

A major finding by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) has identified a previously unknown cellular mechanism that acts as an off switch for immune system function.

12 Sep 2005

Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death

In five randomized controlled trials involving 457 people, the authors report that for patients treated with methotrexate, as a single therapy or in combination with other drug treatment, pooled data showed a tendency toward an increased risk of death or liver transplantation. The brand names for methotrexate are Rheumatrex and Trexall.

23 Aug 2005

Non-invasive imaging may help predict type 1 diabetes and response to treatment in humans

A key obstacle to early detection of type 1 diabetes - as well as to rapid assessment of the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention - has been the lack of direct, non-invasive technologies to visualize inflammation in the pancreas, an early manifestation of disease.

22 Aug 2005

New hope for those deaf from immune system attack

A new study may one day help those deafened by immune system attack, and possibly also lead to a test that could show which patients may be helped by immediate steroid treatment.

16 Aug 2005

Adalimumab and methotrexate is about five times more effective than methotrexate alone for rheumatoid arthritis

For people with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis, combined treatment with the new "biologic" drug adalimumab and methotrexate is about five times more effective than methotrexate alone, according to a new systematic review of studies.

15 Aug 2005

Majority of Americans believe that vaccines are the best hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic

But while most of those surveyed felt it personally important to help support HIV vaccine research, a majority expressed reluctance to support a friend or family member's participation in an HIV vaccine clinical trial.

9 Aug 2005

Scientists have begun to clarify how one of the body's molecules controls the trafficking of T cells through the blood

...lymph nodes and on to tissues to fight infection -- a crucial response that sometimes goes awry, attacking the body's own tissues and causing autoimmune diseases.

17 Jul 2005

Scientists discover how an HIV protein fragment shuts down an immune response

The HIV virus hides out in the very immune system cells that are meant to protect the body from viral infection. But how does it prevent these cells from mounting a full-scale attack against the invader?

11 Jul 2005

Experimental drug for diabetes looks promising

Encouraging results in a small study, with a new experimental treatment, promises help for certain diabetics to retain some ability to make their own insulin.

29 Jun 2005

Gleevec or similar drugs might be useful in preventing adverse side effects of smallpox vaccine

Mice given a relatively new cancer drug can survive an otherwise lethal dose of vaccinia virus, a relative of smallpox virus, report scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

27 Jun 2005

OHSU scientists say low FOXP3 means fewer disease-fighting cells, but new drug may help multiple sclerosis

Oregon Health & Science University researchers have measured genetic changes reflecting a drop in the body's ability to suppress inflammatory cells that attack nerve fibers and promote progression of multiple sclerosis.

27 Jun 2005

New insight into autoimmune disease

The immune system is a complex and powerful weapon that provides protection against bacteria and viruses that, if left unchecked, would wreak havoc throughout the human body.

21 Jun 2005

Canada first country to approve cannabis based painkiller

Canada has become the first country to approve a cannabis based painkiller for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

21 Jun 2005

Promising new tuberculosis drug enters clinical trial

A promising new drug candidate that may be effective against both actively dividing and slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) has begun testing in humans, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced this week.

15 Jun 2005

Chemokine Therapeutics granted new U.S patent

Chemokine Therapeutics has announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,875,738 relating to the use of its anti-cancer compound, CTCE-9908, in the treatment of cancer and inhibition of angiogenesis. CTCE-9908 is designed to block CXCR4, a receptor found on the surface of cancer cells.

14 Jun 2005