Autoimmunity 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.

TSRI researchers awarded grant to study how environmental factors trigger autoimmune diseases

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1.5 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and 322,000 have lupus, a chronic and potentially life-threatening disease that can damage skin, joints and organs.

10 Jul 2015

Bacterial biofilms play role in development of systemic lupus erythematosus

Lupus, multiple sclerosis, and type-1 diabetes are among more than a score of diseases in which the immune system attacks the body it was designed to defend. But just why the immune system begins its misdirected assault has remained a mystery.

7 Jul 2015

Spouses & Relatives Of Celiac Disease Patients At Risk For Autoimmune Diseases

Both spouses and first-degree relatives of patients with celiac disease are at increased risk of nonceliac autoimmune disease, according to a study in the July issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. This risk represents a mixture of genetic, environmental and ascertainment bias mechanisms.

1 Jul 2015

Exhausted army of immune cells may damage the very body they are supposed to protect

An 'exhausted' army of immune cells may not be able to fight off infection, but if its soldiers fight too hard they risk damaging the very body they are meant to be protecting, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge.

30 Jun 2015

Rare form of autoimmune syndrome may be tied to mutations in AIRE gene

A hereditary autoimmune disease that was thought to be exceedingly rare may have a less severe form that affects one in 1,000 people or even more, according to new research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in Israel, and the University of Bergen, in Norway.

18 Jun 2015

Regulatory T cells critical for the immune system's ability to fight off future pathogen attacks

Just as militaries need to have trained, experienced soldiers ready for future wars, making sure that the immune system has enough battle-ready T cells on hand is important for fast-acting, more effective vaccines, according to Penn State researchers.

17 Jun 2015

Researchers suggest link between solar storms and incidences of RA and GCA

What began as a chat between husband and wife has evolved into an intriguing scientific discovery. The results, published in May in BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal) Open, show a "highly significant" correlation between periodic solar storms and incidences of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and giant cell arteritis (GCA), two potentially debilitating autoimmune diseases.

16 Jun 2015

TxCell to deliver two presentations on Col-Treg and Ovasave at ISCT Annual Meeting

TxCell SA, a biotechnology company developing innovative, personalized T cell immunotherapies using antigen specific regulatory T-cells (Ag-Tregs) for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announces today that Dr. Arnaud Foussat, VP Research and New Products, TxCell, will deliver two presentations at the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Society of Cellular Therapy, May 27-30, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US.

30 May 2015

UCB sponsoring several presentations on Cimzia for Crohn's disease at DDW 2015

UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company focusing on immunology and neurology treatment and research, is sponsoring several data presentations on Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) at Digestive Disease Week 2015, taking place in Washington, DC from May 16-19.

17 May 2015

Regulatory T cells can cure inflammatory diseases, shows research

Scientists at The University of Manchester have made an important discovery about an immune cell which is already being used in immunotherapy to treat diseases such as type I diabetes.

14 May 2015

TSRI researchers find interferon beta protein as prime suspect in persistent viral infections

Interferon proteins are normally considered virus-fighters, but scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found evidence that one of them, interferon beta (IFNβ), has an immune-suppressing effect that can help some viruses establish persistent infections.

14 May 2015

Major breakthrough in understanding development of type 1 diabetes

Joslin researchers have uncovered the action of a gene that regulates the education of T cells, providing insight into how and why the immune system begins mistaking the body's own tissues for targets. The gene, Clec16a, is one of a suite of genes associated with multiple autoimmune disorders, suggesting it is fundamental to the development of autoimmunity.

13 May 2015

Australian researchers discover rogue germinal centre B cells that trigger autoimmune disease

Australian researchers believe they have discovered a group of cells that trigger autoimmune disease, as well as the molecular 'trigger guard' that normally holds them in check.

13 May 2015

TxCell presents preclinical efficacy and tolerability data for Col-Treg at 2015 ARVO Annual Meeting

TxCell SA, a biotechnology company developing innovative, personalized T-cell immunotherapies using antigen specific regulatory T-cells (Ag-Tregs) for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, today announces that activity and tolerance data for its second lead product Col-Treg were presented through a poster presentation at the 2015 ARVO Annual Meeting, May 3-7, 2015, in Denver, Colorado, US.

5 May 2015

New T1D Prevention Initiative launched to identify pathways to prevent type 1 diabetes

As the incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) rises worldwide, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust today announced the launch of an ambitious new T1D Prevention Initiative to investigate the early stages of development of the disease and identify new pathways to prevent it.

28 Apr 2015

Gladstone researchers identify way to prevent MS development in mice

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered a way to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice. Using a drug that blocks the production of a certain type of immune cell linked to inflammation and autoimmunity, the researchers successfully protected against the onset of MS in an animal model of the disease.

28 Apr 2015

Scientists identify missing genetic link in common variable immunodeficiency disorder

In the largest genetic study to date of a challenging immunodeficiency disorder, scientists have identified a gene that may be a "missing link" between overactive and underactive immune activity. The gene candidate also plays a key role in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and allergies.

23 Apr 2015

Gene therapy reduces infectious complications in children, teens with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

In a small study that included seven children and teens with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare immunodeficiency disorder, use of gene therapy resulted in clinical improvement in infectious complications, severe eczema, and symptoms of autoimmunity, according to a study in the April 21 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on child health.

22 Apr 2015

MGH investigators identify inflammatory molecule that plays key role in lupus

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have identified an inflammatory molecule that appears to play an essential role in the autoimmune disorder systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus.

7 Apr 2015

Antibodies may trigger psychiatric illness in children

A world first study revealing the presence of two antibodies in a sub-group of children experiencing their first episode of psychosis affirms a longstanding recognition that auto-immune disorders play a significant role in psychiatric illness.

31 Mar 2015