Immune Response News and Research

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World's first gene therapy trial aimed at preventing cancer

The concept seems straightforward. If, at its heart, cancer is a disease of genes, then giving patients new genes should disarm cancer. Such treatment would replace missing or faulty genes that keep cell growth in check, or would flush the body with "super genes" that could attack and destroy cancer.

5 May 2004

UK researchers get 180,000 Euros to identify and develop new vaccines against Tuberculosis

A researcher from Birmingham University's School of Biosciences has won EU funding of 180,000 Euros to identify and develop new vaccines against Tuberculosis.

4 May 2004

New technique of identifying genes may help researchers developing drugs

A quick new technique able to identify genes that evolve rapidly as well as those that change slowly already has pinpointed new targets for researchers developing drugs against tuberculosis and malaria, and it could do the same for other infectious diseases, according to a paper in this week's Nature.

29 Apr 2004

Nasal fungi in newborn babies sheds light on eosinophilic chronic sinusitis

Researchers have recently claimed that eosinophilic chronic sinusitis is an immune disorder caused by the body’s reaction to fungus.

29 Apr 2004

Scientists looking for 480 people to test experimental anthrax vaccine

Scientists in Rochester and 11 other cities around the nation are beginning tests of an experimental vaccine aimed at protecting people against anthrax, a rare disease that, like smallpox, has become more threatening with the emergence of bioterrorism.

28 Apr 2004

Experimental smallpox DNA vaccine

In the first successful study of its kind, scientists have shown that a DNA-based vaccine for smallpox can protect nonhuman primates from monkeypox, a disease that resembles smallpox in humans.

27 Apr 2004

Scientists studying the adhesive properties of the neural cell adhesion molecule have found that two opposing models of cell adhesion are both correct

Scientists studying the adhesive properties of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) -- a protein that helps bind the nervous system together -- have found that two opposing models of cell adhesion are both correct.

26 Apr 2004

The April 2004 issue of Otolaryngology focuses on head and neck surgery

The efficacy of a new cancer-fighting virus is tested in the study, “Treatment of Solid Sarcomas in Immunocompetent Mice with Novel Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Viruses.” A team of multi-disciplinary Japanese researchers found that a weakened version of herpes simplex virus (HSV) effectively eradicated neck and flank tumors in mice.

23 Apr 2004

Certain cells from a mother can cause immunity illness in children

Certain cells from a mother persist in their children’s bodies and can provoke an immune response in which the child’s body attacks itself, according to Mayo Clinic research published in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology (http://www.jimmunol.org).

23 Apr 2004

A promising new therapy for rheumatoid arthritis

A promising new therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) developed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine re-educates the body's immune system to prevent an attack against healthy joint tissue.

21 Apr 2004

Possible breakthrough in AIDS and cancer research

Mayo Clinic researchers have found a way to revive immunity in mice that have abnormal or deficient immune systems. The discovery may lead to a means of restoring immunity to individuals with immunodeficiency diseases such as AIDS and cancer.

20 Apr 2004

Functional genomics provide improved drug discovery

Functional genomics and proteomics have been quite successful in identifying functions of potential therapeutic targets such as encoded proteins.

20 Apr 2004

Iron may significantly improve women's attention, short-term and long-term memory

Young women who took iron supplementation for 16 weeks significantly improved their attention, short-term and long-term memory, and their performance on cognitive tasks, even though many were not considered to be anemic when the study began, according to researchers at Pennsylvania State University.

19 Apr 2004

Gene discovery could improve anemia treatment in patients

Patients with inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, chronic infections and some types of cancer, often become anemic – a condition called anemia of chronic disease (ACD). While ACD rarely kills patients, it can make their lives miserable.

18 Apr 2004

New insights into how tumors neutralize CD8 T cells

Scientists have speculated that this may be because the immune response is not strong enough, or because it does not last long enough to have an effect. Hence the increasing efforts to develop cancer vaccines that induce, strengthen, and increase the duration of immunological attack against cancer cells.

16 Apr 2004

Bad hygiene may be good for you

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found a connection between poor T cell survival in the body and the development of autoimmunity.

16 Apr 2004

FDA approval for skin cancer cream

3M has received an "approvable" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to its supplemental new drug application on Aldara (imiquimod) Cream, 5% for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), a common form of non-melanoma skin cancer.

14 Apr 2004

Growth hormones combat Crohn’s disease, cardiac disorders and improve fertility in invitro fertilisation

New treatments for breast cancer, skin and wound healing and obesity will be revealed at an international conference in Cairns, Australia next week.

13 Apr 2004

New research into Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is the second-most prevalent cancer in women and, despite encouraging improvements in screening leading to earlier detection, cervical cancer still kills many women every year. The risk of cervical cancer is increased by infection with certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV).

12 Apr 2004

Latest developments in prostate cancer research

New research on genes linked to hereditary prostate cancer helps scientists better understand how prostate cancer grows. Tests to find abnormal prostate cancer genes could also help tell which men are at high risk. They could then be tested more often. Further research could provide answers about the chemical changes that lead to prostate cancer. Then, perhaps, we could design drugs to reverse those changes.

12 Apr 2004