Immune System News and Research

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Natural plant extract could help treat COPD and inflammatory disorders

A widely and safely used plant extract acts as a novel anti-inflammatory agent that may one day be used for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, as well as other inflammatory conditions.

4 May 2010

Bacteria transmitted by fleas-and potentially ticks-can be passed to babies by mother: Researcher

A North Carolina State University researcher has discovered that bacteria transmitted by fleas-and potentially ticks-can be passed to human babies by the mother, causing chronic infections and raising the possibility of bacterially induced birth defects.

4 May 2010

Hormone-like inner ear signaling system protects against noise-induced hearing loss

An in vivo study shows for the first time that there is a stress-response system within the cochlea that mirrors the signaling pathways of the body's fight or flight response. Researchers have identified a hormone-like signaling system of the inner ear that sets baseline hearing sensitivity and helps protect against noise-induced hearing loss.

4 May 2010

Trajectory Health, HeartMath partner to deliver clinical stress management solutions to corporates

Dallas-based Trajectory Health, LLC has announced a partnership with HeartMath® to deliver clinical stress management solutions to the corporate marketplace.

4 May 2010

New breakthrough in nutritional plant breeding may save children’s eyesight

Two Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are part of an international team that has found a way to boost the nutritional value of corn. This has the potential to reduce the number of children in developing countries who lose their eyesight, become ill or die each year because of vitamin A deficiencies.

4 May 2010

Rush Center for Urban Health Equity to focus on disparities in heart and lung disease

Rush University Medical Center has been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the Rush Center for Urban Health Equity. The aim of the Center is to find ways to promote changes to eliminate the disparities in heart and lung disease affecting inner city residents, in particular those who are low-income persons of color.

4 May 2010

California community health centers face potentially crippling budget cuts

North Bay (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Business Journal: "While community health centers are widely seen as winners with the passage of a sweeping health bill in late March, such centers in California face potentially crippling state budget cuts, which could offset potential gains that won't take effect until 2014, according to clinic directors throughout the North Bay.

3 May 2010

Interim study results demonstrate anti-tumor activity of CytRx's INNO-206 in myeloma tumor cells

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced interim study results that showed its doxorubicin prodrug INNO-206 demonstrated statistically significant anti-tumor activity in human myeloma tumor cells growing in immune-deficient mice compared to a control group, while exhibiting significantly less toxicity than doxorubicin even though INNO-206 was administered at much higher doses.

3 May 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics seeks FDA orphan drug status for ICT-107 dendritic-cell based vaccine for GBM

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics announced today it has filed an orphan drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its cancer treatment candidate ICT-107. ICT-107 is a dendritic-cell based cancer vaccine product which targets glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most prevalent, aggressive and malignant form of primary brain tumors.

3 May 2010

BioSante Pharmaceuticals reinitiates GVAX Prostate Cancer Vaccine development

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that development of its GVAX Prostate Cancer Vaccine (GVAX Prostate) for the treatment of prostate cancer has been reinitiated. Manufacturing of new GVAX Prostate is in process, regulatory steps to lift the GVAX Prostate clinical hold prior to trial initiation are being taken, and prostate cancer patients are expected to be treated in a Phase II human clinical trial beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010 at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.

3 May 2010

Belatacept preserves kidney function in transplant recipients better than cyclosporine, says study

Two-year results from phase III clinical trials show the experimental immunosuppressive drug belatacept can better preserve kidney function in kidney transplant recipients while preventing graft rejection when compared with the standard immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine.

3 May 2010

Leptin hormone controls immune’s response to sepsis: Study

The hormone leptin, typically associated with body weight regulation, works within the central nervous system (CNS) to aid the immune system's defense against sepsis, researchers say.

3 May 2010

Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy safe for mother, baby: Study

Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy is not only safe for mother and baby, but also can prevent preterm labor/births and infections, according to results of a randomized controlled study to be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

3 May 2010

New research suggests tumor-secreted exosomes inhibit immune response, enhance tumor metastasis

Current research suggests that tumor-secreted exosomes inhibit the immune response, enhancing tumor metastasis. The related report by Liu et al, "Contribution of MyD88 to the tumor exosome-mediated induction of myeloid derived suppressor cells," appears in the May 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

3 May 2010

FDA oks 'vaccine' to treat prostate cancer

Provenge, developed by Dendreon Corporation, is the first approved "treatment that uses a so-called cancer vaccine, a drug that trains the body's own immune system to fight the disease," The New York Times reports.

3 May 2010

Probiotic supplementation helps ELBW infants gain weight: Study

Extremely low birthweight infants who received feedings supplemented with probiotics had better weight gain than infants who were not given the supplements, according to a randomized, controlled, double-blind study to be presented Saturday, May 1 at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

3 May 2010

Researchers discover a new driving force behind cancer growth

Researchers from the University of Leeds, UK, the Charit- University Medical School and the Max Delbr-ck Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, Germany, have discovered a new driving force behind cancer growth.

3 May 2010

McGill scientist discovers how one particular gene regulates epithelial cells

New research led by McGill Biochemist Dr. William Muller helps explain why breast-milk cells lose their structure, causing them to clump up in strange ways (photos available) and sometimes become cancer tumors. With the support of Chen Ling and Dongmei Zuo at McGill's Goodman Cancer Centre, Muller has discovered how one particular gene regulates epithelial cells - cells that normally form in sheets and are polarized to enable the transport of molecules in a single direction.

30 Apr 2010

Kidney transplant recipients have higher risk of cancer: Researchers

Kidney transplant recipients are known to have a higher risk of cancer, compared to the general population, due to the need to take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection. Results published today from a significant, long-term study suggest that no single medication appears to increase this cancer risk.

30 Apr 2010

Liver transplant recipients develop premature immune senescence: Researchers

Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that liver transplant recipients develop premature immune senescence, the normal process by which the immune system ages and becomes less effective. Full details appear in the May issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

30 Apr 2010

Immune System News and Research

Natural plant extract could help treat COPD and inflammatory disorders

Bacteria transmitted by fleas-and potentially ticks-can be passed to babies by mother: Researcher

Hormone-like inner ear signaling system protects against noise-induced hearing loss

Trajectory Health, HeartMath partner to deliver clinical stress management solutions to corporates

New breakthrough in nutritional plant breeding may save children’s eyesight

Rush Center for Urban Health Equity to focus on disparities in heart and lung disease

California community health centers face potentially crippling budget cuts

Interim study results demonstrate anti-tumor activity of CytRx's INNO-206 in myeloma tumor cells

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics seeks FDA orphan drug status for ICT-107 dendritic-cell based vaccine for GBM

BioSante Pharmaceuticals reinitiates GVAX Prostate Cancer Vaccine development

Belatacept preserves kidney function in transplant recipients better than cyclosporine, says study

Leptin hormone controls immune’s response to sepsis: Study

Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy safe for mother, baby: Study

New research suggests tumor-secreted exosomes inhibit immune response, enhance tumor metastasis

FDA oks 'vaccine' to treat prostate cancer

Probiotic supplementation helps ELBW infants gain weight: Study

Researchers discover a new driving force behind cancer growth

McGill scientist discovers how one particular gene regulates epithelial cells

Kidney transplant recipients have higher risk of cancer: Researchers

Liver transplant recipients develop premature immune senescence: Researchers

Immunology eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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