Immune System News and Research

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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

Short-term calorie restriction improves function of T-cells

Scientists funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found that volunteers who followed a low-calorie diet or a very low-calorie diet not only lost weight, but also significantly enhanced their immune response. The study may be the first to demonstrate the interaction between calorie restriction and immune markers among humans.

30 Apr 2010

Researchers identify new genetic link to systemic scleroderma

An international research consortium including scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has identified a new genetic link to the systemic form of scleroderma. Researchers believe a thorough understanding of the genetic nature of the disease is crucial to developing a cure.

30 Apr 2010

REGN reports net loss of $30.5M for first-quarter 2010

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2010. The Company reported a net loss of $30.5 million, or $0.38 per share (basic and diluted), for the first quarter of 2010 compared with a net loss of $15.4 million, or $0.19 per share (basic and diluted), for the first quarter of 2009.

30 Apr 2010

New PCA-Rx therapy provides natural toxin removal treatment to Alzheimer's patients

According to the Alzheimer's Association, over 5 million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. While its cause is controversial, many people believe a correlation exists with toxin accumulation. Until recently, chelation, an invasive, drug-based toxin removal therapy, has been patients' primary option.

30 Apr 2010

Approval of Provenge marks beginning of new era in cancer treatment: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Today's announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Provengeâ, a new form of therapy for some prostate cancer patients, marks the beginning of an era in which patients' own immune systems become part of the standard therapeutic arsenal against cancer, say Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators who led a study of the treatment's effectiveness in patients.

30 Apr 2010

CDC presents clinical trial results of Biojector 2000 at 13th Annual Conference on Vaccine Research

Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., a leading developer of needle-free injection therapy systems (NFITS), today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its collaborating institutions presented the latest results of its clinical trial of the Biojector® 2000 at the 13th Annual Conference on Vaccine Research, sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and held in Bethesda, Maryland April 26 - 28, 2010.

30 Apr 2010

No single immunosuppressive medication increases cancer risk in kidney transplant recipients

Drugs taken by kidney transplant recipients to prevent organ rejection carry similar risks of cancer, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that no single medication is to blame for the higher incidence of cancer seen among patients who have undergone transplantation.

30 Apr 2010

NWO awards 31 grants in Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 31 grants in the Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme for the acquisition of equipment, the setting up of data collections and the production of software and bibliographies. The total investment amounts to 10 million euro.

30 Apr 2010

New tool to detect inflammatory eye disease at molecular level before damage occurs

Forget what you know about how diseases are diagnosed-new research published in the May 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal details a noninvasive ground-breaking tool that detects signs of disease at early molecular stages before symptoms can be seen using traditional methods.

30 Apr 2010