Immune System News and Research

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Signaling pathways required for expansion of insulin-producing beta cells

IDDM, which used to be referred to as Type 1 diabetes, results from selective destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet beta cells by the body's immune system.

17 May 2006

Using probiotics is a safe and effective way to prevent asthma in children

In the first effort of its kind in the United States, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have launched a study to determine whether giving active probiotic supplements to infants can delay or prevent asthma in children.

17 May 2006

Researchers discover naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers in the central nervous system

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered a naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers (axons) in the central nervous system.

16 May 2006

Signaling pathways in immune cells may lead to novel HIV treatment

New research on signaling pathways in immune cells bolsters evidence of connections between the central nervous system and the immune system.

16 May 2006

Full year of treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine helps infants and children with toxoplasmosis

The first long-term study shows that treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine (two anti-parasitic drugs) during the first year of life leads to a lasting reduction in brain and eye damage for children with congenital toxoplasmosis.

16 May 2006

Study holds promise for malarial susceptibility test

Cell and animal studies conducted jointly by scientists at Johns Hopkins, Yale and other institutions have uncovered at least one important contributor to the severe anemia that kills almost half of the 2 million people worldwide who die each year of malaria.

12 May 2006

Study sheds light on cancer susceptibility and disease involving bone-marrow failure

Defective protein production can occur in cells even when the genes controlling those proteins are normal, according to a new study to be published May 12 in Science.

12 May 2006

15% of Asians living in New York City are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus

Chronic hepatitis B infection usually will lead to liver inflammation and can progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer. The reported infection rate is 35 times higher than the rate in the general U.S. population.

12 May 2006

Transitions to injecting drug use among noninjecting heroin users

In a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, scientists from the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI) report on a study of street-recruited heroin users in New York City, who were not injecting, to determine the incidence and predictors of making a transition to injecting.

11 May 2006

c-myc gene found to play role in immune system

c-myc, a gene commonly involved in cancer onset, has been found to have a role in the immune system's normal function according to a study published in Blood.

11 May 2006

Abortion pill in trouble again

Clostridium sordellii is a rare germ that has killed four women who took the abortion pill RU-486 and has also been implicated in the deaths of at least 11 other women following childbirth or miscarriage.

11 May 2006

Hidden thousands devastated by myalgic encephalomyelitis

New research published by the UK's leading Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) charity, Action for M.E., suggests that a hidden 55,000 people in Britain are so severely affected by the illness that they're either bed-bound or house-bound.

11 May 2006

Interferon-gamma plays a critical role in damaging the cells that produce myelin

A new way to preserve the cells that surround and protect nerves could lead to new treatments for demyelinating diseases such a multiple sclerosis, a research team reports in the May 10, 2006, issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

10 May 2006

Promising chemo, therapeutic viruses, cutting-edge surgery debut at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Brain tumor specialists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are poised on the brink of a new era.

10 May 2006

Space technology to help hospitals contain spread of avian flu infection

In response to concerns from hospitals to prepare for eventual pandemic flu outbreaks, the French company AirInSpace, with support from ESA's Technology Transfer Programme, has successfully adapted technology developed to protect astronauts for use in critical care centres to protect immune-deficient patients against airborne pathogens such as the avian flu virus.

10 May 2006

An evolutionary life-history framework for understanding sex differences in human mortality rates

Despite research efforts to find modern factors that would explain the different life expectancies of men and women, the gap is actually ancient and universal, according to University of Michigan researchers.

10 May 2006

Aggressive cancer treated successfully in mice

White blood cells from a strain of cancer-resistant mice cured advanced cancers in ordinary laboratory mice, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reported.

9 May 2006

Social stress prompts hamsters to overeat

Put a mouse or a rat under stress and what does it do? It stops eating. Humans should be so lucky. When people suffer nontraumatic stress they often head for the refrigerator, producing unhealthy extra pounds.

9 May 2006

Renewed interest in studying influenza A viruses

The emergence of the avian influenza virus H5N1 that is currently devastating chicken flocks in many countries and threatening to unleash a worldwide epidemic among humans has triggered a renewed interest among scientists in studying influenza A viruses, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

9 May 2006

Effective gene suppression using small interfering RNA in hard-to-transfect human T cells

A technical advance in laboratory techniques may provide biology researchers broader access to RNA interference, a process of blocking the activity of targeted genes. RNA interference has recently emerged as an important tool in studying how genes function in normal biological processes and in disease.

9 May 2006

Immune System News and Research

Signaling pathways required for expansion of insulin-producing beta cells

Using probiotics is a safe and effective way to prevent asthma in children

Researchers discover naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers in the central nervous system

Signaling pathways in immune cells may lead to novel HIV treatment

Full year of treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine helps infants and children with toxoplasmosis

Study holds promise for malarial susceptibility test

Study sheds light on cancer susceptibility and disease involving bone-marrow failure

15% of Asians living in New York City are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus

Transitions to injecting drug use among noninjecting heroin users

c-myc gene found to play role in immune system

Abortion pill in trouble again

Hidden thousands devastated by myalgic encephalomyelitis

Interferon-gamma plays a critical role in damaging the cells that produce myelin

Promising chemo, therapeutic viruses, cutting-edge surgery debut at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Space technology to help hospitals contain spread of avian flu infection

An evolutionary life-history framework for understanding sex differences in human mortality rates

Aggressive cancer treated successfully in mice

Social stress prompts hamsters to overeat

Renewed interest in studying influenza A viruses

Effective gene suppression using small interfering RNA in hard-to-transfect human T cells

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Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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