Immune System News and Research

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Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a Phase IIa study showing that two doses of Rituxan® (Rituximab), administered two weeks apart, improved symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 48 weeks when combined with methotrexate (MTX), compared to MTX alone.

16 Jun 2004

Findings could explain why island populations worldwide are particularly susceptible to disease

Researchers have shown that Darwin's finches on smaller islands in the Galapagos archipelago have weaker immune responses to disease and foreign pathogens---findings that could help explain why island populations worldwide are particularly susceptible to disease.

15 Jun 2004

New whole body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging allows scientists to watch as immune system respond to tumors or infection

Compared to the snapshot views of the immune system from tumor biopsies or blood assays, this whole body imaging allows scientists to track how the immune response changes, and the tumor or infection responds, throughout the different phases of immune response and over long periods of time.

15 Jun 2004

University of Cambridge to generate antibodies

The University of Cambridge has announced a licensing agreement with Human-Human Hybridoma, Inc. (3H) to exploit a human myeloma cell line (Karpas-707H) that can be used in research and for the production of human monoclonal antibodies.

15 Jun 2004

Inhibiting the expression of acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) may be effective in controlling asthma

A new target for control of early-stage asthma has been identified by McGill University professor Qutayba Hamid working as part of a team whose landmark study appears in the latest issue of the journal Science

15 Jun 2004

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and Columbia University Medical Center in New York have discovered a new vaccine approach that successfully prevents the death of brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.

15 Jun 2004

New target for control of early-stage asthma

A new target for control of early-stage asthma has been identified by McGill University professor Qutayba Hamid, working as part of a team whose landmark study appears in the latest issue of the journal Science.

14 Jun 2004

Chemical agents extracted from Caribbean sea squirt may help find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours

European Union funding is helping to find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours using small marine animals. European researchers are using chemical agents extracted from a type of Caribbean sea squirt, named Ecteinascidia turbinata, to treat some tumours.

11 Jun 2004

Drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are launching a clinical trial to determine whether a drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects 350,000 Americans.

10 Jun 2004

Conflicting views on embryonic and adult stem cells complicate research in stem cell therapeutics

Though there has been considerable biological and political debate over the use of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) vs. adult stem cells (ASCs) as therapies for tissue engineering and organ transplants, inherent benefits and drawbacks in both techniques compel them to coexist and complement each other.

10 Jun 2004

Remicade shows improvement in both the arthritis and psoriasis associated with psoriatic arthritis

In this trial, REMICADE provided a 70 percent improvement (as measured by ACR 70) in symptoms of arthritis in nearly one-third of patients, compared with only 2 percent of patients on placebo at 24 weeks.

10 Jun 2004

Prostate cancer immunotherapy vaccine hits clinical trials

Scientists at the Austrlia's, Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) are currently trialing an experimental "immunotherapy" treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2004

Non-aspirin pain drugs may help men with recurrent prostate cancer

Early results from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study may determine if drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, a newer type of non-aspirin pain medicine now widely prescribed for arthritis symptoms, may benefit men with recurrent prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2004

Project aimed at eliminating anthrax as a potential weapon for terrorists

La Trobe University scientists are using their own unique peptide 'library' containing a thousand million molecular sequences in a project aimed at eliminating anthrax as a potential weapon for terrorists.

10 Jun 2004

New drugs ease treatment of multiple myeloma

Science is increasingly commuting the death sentence that is a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. A cancer of the plasma cells that primarily strikes the elderly, multiple myeloma has been deadly because patients have been unable to withstand the aggressive treatment necessary to combat it.

10 Jun 2004

Genetic signature associated with the aging human brain

Unraveling the mysteries of the aging brain is a major goal for brain science, especially given the exploding population of senior citizens and the obvious desire to preserve brain function as long as possible.

9 Jun 2004

£20 million funding for stem cell research in the UK

Scientists at Oxford will benefit from a share of a £20 million cross-research council investment in stem cell research which was announced last month.

9 Jun 2004

Discovery could pave the way to smallpox Immunity

A team of scientists led by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar has discovered the immune system mechanism that causes some mice to be more susceptible to mousepox than others.

9 Jun 2004

Breakthrough could help protect against the use of smallpox by terrorists

Researchers at the ANU John Curtin School of Medical Research have identified proteins that determine which mice succumb to mousepox and which do not. The new insights into the immune response of mice to the mousepox virus could enable scientists to improve treatment for poxvirus infections, including smallpox.

9 Jun 2004

Experimental human monoclonal antibody shows striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma

Early testing of an experimental human monoclonal antibody showed a striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

7 Jun 2004

Immune System News and Research

Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Findings could explain why island populations worldwide are particularly susceptible to disease

New whole body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging allows scientists to watch as immune system respond to tumors or infection

University of Cambridge to generate antibodies

Inhibiting the expression of acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) may be effective in controlling asthma

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

New target for control of early-stage asthma

Chemical agents extracted from Caribbean sea squirt may help find cancer treatments for certain deadly tumours

Drug commonly used for diabetes might be effective in treating multiple sclerosis

Conflicting views on embryonic and adult stem cells complicate research in stem cell therapeutics

Remicade shows improvement in both the arthritis and psoriasis associated with psoriatic arthritis

Prostate cancer immunotherapy vaccine hits clinical trials

Non-aspirin pain drugs may help men with recurrent prostate cancer

Project aimed at eliminating anthrax as a potential weapon for terrorists

New drugs ease treatment of multiple myeloma

Genetic signature associated with the aging human brain

£20 million funding for stem cell research in the UK

Discovery could pave the way to smallpox Immunity

Breakthrough could help protect against the use of smallpox by terrorists

Experimental human monoclonal antibody shows striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma

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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