Immune System News and Research

RSS

Vitamin D supplementation benefits people with lupus

The first study to report the effects vitamin D has on the immune system of people with lupus was reported this week a the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

HHS scientists to share recent rheumatology findings at 75th ACR annual meeting

Hospital for Special Surgery physician-scientists who focus on arthritis, lupus, vasculitis and related conditions are traveling from New York City to Chicago this week to share their recent findings at the 75th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

7 Nov 2011

IFNa-kinoid shows promise against lupus

The first study to show results using active immunotherapy against the signaling protein interferon alpha in the treatment of lupus will be presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Link between use of anti-TNF therapy and malignant melanoma in RA patients

According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, people taking anti-tumor necrosis factor therapies to treat rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of developing malignant melanoma.

7 Nov 2011

Study finds pregnancy safe for 80% of women with lupus

Promising research led by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery may offer hope for women with lupus who once thought that pregnancy was too risky.

7 Nov 2011

Doctors may stop anti-TNF medications for RA patients before surgery to reduce disease flares

As guidelines recommend, doctors appear to be stopping anti-TNF medications before surgery, but may be doing so far sooner than is necessary, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. These medications are used to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, and better timing of withdrawal prior to surgery might minimize the risk of disease flares.

6 Nov 2011

Psychological stress can trigger flares of vasculitis

In patients with a devastating form of vasculitis who are in remission, stress can be associated with a greater likelihood of the disease flaring, according to a new study by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery.

6 Nov 2011

Mouse anti-aging study generates expert commentary

Age related changes like wrinkles, muscle wasting and cataracts could be delayed in mice, say researchers in the US. They achieved the feat by removing old cells that had stopped dividing. These accumulate naturally with age. The scientists believe their findings could eventually “really have an impact” in the care of the elderly. Experts said the results were “fascinating”, but should be taken with a bit of caution.

6 Nov 2011

HIV and AIDS do not discriminate

They don't discriminate. They can affect the young, older adults and pregnant women. They also strike rich and poor, male and female. People from all walks of life can become infected with HIV and AIDS. Knowing how to prevent them, how to live with them, and the strides made over the years to fight them are essential. This knowledge is one of the main goals of World AIDS Day, which is observed on December 1 each year.

5 Nov 2011

Researchers identify surprising mechanism that facilitates protein interactions

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified an unexpected mechanism facilitating some protein interactions that are the workhorses of cells and, in the process, identified a potential new cancer drug development target.

5 Nov 2011

International research explains why measles virus spreads so quickly

An international collaboration involving Inserm has revealed how the measles virus leaves the body of an infected person to contaminate another individual. The researchers have identified a key receptor, located in the trachea, which allows the virus to spread through the air rapidly from one organism to another. The receptor, nectine-4, is also known to be a biomarker for some cancers.

5 Nov 2011

Octapharma receives FDA approval for octagam to treat disorders of immune system

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday cleared the way for the U.S. market return of octagam, the Octapharma USA product used to treat disorders of the immune system.

5 Nov 2011

Baxter launches NUMETA emulsion for infusion in Europe

Baxter International Inc. announced today the European launch of NUMETA (emulsion for infusion).

From Baxter International Inc. 4 Nov 2011

Nanocomposite brain probe induces less scarring after implantation

A hard probe inserted in the cerebral cortex of a rat model turns nearly as pliable as the surrounding gray matter in minutes, and induces less of the tough scarring that walls off hard probes that do not change, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found.

4 Nov 2011

Inserm researchers successfully rejuvenate cells from elderly donors

Inserm's AVENIR "Genomic plasticity and aging" team, directed by Jean-Marc Lemaitre, Inserm researcher at the Functional Genomics Institute, has recently succeeded in rejuvenating cells from elderly donors.

4 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: The campaign against birth control; paying for N.Y.'s autism mandate

What if there were a solution to many of the global problems that confront us, from climate change to poverty to civil wars? There is, but it is starved of resources. It's called family planning, and it has been a victim of America's religious wars.

4 Nov 2011

Important to keep obstacles to malaria control in mind as research moves forward

In a post in the Center for Strategic & International Studies' "Smart Global Health" blog, Julia Nagel, web and social media assistant at the Global Health Policy Center, examines "the obstacles that global malaria control efforts face," writing that "eradicating malaria is complex and difficult" because "there are four species of human malaria" that "respond differently to medicines, exhibit drug resistance in different ways, and most importantly, make finding a fool-proof vaccine against all malaria nearly impossible."

4 Nov 2011

Slowing aging by cleaning away old cells: Study

Researchers have found a novel way of reversing the aging process. They found that a special category of cells, known as senescent cells, are bad actors that promote the aging of the tissues. Cleansing the body of the cells, they hope, could postpone many of the diseases of aging. This could pave the way for drugs that would keep human tissues healthier longer, but it is unclear until further testing is done whether such drugs could eventually help people live longer.

3 Nov 2011

Gene therapy and stem cell transplantation successfully reverse hemophilia A

For the first time, researchers have combined gene therapy and stem cell transplantation to successfully reverse the severe, crippling bleeding disorder hemophilia A in large animals, opening the door to the development of new therapies for human patients.

3 Nov 2011

Reduced diversity of intestinal microbiota associated with increased risk of allergic disease

Oversensitivity diseases, or allergies, now affect 25 per cent of the population of Denmark. The figure has been on the increase in recent decades and now researchers at the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC), University of Copenhagen, are at last able to partly explain the reasons.

3 Nov 2011