Immune System News and Research

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Double-lung transplant survivor stays busy since retirement

Fewer than half of lung transplant patients survive for five years. But nearly 14 years after receiving a double-lung transplant at Loyola University Medical Center, Damian Neuberger's lungs continue to function normally. He breathes easily while walking four or five miles a day.

3 Aug 2011

Study evaluates humor and laughter in patients with COPD

Having a sense of humor is associated with improved emotional functioning and an enhanced quality of life among patients with a chronic lung illness, but the actual act of laughing out loud can reduce lung function, at least in the short term, research suggests.

3 Aug 2011

New alternative to immunosuppressive treatment after kidney transplants without severe side effects

There is now a new alternative to immunosuppressive treatment after kidney transplants which comes without the usual severe side effects. The Medical University was significantly involved in the clinical development of the active ingredient Belatacept and a suitable preparation has now been given EU-wide authorisation.

3 Aug 2011

Needle-free nanopatch vaccine delivery system

The needle-free nanopatch vaccine delivery system is coming soon after a consortium of investors put up $15 million for its development. The money will enable University of Queensland's Professor Mark Kendall to continue his work on the technology. It is described as the biggest breakthrough in vaccine delivery since the invention of the syringe more than 150 years ago.

3 Aug 2011

Antibody discovery leads researchers one step closer to universal influenza A vaccine

"The first human antibody that can knock out all influenza A viruses has been shown effective in lab mice, an exciting step forward in the hunt for a universal vaccine, researchers said Friday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Aug 2011

Azithromycin may predispose cystic fibrosis patients to mycobacterial infection

Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also has antiinflammatory properties. It is these antiinflammatory properties that are thought to account for the improvement in clinical outcome observed when patients with chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis are treated long-term with azithromycin.

2 Aug 2011

Lack of TLR1 surface expression linked with increased susceptibility to tuberculosis

Are you genetically predisposed to tuberculosis? Scientists may now be able to answer this question and doctors may be able to adjust their therapeutic approach based on what they learn. That's because new research presented in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that two frequent mutations in an immune system gene called TLR1 are responsible for cellular changes that ultimately make us less likely to resist the disease.

2 Aug 2011

New liquid material shows promise for people with facial deformities

Biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins have developed a new liquid material that in early experiments in rats and humans shows promise in restoring damaged soft tissue relatively safely and durably.

2 Aug 2011

Pregnancy and electromagnetic fields linked to asthma in kids

According to American researchers, children whose mothers had high exposure to electromagnetic fields while pregnant may have an increased risk of developing asthma. Many prior studies have failed to consistently show that chronic exposure to electromagnetic fields - from power lines and appliances such as microwaves ovens, hair dryers and vacuum cleaners - are harmful to human health.

1 Aug 2011

DHA during pregnancy prevents colds in babies: Study

A new study suggests that pregnant mothers who take DHA supplements with the intent of boosting their babies' brains are also giving them some added protection against common colds.

1 Aug 2011

Femta files IND with FDA for FM101 monoclonal antibody against RA

Femta Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a clinical development program for FM101, a high-affinity, humanized monoclonal antibody against Interleukin-6 (IL-6), in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

1 Aug 2011

Nature Biotechnology publishes BGI, GT Life Sciences' study on CHO K1 genome

BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, and GT Life Sciences, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that utilizes a proven metabolic modeling and experimental platform to drive the discovery and design of new products and processes for the life sciences field, announced today that their collaborative study on the genomic sequence of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) K1 cell line was published July 31, 2011 online in Nature Biotechnology.

1 Aug 2011

Three new loci linked to asthma susceptibility in Japanese population

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM), together with colleagues at Kyoto University, Tsukuba University, Harvard University, and other medical institutions have identified three new loci associated with susceptibility to adult asthma in the Japanese population.

1 Aug 2011

Universal flu vaccine based on “super antibody” coming soon

Researchers have finally found the first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus. The results of the experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment” for flu as well.

31 Jul 2011

Skin cancer vaccine on the way: Cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer

In a major medical breakthrough, cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer is on the verge of developing a vaccine against skin cancer within a year. The former ‘Australian of the Year’ and creator of the world's first cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has developed a world-first strategy to combat the insidious disease that affects two out of three Australians.

31 Jul 2011

Need for medical ID bracelets has risen due to increase in juvenile diabetes

What once was considered "adult onset," is slowly appearing in more and more children across the country. More than 25.8 million children and adults have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association statics from January 2011.

30 Jul 2011

FDA issues 90-day extension for Pfizer's Prevnar 13 sBLA to treat pneumonia in adults

Pfizer Inc today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a 90-day extension to the action date for the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for use of Prevnar 13, in adults aged 50 and older.

30 Jul 2011

UH Rainbow physicians to participate in two new clinical trials with AsthmaNet

Physicians at University Hospitals (UH) Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital are participating in two new clinical trials with the national research consortium AsthmaNet.

30 Jul 2011

'Systems biology' study of breast cancer

Using a "systems biology" approach - which focuses on understanding the complex relationships between biological systems - to look under the hood of an aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers for the first time have identified a set of proteins in the blood that change in abundance long before the cancer is clinically detectable.

29 Jul 2011

Oral chicken interferon-alpha may significantly reduce influenza infection

Avian influenza virus is a threat to the commercial chicken industry and, with its recent rapid spread across China, has also shown the ability for transmission from chickens to humans and other mammals.

29 Jul 2011