Immune System News and Research

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Scientists define structure of astrovirus that causes juvenile diarrhea

Rice University scientists have defined the structure -- down to the atomic level -- of a virus that causes juvenile diarrhea. The research may help direct efforts to develop medications that block the virus before it becomes infectious.

19 Jul 2011

Scientists identify key immune system regulator in white blood cells

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists provide insight into immune system biology and identify the mechanism that keeps white blood cell activity at a minimum until the specific immune response is needed.

18 Jul 2011

Two existing clinical stage clients expand development activities with Progenitor Cell Therapy

Progenitor Cell Therapy (PCT), an internationally recognized cell therapy services and development company, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of NeoStem, Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China, announced today that two existing clinical stage biopharmaceutical corporate clients have chosen to expand their development activities with PCT.

18 Jul 2011

Disrupting protein components kills mosquitoes

Mosquitoes die soon after a blood meal if certain protein components are experimentally disrupted, a team of biochemists at the University of Arizona has discovered.

18 Jul 2011

FDA files MedImmune's sBLA for quadrivalent intranasal nasal influenza vaccine, FluMist

MedImmune has received confirmation from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that the Agency has filed the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for a quadrivalent (four-strain) version of FluMist® (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal). The company submitted the sBLA early in the second quarter of this year.

18 Jul 2011

Study: IL-2 monotherapy not effective as maintenance therapy for acute myeloid leukemia

EpiCept Corporation announced today the publication of a new meta-analysis which concluded that interleukin-2 (IL-2) monotherapy is not effective as a maintenance therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in first complete remission. These results were published in the July 7, 2011 edition of Blood, a leading scientific journal in hematology.

18 Jul 2011

FDA warns consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy

The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011.

18 Jul 2011

Researchers discover unexpected mode of action for vaccine adjuvant alum

The teams of Doctor Christophe Desmet and Professor Fabrice Bureau, of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiology within the University of Liège's GIGA-Research centre, and of Professor Ken Ishii at the University of Osaka in Japan have just discovered an unexpected mode of action for the vaccine adjuvant alum.

18 Jul 2011

Genome Research publishes studies utilizing emerging Collaborative Cross mouse strains

The Collaborative Cross represents a large collection of new inbred mouse strains created by the mouse genetics community aimed at revolutionizing the study of complex genetic traits and diseases. Derived from classical inbred strains and wild-derived strains, the CC captures nearly 90% of known genetic variation in laboratory mice, far surpassing more commonly used inbred strains.

15 Jul 2011

Inovio reports strong immune responses with VGX-3100 vaccine for cervical dysplasia and cancer

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, has reported data demonstrating long-term durability of T cell immune responses of up to over two years (at the latest time measured) in 7 of 8 evaluated patients following a fourth vaccination of VGX-3100, its investigational SynCon® DNA vaccine for treating cervical dysplasia and cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) that is delivered using intramuscular electroporation.

15 Jul 2011

Study: Bone marrow transplant offers new hope for patients with high-risk leukemia

Bone marrow transplant survival more than doubled in recent years for young, high-risk leukemia patients treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with patients who lacked genetically matched donors recording the most significant gains. The results are believed to be the best ever reported for leukemia patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation.

15 Jul 2011

Berks County's Department of Health advises public about possible measles exposure

The state Department of Health is advising the public of a possible case of measles exposure in Morgantown, Berks County.

15 Jul 2011

Seattle Children's inaugurates new center for cancer research

Today, Seattle Children's Research Institute announced the opening of the Center for Childhood Cancer Research.

15 Jul 2011

Meditation appears to change brain anatomy: Study

Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age.

15 Jul 2011

Non-invasive 'swine flu' breath test could help ease future vaccine shortages

A test, novel breath measuring the immune response to the H1N1 flu virus, could help to ease future vaccine shortages by identifying the people who have already been infected with the flu virus.

15 Jul 2011

Being an alpha male stressful: Primate study

A nine year old tracking study of five troops of baboons in Kenya found that the top-ranked alpha males had more stress than the second-place beta males. In fact the top baboon was just as ‘on-edge’ as those unfortunate primates at the bottom of the pecking order. Thore Bergman, a biological psychologist at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the study said, “Being at the top may not be all it's cracked up to be.”

14 Jul 2011

Two promising projects focus on new treatments for cystic fibrosis

Two promising projects have been selected to undergo preclinical testing as part of the Cystic Fibrosis Technology Initiative.

14 Jul 2011

Positive data from Inovio's VGX-3400X Phase I study against H5N1 influenza

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that significant T cell and antibody responses were generated in its Phase I clinical study of VGX-3400X, a SynCon DNA vaccine for the prevention of avian H5N1 influenza delivered using intramuscular (IM) electroporation.

14 Jul 2011

IMM researcher wins prestigious Early Career Bayer Hemophilia Award

Vanessa Oliveira, researcher at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Portugal won a prestigious and competitive Early Career Bayer Hemophilia Award. Oliveira will develop a strategy to reprogramme the immune system of hemophilia patients to avoid immune targeting of the most used clotting therapeutics.

14 Jul 2011

RXi expands intellectual property portfolio with additional NeuVax patents

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using targeted biotherapeutics, announced today that it expanded its patent portfolio with additional patents covering worldwide rights to develop and commercialize NeuVax.

14 Jul 2011