Immune System News and Research

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Genetically engineered pigs may help overcome donor organ shortage

A sizzling genetic discovery by Chinese scientists may one day allow pig tissue to be transplanted successfully into humans. Their research presented in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org) represents a major step forward toward filling the shortage of vital organs for human transplantation.

1 Jul 2011

GWAS identifies 15 gene variants responsible for diversity of white blood cell counts

A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese.

1 Jul 2011

Potential new treatment for rare, inherited metabolic disease

The rare disorder alpha-mannosidosis can cause serious damage to the nervous system and other organ systems. In Tromsø, Norway, researchers have been studying the disease for 20 years - and a treatment may soon be available.

1 Jul 2011

Study identifies key virus-sensing mechanism necessary for successful immune response against HIV

Although our body's defense mechanisms are usually capable of detecting and destroying many types of pathogens, some viruses are able to evade the immune system and make us sick. In particular, "retroviruses," such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are notorious for eluding host immune defenses and causing disease.

1 Jul 2011

Women more likely to survive after major gastrointestinal surgeries than men

In the first study to consider the impact of gender on patient outcomes in major gastrointestinal surgeries, researchers at UC San Diego Health System have found that women are more likely to survive after the procedure than men.

1 Jul 2011

Pill for rare ageing disease on the horizon

Scientists have found that a drug used in transplant patients could reverse the effects of premature ageing and extend human life by over 10 years.

1 Jul 2011

Study: Heart transplant patients more likely to get serious skin cancers

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that there is a significant risk of serious skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, in heart transplant patients.

1 Jul 2011

Positive final results from Medicago's H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine Phase II trial

Medicago Inc. a biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), today reported positive final results from a Phase II human clinical trial with its H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate.

30 Jun 2011

Recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines hold promise against infectious diseases

A powerful new class of therapeutics, known as recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines (RASV), holds great potential in the fight against fatal diseases including hepatitis B, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, AIDS and pneumonia.

30 Jun 2011

New highly-accurate blood test can measure all forms of vitamin D deficiencies

Researchers from London's Kingston University have developed a new highly-accurate blood test which can detect how much a patient's diet could be responsible for a lack of the so-called 'sunshine vitamin'. Vitamin D deficiencies can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of cancer and osteoporosis.

30 Jun 2011

Rapid, accurate test differentiates between bacterial and viral infections

Scientists are reporting development and successful testing of a rapid and accurate test to tell the difference between bacterial and viral infections. Those common afflictions often have similar symptoms but vastly different treatments - antibiotics work for bacterial infections but not for viruses. The report appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.

30 Jun 2011

Dendreon receives FDA approval for Los Angeles cancer immunotherapy manufacturing facility

Dendreon Corporation today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Los Angeles cancer immunotherapy manufacturing facility, allowing the company to continue to increase the availability of PROVENGE across the U.S. to help meet the needs of patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Vaccines may be given in food in the near future

Soon children could be vaccinated with bacteria mixed in milk and people in the developing world given unprecedented access to immunisations under a scheme proposed by an Australian Nobel laureate, Barry Marshall.

29 Jun 2011

Prototype small molecule drugs could suppress hepatitis C

Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.

29 Jun 2011

Experienced North Korean aid worker says hunger crisis imminent

North Korea has significantly cut public food aid and could be heading toward a hunger crisis, said Katharina Zellweger, head of a Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation's office in Pyongyang and "one of the most experience aid workers" in the country, according to Agence France-Presse.

29 Jun 2011

Nuvilex to continue development of acquired live-cell encapsulation technology

Nuvilex, Inc. announced its plans to continue development of the live-cell encapsulation technology obtained with its recent acquisition of SG Austria, to carry out the pancreatic cancer clinical trial, to maintain and expand customers utilizing the encapsulation technology, and to establish itself as an active participant in the stem cell arena. The stem cell market was estimated to be $21.5 billion globally in 2010 and is forecast to reach $63.8 billion by 2015.

29 Jun 2011

GABA corrects both known causes of Type 1 diabetes

A chemical produced by the same cells that make insulin in the pancreas prevented and even reversed Type 1 diabetes in mice, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have found.

29 Jun 2011

New concepts for how evolutionary change occurs

At a recent Kavli Futures Symposium, 19 experts from a diverse range of fields discussed the promise of using the lab to understand and exploit the evolution of organisms -- progress that may one day lead to new vaccines or other biotechnology products.

29 Jun 2011

Insufficient sleep can reduce benefit of hormones released during sleep

Nearly half of all Americans reported having difficulty sleeping. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that about 35% of people surveyed in 12 states said they slept less than 7 hours a night on average.

29 Jun 2011

Inefficiency of activation-induced deoxycytidine deaminase is good for the immune system

Why is antibody diversity important? Think about it like this, said Myron Goodman, who is an author on the paper: "Why don't you die when I sneeze? It's because you have a powerful immune system. And the way to get a decent immune system is for your body to have a way to respond to insults it has never seen before."

28 Jun 2011