Immune System News and Research

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Researchers identify novel viral sensor complex

Double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses are a diverse group of viruses that include rotaviruses, a common cause of gastroenteritis. The ability of the immune system to detect and destroy viruses is critical for human health and survival.

24 Jun 2011

ITG researchers uncover unexpected sex between two different parasites

What we anxiously fear in the influenza virus - a cross between two strains, resulting in a new variant we have no resistance against - has occurred in another pathogen, the Leishmania parasite. This was uncovered by researchers of the Institute of Tropical Medicine.

24 Jun 2011

GeoVax opens third clinical trial site for testing HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, announced today the opening of a third site for testing the therapeutic potential of its HIV/AIDS vaccine.

24 Jun 2011

Copenhagen chemist reveals mechanism behind deadly infections

Anthrax, septicemia and meningitis are some of the planet's most deadly infections. In part because doctors lack basic insights to prevent and cure diseases caused by so called Gram-positive bacteria. Now, a chemist from the University of Copenhagen has revealed the mechanism behind these deadly infections.

24 Jun 2011

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation for Accentia's Revimmune to treat two autoimmune diseases

Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Revimmune, the Company's proprietary system-of-care based on high-dose administration of Cytoxan, for the treatment of two autoimmune disease indications, systemic sclerosis and autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

24 Jun 2011

GAD vaccine DIAPREV-IT study in high-risk children continues as planned

Despite the disappointing results in trying to treat children suffering from type 1 diabetes with the GAD vaccine, the treatment has not been written off entirely. DIAPREV-IT, the study in which healthy high-risk children are vaccinated, is continuing as planned, and now with more money behind it. "I am still hopeful that the GAD vaccine will work", says Helena Elding Larsson.

23 Jun 2011

Telaprevir drug shows promise in curing hepatitis C infection

The drug telaprevir (Incivek) provides a dramatic improvement in the treatment of the most common form of hepatitis C infection, says an international team of investigators led by Dr. Ira M. Jacobson of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

23 Jun 2011

MUHC/McGill parasite disease researcher wins CPHA International Public Health Award

With close to one third of the world's population infected with parasitic worms, MUHC researcher Dr. Theresa Gyorkos is thinking big when it comes to finding a solution to this global public health challenge. As part of an international research and policy team, she is contributing to the soon-to-be-released WHO Strategic Plan to control intestinal worm infections in more than 100 countries.

23 Jun 2011

Tobira commences cenicriviroc Phase IIb clinical trial for HIV infection

Tobira Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for HIV, announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIb clinical trial for the CCR5/CCR2 inhibitor cenicriviroc (TBR-652).

22 Jun 2011

Nine young clinical investigators earn recognition from Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation named five new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators at its spring 2011 Clinical Investigator Award Committee review.

22 Jun 2011

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics receives U.S. patent for cancer vaccine technology

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, announced the issuance of a U.S. patent relating to a technology for the treatment of cancer for which the Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license.

22 Jun 2011

Scientists discover molecular mechanism that could help develop new MS treatments

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a molecular mechanism which could bring about the development of new treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) — a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.

22 Jun 2011

Novel method of disguising nanoparticles as red blood cells to fight cancer

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a novel method of disguising nanoparticles as red blood cells, which will enable them to evade the body's immune system and deliver cancer-fighting drugs straight to a tumor. Their research was published this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

22 Jun 2011

Prostate cancer risk and prevention

According to U.S. researchers smoking increases the risk that men who develop prostate cancer will die from their disease. The longer the men smoked, the greater the risk, said Stacey Kenfield of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in men behind lung cancer

22 Jun 2011

Biotest, Abbott partner to develop and commercialize BT-061 for autoimmune diseases

Abbott and Biotest AG today announced a global agreement to develop and commercialize BT-061, a novel anti-CD4 antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriasis.

22 Jun 2011

California-born Asian and Pacific Islander women face higher risks of breast cancer

Young Asian and Pacific Islander women born in California have higher risks of breast cancer than young white women, and some groups, including Filipinas, might have higher risks than African-Americans, according to a new study that challenges the perception that these women are at a much lower risk of breast cancer than white women.

21 Jun 2011

Study sheds new light on body's immune response to hepatitis A, C viruses

A surprising finding in a study comparing hepatitis C virus (HCV) with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in chimpanzees by a team that includes scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute sheds new light on the nature of the body's immune response to these viruses.

21 Jun 2011

New clinical trial to evaluate safety of tenofovir gel in breastfeeding, pregnant women

Determining whether a promising HIV prevention gel is safe for women to use while they are pregnant or breastfeeding is the aim of a new clinical trial being conducted by the National Institutes of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network.

21 Jun 2011

Experts help raise awareness about dangers of melanoma in the U.S.

San Diego is one of the top 10 sunniest cities in the United States. Even when "June Gloom" clouds our skies, the sun is still very powerful. With that in mind, experts with UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center are helping raise awareness of the dangers of melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.

21 Jun 2011

Contaminated cocaine may lead to public health epidemic

Doctors warned of a potential public health epidemic in a recent report on patients in Los Angeles and New York who developed serious skin reactions after smoking or snorting cocaine believed to be contaminated with a veterinary medication drug dealers are using to dilute, or "cut," up to 70% of the cocaine in the U.S.

20 Jun 2011