Immune System News and Research

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Researchers concerned about use of mercury-based compound in inactivated flu vaccines

As the United Nations, the European Commission, and the United States Food and Drug Administration evaluate the health and environmental risks associated with mercury, a known neurotoxin, carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen, and immune-system disruptor, new research continues to fuel concerns about Thimerosal, a mercury-based compound used as a preservative in inactivated flu vaccines.

11 Mar 2011

Researchers uncover new disease mechanism in patients with CGD

Infection researchers at Umeå University have uncovered a new disease mechanism in patients with Chronic Granulomatous Disease in an international clinical collaboration with the Children's Hospital in Zurich.

11 Mar 2011

New discovery: GPCR family of proteins can recognize and respond to wide array of signals

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined a new structure from a medically important superfamily of proteins. The structure should help instruct the design of a new kind of therapeutics for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to inflammation.

11 Mar 2011

Dietitian offers nutrition tips to obtain maximum health benefits

March is National Nutrition Month, a campaign sponsored by the American Dietetic Association to promote nutrition education. This year's theme is Eat Right with Color.

11 Mar 2011

Researchers create protein molecule for new anti-inflammatory therapies

Researchers from across multiple disciplines at NYU Langone Medical Center created a new protein molecule derived from the growth factor progranulin may provide the basis for new therapies in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study published in the March 10, 2011 issue of Science.

11 Mar 2011

Depression is linked with increased risk of developing kidney failure

Depression is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney failure in the future, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

10 Mar 2011

Scientists develop new model for neurodegenerative disease

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has developed a new model for how inherited genes contribute to a common but untreatable and incurable neurodegenerative disease.

10 Mar 2011

Biothera announces acquisition of AS1402 anti-cancer monoclonal antibody from Antisoma

Biothera announced today that it has acquired the anti-cancer monoclonal antibody AS1402 from Antisoma for undisclosed terms.

10 Mar 2011

Idera reports $6.0 million net loss for fourth quarter 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.

10 Mar 2011

ISCO achieves major milestone in stem cell banking program

International Stem Cell Corporation, announced today the achievement of a major milestone in its efforts to establish a bank of immune-matched parthenogenetic stem cells in the United States by receiving the statutory approvals required to move forward with the next phase of its stem cell banking program.

10 Mar 2011

Scientists mark important step toward universal RBCs production

Scientists are reporting an "important step" toward development of a universal blood product that would eliminate the need to "type" blood to match donor and recipient before transfusions.

10 Mar 2011

Caltech students receive Lemelson-MIT Prize for innovative disease diagnostic technology works

California Institute of Technology graduate student Guoan Zheng is the recipient of the 2011 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Caltech Student Prize.

10 Mar 2011

Caspase inhibition can prevent brain inflammation in neurological diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are partly attributable to brain inflammation. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now demonstrate in a paper published in Nature that a well-known family of enzymes can prevent the inflammation and thus constitute a potential target for drugs.

10 Mar 2011

Novel sortase-based techniques allow modification of a large variety of different proteins

Whitehead Institute scientists have created a method that site-specifically modifies proteins to exert control over their properties when administered therapeutically. The technique should be useful to increase potency, slow metabolism, and improve thermal stability of therapeutically useful proteins, such as interferon alpha 2 (IFN-alpha 2), which is used to treat variety of diseases, including leukemia, melanoma, and chronic hepatitis C.

10 Mar 2011

Immunologists identify key cell component that triggers allergic responses to cat dander

A breakthrough by scientists at The University of Nottingham could provide hope for any allergy sufferers who have ever had to choose between their health and their household pet.

10 Mar 2011

Salmonella may serve as valuable tool to fight against cancer

University of Minnesota researchers are using salmonella - the bacteria commonly transmitted through food that sickens thousands of U.S. residents each year - to do what was once unthinkable: help people.

10 Mar 2011

Researchers pinpoint a protein responsible for fat storage in the body

Scientists have shed light on why some people are apple-shaped and others are pear-shaped.

10 Mar 2011

Illicit drug users may face increased risk of microbial infections

Illicit drug users are at increased risk of being exposed to microbial pathogens and are more susceptible to serious infections say physicians writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

10 Mar 2011

Lowering cholesterol could help fight infections

British researchers have found that lowering cholesterol levels could help the body’s immune system fight infections. The team at the University of Edinburgh conducted the experiments on mice and found a direct link between the workings of the immune system and cholesterol levels.

9 Mar 2011

MabCure presents ovarian cancer diagnostic blood test study results at SGO meeting

Biotechnology company MabCure, Inc. is presenting the results of its recently completed study on the diagnosis of ovarian cancer utilizing its proprietary monoclonal antibodies at the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecological Oncologists.

9 Mar 2011