Immune System News and Research

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Early group daycare exposure protects kids from infections later: Study

A new study reassures parents that although young kids might get sick more often when they first start group childcare, these same kids get fewer infections later in their childhood. About one in three U.S. kids receives organized childcare before reaching kindergarten age, whether at a daycare center or a school.

7 Dec 2010

John Theurer Cancer Center presents research findings at ASH meeting

The John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center announced today important research findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology taking place December 4-7, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. The ASH meeting is the world's leading scientific gathering of hematologists and hematology researchers.

7 Dec 2010

Consolidation treatment with Y-90 epratuzumab after R-CHOP improves remission in DLBCL lymphoma

Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today reported that consolidation treatment with fractionated yttrium-90 (Y-90) labeled epratuzumab, after induction therapy with rituximab and CHOP (R-CHOP) chemotherapy, improved remission status of adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a form of aggressive lymphoma.

7 Dec 2010

Interim results from Cytheris CYT107 Phase I clinical trial in TCD bone marrow transplant patients

Cytheris SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced interim results from a Phase I clinical trial of its investigational drug candidate, recombinant human Interleukin-7 (CYT107), in the treatment of post-transplant patients with T-cell depleted (TCD) bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplants.

7 Dec 2010

Phase 1 study results of Aduro BioTech's CRS-207 presented at AACR Conference on Tumor Immunology

Aduro BioTech, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, is pleased to announce the presentation of the CRS-207 Phase 1 study at the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology in Miami, Florida by the Principal Investigator, Dr. Dung Le of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Dr. Le reported that CRS-207 intravenous administration was well tolerated in subjects with advanced, treatment-refractory cancers. Dr. Le also reported evidence of immune activation and that 6 out of 17 end-stage cancer patients lived 15 months or longer.

7 Dec 2010

Lytix Biopharma, KAEL-GemVax initiate treatment in LTX-315/GV1001 combination anti-cancer vaccine trial

The Norwegian biopharmaceutical company Lytix Biopharma and the Korean biotechnology company KAEL-GemVax announced today the successful first treatment in the study of a combination of LTX-315 and GV1001 as anti-cancer vaccine therapy.

7 Dec 2010

Scientists identify protein that disseminates biofilm-associated infection

What:Scientists from the National Institutes of Health have discovered how catheter-related bacterial infection develops and disseminates to become a potentially life-threatening condition. The study, which included research on Staphylococcus epidermidis in mice implanted with catheters, could have important implications for understanding many types of bacterial biofilm infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).

7 Dec 2010

New ways to identify patients most likely to respond to cancer vaccine treatment

A personalized vaccine is a powerful therapy to prevent recurrence among certain follicular lymphoma patients, according to the latest results of ongoing research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The new findings show that when these patients - whose tumors are marked by a specific protein that may be present in up to half of people with this type of cancer -- receive a vaccine made from their own tumor cells, disease-free survival is improved by nearly two years, compared with patients who receive a placebo.

7 Dec 2010

IMO-4200 dual agonist increases antitumor activity in lymphoma models: Study

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented data showing that IMO-4200, a dual agonist of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR8, in combination with approved cancer treatments, rituximab or bortezomib, significantly increased antitumor activity in several preclinical lymphoma models. The presentation, entitled "Antitumor Activity of an RNA-Based Agonist of TLR7 and 8 in Preclinical Models of Hematological Malignancies," was made at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Hematology in Orlando, Florida by Idera scientists.

7 Dec 2010

No overall cancer risk in people who donate stem cells

American Society of Hematology reveals that there is no increase in overall cancer risk in people who donate stem cells and that the utilization of a double cord blood stem cell transplant is associated with better overall outcomes when used early in the treatment of acute leukemias.

7 Dec 2010

NIH scientists consider prospects for universal influenza vaccine

The costly, time-consuming process of making, distributing and administering millions of seasonal flu vaccines would become obsolete if researchers could design a vaccine that confers decades-long protection from any flu virus strain. Making such a universal influenza vaccine is feasible but licensing it may require innovation on several fronts, including finding new ways to evaluate the efficacy of vaccine candidates in clinical trials, conclude scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

7 Dec 2010

Blocking quorum sensing would prevent bacteria from turning pathogenic

Bacteria are among the simplest organisms in nature, but many of them can still talk to each other, using a chemical "language" that is critical to the process of infection. Sending and receiving chemical signals allows bacteria to mind their own business when they are scarce and vulnerable, and then mount an attack after they become numerous enough to overwhelm the host's immune system.

7 Dec 2010

Studies shows that social stress accelerates atherosclerosis development

Studies on genetically engineered mice show that social stress activates the immune system and accelerates the development of atherosclerosis. Commonly used drugs to reduce blood pressure, however, may stop this process. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

7 Dec 2010

GeoVax expands Phase 2a clinical trial for MVA62B HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., announced today the expansion of the Phase 2a clinical trial testing of its HIV/AIDS vaccine products. The expanded Phase 2a trial will test the administration of three doses of the recombinant poxvirus vaccine MVA62B without the use of the recombinant DNA-vectored vaccine, which was used to prime immune responses in the first part of this trial.

7 Dec 2010

No evidence of toxicity in hemophilia B patients enrolled in gene therapy trial

Investigators report no evidence of toxicity in the four hemophilia B patients enrolled to date in a gene therapy trial using a vector under development at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and UCL (University College London) to correct the inherited bleeding disorder.

7 Dec 2010

Experimental flu vaccine triggers immune response, protects against flu

Vaccine production hinges on the availability of hundreds of millions of eggs - and even with the vaccine, flu still claims somewhere around 36,000 lives in the United States during a typical year.

7 Dec 2010

New tool for predicting disease course in children with Crohn's disease

A new study published in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases develops a computer based visual tool that can be used in “real time” to show pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) patients’ predicted disease course and how this might be influenced by different treatment options.

6 Dec 2010

New, HIV-like retroviruses linked to CFS, prostate cancer detected in healthy blood donors

In an unprecedented move, chronic fatigue syndrome patients published a half-page ad in The Washington Post today. The ad brings attention to new, HIV-like retroviruses, including XMRV, which have been linked to CFS and aggressive prostate cancer, and have been detected in healthy blood donors.

6 Dec 2010

Preclinical study results for Syk, JAK inhibitor program presented at ASH 2010

Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical study results for its novel Syk and JAK inhibitor program at the American Society of Hematology's 52nd Annual Meeting and Exposition. Portola's novel Syk and JAK inhibitors are in development to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, and certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

6 Dec 2010

Amgen announces final study results of Nplate in adults with chronic ITP

Amgen Inc. today announced the final results from a 5-year open-label extension study investigating the long-term efficacy and safety of Nplate (romiplostim) in adult chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura. Chronic ITP is a serious autoimmune disorder characterized by low platelet counts in the blood (thrombocytopenia), which can lead to serious bleeding events.

6 Dec 2010