Immunosuppression News and Research

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Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.

Analysis reveals decreasing trend in infection-related mortality among kidney transplant recipients

Since the 1990s, the risk of dying from infections after kidney transplantation has dropped by half, according to a recent analysis. The analysis, which appears in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, also found that common bacterial infections remain the most frequent cause of infection-related death among transplant recipients.

6 Apr 2018

Researchers successfully graft human neural stem cells into monkeys with spinal cord injuries

Led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, a diverse team of neuroscientists and surgeons successfully grafted human neural progenitor cells into rhesus monkeys with spinal cord injuries.

27 Feb 2018

Opioid users have increased risk of invasive pneumococcal diseases

Opioid users have a significantly increased risk of infections severe enough to require treatment at the hospital, such as pneumonia and meningitis, as compared to people who don't use opioids.

13 Feb 2018

Prostate cancer’s gene-determined ‘immune landscape’ dictates tumor progression

The field of immunotherapy - the harnessing of patients' own immune systems to fend off cancer - is revolutionizing cancer treatment today. However, clinical trials often show marked improvements in only small subsets of patients, suggesting that as-yet unidentified variations among tumors result in distinct paths of disease progression and response to therapy.

12 Jan 2018

New first line combination therapy shows promising results in patients with advanced NSCLC

A new combination therapy for the first line treatment of advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) improves progression-free survival (PFS), according to results of phase III IMpower150 trial presented at the ESMO Immuno Oncology Congress 2017.

7 Dec 2017

Study provides insights on mechanisms involved in tolerance after kidney transplantation

A new study provides insights on the mechanisms that allow an individual's immune system to accept, rather than reject, a donor kidney. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, point to markers that could be monitored to assess and track the health of organs following transplantation.

1 Dec 2017

Study uncovers key mechanism by which tumors develop resistance to radiation therapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has uncovered a key mechanism by which tumors develop resistance to radiation therapy and shown how such resistance might be overcome with drugs that are currently under development.

23 Nov 2017

AstraZeneca’s new precision biologic gets FDA approval to treat severe eosinophilic asthma

AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved FASENRA (benralizumab) for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe asthma aged 12 years and older, and with an eosinophilic phenotype.

14 Nov 2017

Healthcare professionals most likely to work while sick, study finds

A new study suggests that healthcare professionals (HCPs) should heed to their own advice: stay home when sick.

1 Nov 2017

Gene therapy effectively stabilizes progression of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, trial reveals

In a recent clinical trial, a gene therapy to treat cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) -- a neurodegenerative disease that typically claims young boys' lives within 10 years of diagnosis -- effectively stabilized the disease's progression in 88 percent of patients, researchers from the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Massachusetts General Hospital report today.

4 Oct 2017

Rutgers University leadership creates great strides in breakthrough scientific research

Less than a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Defense established the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine I with a multimillion dollar grant to focus research centered on regenerative medicine for the treatment of battlefield injuries and selected Rutgers University-New Brunswick to lead the civilian research program.

26 Aug 2017

Understanding the rise in NTM infections

It is important to keep in mind that nontuberculous mycobacteria are environmental, and so unlike mycobacterial tuberculosis, generally this is not a person to person transmitted disease. The organisms are found universally in water and soil and so most people are exposed on a daily basis.

16 Aug 2017

New review shows potential of Vitamin B3 for preventing melanoma

A new review highlights the potential of nicotinamide (Vitamin B3) for preventing melanoma in high-risk individuals.

9 Aug 2017

New report says completing a course of antibiotics even after symptoms abate is overrated

Antibiotics are a boon to mankind and as more and more microorganisms are developing a resistance to these drugs, researchers are delving deeper into the mechanisms of this resistance. It is a commonly held view that once begun, a course of antibiotics should be completed to prevent the emergence of resistance among the microbes.

26 Jul 2017

Cocktail of drugs for HIV patients with advanced immunosuppression reduced deaths by 27%, study shows

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 20th July 2017 suggests that a cocktail of drugs, if provided at the beginning of the HIV therapy, can save over 10,000 lives per year. HIV, which is often diagnosed late, leaves people vulnerable to other diseases by ravaging the immune system.

25 Jul 2017

Researchers receive $8.6 million NIH grant for efforts to improve lung transplantation

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have received more than $8.6 million in federal grants to support efforts that could dramatically increase the number of lungs available for transplant – and then save the lives of the people who receive them.

6 Jul 2017

SCT scientists develop Neo-Islet technology for treating insulin-dependent diabetes

The cover of the July 2017 issue of the journal STEM CELLS Translation Medicine showcases the latest advance toward a functional cure of insulin-dependent diabetes.

30 Jun 2017

Multiparity improves outcomes after stroke in female mice

Stroke is an age-related disease that disproportionately affects women. Although experimental studies have identified several hormonal and genetic factors underlying these differences, little is known about how pregnancy influences risk as this has not been previously studied in the laboratory setting.

28 Jun 2017

Could the mTOR pathway be used to protect against cancer?

The mTOR pathway is probably the main pathway in humans and other animals that drives growth. That is, the accumulation of mass and adding mass to make an organism bigger by both making more cells, and making cells grow and become bigger.

22 Jun 2017

Kidney graft success depends on age, sex of donor and recipient, study reveals

The success of kidney transplant is dependent on the age and sex of both the donor and the recipient, according to research published today in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

8 Jun 2017