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.

Two recent experimental treatments improve visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

Two recent experimental treatments - one involving skin-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell grafts, the other gene therapy - have been shown to produce long-term improvement in visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists who led the studies. At present, there is no cure for RP, the most common form of inherited blindness.

20 Dec 2012

Study tracks movements of leukocytes through the kidney

Better targeted treatments for 20 per cent of renal failure patients are on the horizon following a key discovery about the role of white blood cells in kidney inflammation.

16 Dec 2012

Georgetown University Women’s Center launches Squash Diabetes campaign

The Squash Diabetes Campaign was launched today by the Georgetown University Women's Squash Team, where a team member successfully competes in the vigorous game of squash despite the health challenges of Type 1 (Juvenile) diabetes.

13 Dec 2012

Severe RSV disease may impair innate immune response in infants

Infants with severe lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may have a dysfunctional innate immune response that relates to the severity of their disease.

10 Dec 2012

NOXXON commences NOX-H94 Phase IIa trial to treat anemia of chronic disease

NOXXON Pharma today announced the treatment of the first patients in a Phase IIa clinical trial of its anti-hepcidin Spiegelmer NOX-H94 to treat anemia associated with chronic disease.

5 Dec 2012

University of Cincinnati to lead Belatacept Early Steroid withdrawal Trial

The University of Cincinnati will lead a $5.2 million national trial studying removal of both corticosteroids and common immunosuppression treatments from the post-transplant drug regimen for kidney transplant patients.

29 Nov 2012

FDA clears Avaxia’s AVX-470 IND for treatment of ulcerative colitis

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company developing oral antibody drugs that act locally within the digestive tract, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for AVX-470 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

27 Nov 2012

First U.S. breathing lung transplant performed in Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

First there was the "heart in a box," a revolutionary experimental technology that allows donor hearts to be delivered to transplant recipients warm and beating rather than frozen in an ice cooler. Now that same technology is being used to deliver "breathing lungs."

27 Nov 2012

FDA grants Seattle Genetics orphan drug designation for ADCETRIS to treat mycosis fungoides

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today that ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mycosis fungoides (MF). MF is the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

26 Nov 2012

Lymphopenia driven diseases and the orphan drug industry: an interview with Damian Marron, CEO of Cytheris

Lymphopenia is when you lack the T cells of your immune system. T cells are very important for controlling infection. Probably the most known cause of lymphopenia is HIV.

23 Nov 2012

New nanoparticle halts relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in mouse model

In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

19 Nov 2012

CHOP presents new findings on pediatric cardiovascular disease at AHA 2012

Physician-researchers from the Cardiac Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presented new findings on pediatric cardiovascular disease at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012 in Los Angeles.

9 Nov 2012

‘Off the shelf’ stem cells show promise for perianal fistula

Expanded allogenic adipose-derived stem cells are effective for the treatment of perianal fistula in patients with Crohn’s disease, suggest the results of a phase I/II trial.

31 Oct 2012

C. diff infections on the rise among children, elderly

Clostridium difficile infections are becoming more common and more severe in hospitalized children and the elderly, in large part due to greater use of antibiotics, Mayo Clinic researchers report in studies being presented at the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting.

23 Oct 2012

Clinical trial to study immunosuppressant tacrolimus against generics

A new study at the University of Cincinnati seeks to end the questions over generic-vs.-brand for a common immunosuppressive drug for transplant patients, tacrolimus.

20 Oct 2012

HIV infection has been major driver of anal cancer burden

Rising rates of anal cancer among men in the USA have been heavily influenced by the HIV epidemic since the 1980s, a study shows.

17 Oct 2012

Regulatory B cells may provide effective treatment for severe autoimmune diseases

Reproducing a rare type of B cell in the laboratory and infusing it back into the body may provide an effective treatment for severe autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

15 Oct 2012

Transplant recipients and lymphoma patients far likelier to develop melanoma

Melanoma is on the rise nationally, and transplant recipients and lymphoma patients are far likelier than the average person to get that form of skin cancer and to die from it, a Mayo Clinic review has found.

5 Oct 2012

Autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis halted in mice

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a gene-based therapy to stop the rodent equivalent of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis by specifically targeting the destructive immune response the disorder triggers in the body.

1 Oct 2012

Takeda, Seattle Genetics announce preliminary data from brentuximab vedotin phase I study on sALCL

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and Seattle Genetics, Inc., today announced preliminary data from one arm of a three arm phase I, open-label, multicenter study designed to determine the safety and activity of sequential and combination treatment approaches of brentuximab vedotin with CHOP or CH-P chemotherapy in newly diagnosed patients with CD30-positive mature T- and NK- cell lymphomas.

1 Oct 2012