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Testosterone may impede immunity

Decreasing testosterone boosts immunity because testosterone helps control T-lymphocytes, the attack cells of the immune system, according to Mayo Clinic-led research in laboratory animals.

8 Nov 2004

Obesity could more than double an older woman's risk of acute myelogenous leukemia

A study from the University of Minnesota Cancer Center indicates that overweight and obesity could more than double an older woman's risk of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), an often fatal cancer of the bone marrow and blood.

8 Nov 2004

Long-term safety of transplanted pig cells to humans confirmed

Living Cell Technologies Limited has published a paper in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology which demonstrates the long-term safety of transplanted insulin-producing pig islets in people with type 1 diabetes.

4 Nov 2004

Some allergic conditions could increase your risk of suffering from blood cancer

Some allergic conditions could increase your risk of suffering from blood cancer as an adult, according to a new study published in the November 2004 issue of BMC Public Health. This is important news for the increasingly large numbers of allergy sufferers worldwide.

4 Nov 2004

Mad cow disease prions can be removed from blood

New research results released today confirm that infectious variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) prions that cause the human form of "mad cow disease" can be removed from blood.

From Pall Corporation 3 Nov 2004

Peripheral blood transplants from donors may be more harmful than bone marrow transplants in pediatric leukemia patients

A new study has shown for the first time that transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) from sibling donors may be more harmful than bone marrow in pediatric leukemia patients.

3 Nov 2004

$73 million to tackle infectious diseases such as West Nile virus and influenza

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded 14 contracts totaling more than $73 million to fund the Large-Scale Antibody and T Cell Epitope Discovery Program, an initiative aimed at quickly identifying the regions of selected infectious agents that elicit immune reactions.

1 Nov 2004

Improved risk classification for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia offers hope for eliminating irradiation

Improved risk classification for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), coupled with more intensive intrathecal chemotherapy for high risk patients and the use of a drug called dexamethasone, could one day permit physicians to omit irradiation as a part of routine treatment.

1 Nov 2004

Red wine delivered though an aerosol for COPD, asthma, and possibly even arthritis

Homing in on mechanisms for the reported effectiveness of resveratrol, which is found in red wine, researchers at Imperial College London, England, confirmed its broad anti-inflammatory action, and found potential for applications in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and possibly even arthritis.

29 Oct 2004

Babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of developing childhood leukemia

The paper, to be published November in the journal Public Health Reports, found that breastfeeding was linked to lower risks of both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common of the childhood cancers, and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML).

28 Oct 2004

Genetic research offers insight into Sjögren's syndrome and the general developmental machinery of the immune system

By knocking out a single gene in mice, immunologists at Duke University Medical Center have mimicked a little-understood autoimmune disorder in humans.

21 Oct 2004

Malaria vaccine candidate looks extremely promising

In a proof-of-concept study published this week in The Lancet, researchers report that GlaxoSmithKline's RTS,S/AS02A malaria vaccine candidate protected a significant percentage of children against uncomplicated malaria, infection, and even severe forms of the disease for at least six months.

16 Oct 2004

Highly concentrated solution of chemical messengers could block male to female HIV transmission

Researchers in the U.S have shown that it may be possible to block the transmission of the HIV virus from a man to a woman by using a highly concentrated solution of chemical messengers that attract white blood cells to the site of infection.

16 Oct 2004

Estrogen protects male rats from aortic aneurysms

When it comes to abdominal aortic aneurysms – life-threatening bulges or weak areas in the main artery feeding blood to the lower half of the body – new U-M research shows that it is definitely better to be female.

12 Oct 2004

Biomedical engineers receive $11.5 million to study how white blood cells navigate

We all know the power of touch: A whack on the skull – or a hug – can convey more information than other forms of communication ever can. It turns out the same is true inside our bodies

12 Oct 2004

Researchers identify common mutation in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) have made a breakthrough discovery, identifying a common mutation in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL), an important form of cancer in children and adolescents.

11 Oct 2004

Progestin in hormone therapy could dramatically affect heart attack severity

“One type of hormone therapy limited heart muscle damage to only 5 percent while another resulted in permanent damage to 35 percent of muscle,” said J. Koudy Williams, Ph.D., lead investigator, from Wake Forest Baptist. “If we can learn more about this mechanism we might be able to identify better hormone therapies for postmenopausal women.”

10 Oct 2004

Compound derived from fruit and vegetables could be used to improve the effects of an established cancer drug

The drug, mitomycin C (MMC), is a well-known anticancer treatment used mainly against solid tumours in the bladder and lower bowel. It is activated by enzymes naturally found in the human body, but its use is limited by severe side effects at higher doses.

5 Oct 2004

Researchers discover new mechanism responsible for blood vessel tumors that cause facial deformities

Researchers have discovered a new mechanism responsible for the growth of blood vessel tumors that can cause facial deformities in infants and young children, paving the way for an antibody-based treatment to remove cells that fuel the tumors’ growth.