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A macrophage is a type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.

Vitamin D plays major role in preventing diabetes and atherosclerosis

In recent years, a deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two illnesses that commonly occur together and are the most common cause of illness and death in Western countries. Both disorders are rooted in chronic inflammation, which leads to insulin resistance and the buildup of artery-clogging plaque.

19 Mar 2015

Researchers discover new metabolic mechanisms linked to macrophage polarization

A group of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Agios Pharmaceuticals and ITMO University has discovered new metabolic mechanisms that regulate macrophage polarization - the unique ability of these immune cells to change their specialization depending on the required task.

18 Mar 2015

United Therapeutics announces FDA approval of dinutuximab for treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma

United Therapeutics Corporation announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Unituxin (dinutuximab) Injection (formerly called ch14.18), in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy.

10 Mar 2015

Salt may help control infection

Researchers at Vanderbilt University and in Germany have found that sodium - salt - accumulates in the skin and tissue in humans and mice to help control infection.

4 Mar 2015

Toning down TREM2 receptor's activity may help prevent neurodegeneration in AD patients

Tackling brain inflammation ameliorates Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

3 Mar 2015

Rigel, Bristol-Myers Squibb partner to develop, commercialize TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement for the discovery, development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies based on Rigel's extensive portfolio of small molecule TGF beta receptor kinase inhibitors.

23 Feb 2015

Natalizumab drug helps scientists confirm how 'viral reservoirs' form in HIV patients

A drug used to treat patients with Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis has helped scientists confirm how "viral reservoirs" form in patients living with HIV and also proven effective in animal trials at blocking the pathways to those reservoirs in the brain and gut, a team of researchers reported recently in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

19 Feb 2015

INRS researchers explore cellular and molecular mechanisms that affect AgNP particles

Whereas resistance to antibiotics complicates certain treatments, antimicrobial silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are gaining popularity for medical use. These particles are toxic for certain bacteria, but what about for humans? Researchers at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre have taken a step toward understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that affect these particles.

19 Feb 2015

BHB compound produced during dieting blocks part of immune system involved in inflammatory disorders

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that a compound produced by the body when dieting or fasting can block a part of the immune system involved in several inflammatory disorders such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease.

17 Feb 2015

TUSM researchers awarded $7.4 million to study brain impairment in patients infected with HIV

Researchers at Temple University School of Medicine have been awarded a $7.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to determine how cocaine and HIV-1 interact to cause brain impairment in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

11 Feb 2015

Fungal infections rarely develop resistance to combination drug therapy

Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered that Candida albicans -- a leading cause of potentially fatal hospital-acquired infections -- rarely develops resistance to combination drug therapy and, when it becomes resistant, it also becomes less dangerous.

9 Feb 2015

New compound may lead to development of potential therapeutics for neuropathic pain

A new compound discovered by a team of UC Davis investigators has potent actions against production of a chemical that which is implicated in the development of chronic pain following a peripheral nerve injury in the spinal cord.

7 Feb 2015

Nuvo Research announces topline results from WF10 Phase 2 allergic rhinitis clinical trial

Nuvo Research Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company with a diverse portfolio of topical and immunology products, today announced the results of its 16-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 clinical trial conducted in Germany to compare the safety and efficacy of WF10 and its main constituents (sodium chlorite and sodium chlorate) with saline in patients with refractory allergic rhinitis and to compare the safety and efficacy of WF10 and its main constituents.

30 Jan 2015

Two new drug compounds appear to be effective in treating endometriosis

Two new drug compounds - one of which has already proven useful in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis - appear to be effective in treating endometriosis, a disorder that, like MS, is driven by estrogen and inflammation, scientists report in Science Translational Medicine.

22 Jan 2015

TSRI researchers identify enzyme that produces inflammatory lipid molecules in the brain

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has identified an enzyme that produces a class of inflammatory lipid molecules in the brain. Abnormally high levels of these molecules appear to cause a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder, and that disorder now may be treatable if researchers can develop suitable drug candidates that inhibit this enzyme.

13 Jan 2015

CML mouse model reveals previously unreported facets of disease

A humanised murine model of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia, developed by a Swedish research team, provides insight into previously unexplored characteristics of the disease.

12 Jan 2015

Exposure to nanoparticles can play major role in development of cardiovascular diseases

Nanoparticles, extremely tiny particles measured in billionths of a meter, are increasingly everywhere, and especially in biomedical products. Their toxicity has been researched in general terms, but now a team of Israeli scientists has for the first time found that exposure nanoparticles (NPs) of silicon dioxide (SiO2) can play a major role in the development of cardiovascular diseases when the NP cross tissue and cellular barriers and also find their way into the circulatory system.

8 Jan 2015

Fat cells below skin help protect from bacteria, say researchers

When it comes to skin infections, a healthy and robust immune response may depend greatly upon what lies beneath. In a new paper published in the January 2, 2015 issue of Science, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report the surprising discovery that fat cells below the skin help protect us from bacteria.

2 Jan 2015

Scientists identify white blood cells that tumors use to suppress disease-fighting immune system

A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified the population of white blood cells that tumors use to enhance growth and suppress the disease-fighting immune system.

19 Dec 2014

$Nuvo Research completes WF10 Phase 2 trial in patients with refractory allergic rhinitis$

Nuvo Research completes WF10 Phase 2 trial in patients with refractory allergic rhinitis

Nuvo Research Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company with a diverse portfolio of immunology and topical products, today announced that 179 patients have completed its 16-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of WF10 in patients with refractory allergic rhinitis.

18 Dec 2014