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Study uncovers new mechanisms that regulate immune cells

The proteins CD47 and SIRPα are fundamental to establishing a correct number of immune cells, so-called B lymphocytes. This according to a dissertation by Shrikant Shanital Kolan from Umeå University in Sweden.

22 Sep 2015

BGB324 shows enhanced tumour clearance in mouse carcinoma models

BerGenBio AS, an oncology biopharmaceutical company, has announced new preclinical data on lead compound, BGB324, in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, has been presented as a poster at CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR - The Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, in New York.

21 Sep 2015

USF study shows spleen may be a new target for treating stroke-induced chronic inflammation

Stroke injures the brain, but a new University of South Florida study indicates an abdominal organ that plays a vital role in immune function, the spleen, may be a target for treating stroke-induced chronic inflammation leading to further brain cell death.

16 Sep 2015

FDA grants Orphan Drug designation to Rigel's Fostamatinib for treatment of patients with ITP

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug designation to Fostamatinib, Rigel's oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor which is currently in Phase 3 clinical studies in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

8 Sep 2015

Imetelstat drug shows promise in treating patients with myelofibrosis

Imetelstat, a novel drug that targets telomerase, has demonstrated potential value in treating patients with myelofibrosis, according to the results of a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Sep 2015

Adaptive immune system plays active role in guiding development of mammary glands

In experiments with mouse tissue, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered that the adaptive immune system, generally associated with fighting bacterial and viral infections, plays an active role in guiding the normal development of mammary glands, the only organs--in female humans as well as mice--that develop predominately after birth, beginning at puberty.

28 Aug 2015

Transplanting multi-layered sheet of liver cells into damaged liver improves function in test animals

Liver transplantation is currently the only established treatment for patients with end stage liver failure. However, this treatment is limited by the shortage of donors and the conditional integrity and suitability of the available organs. Transplanting donor hepatocytes (liver cells) into the liver as an alternative to liver transplantation also has drawbacks as the rate of survival of primary hepatocytes is limited and often severe complications can result from the transplantation procedure.

27 Aug 2015

Wyss Institute scientists develop improved blood-cleansing therapeutic device to treat sepsis

Last year, a Wyss Institute team of scientists described the development of a new device to treat sepsis that works by mimicking our spleen. It cleanses pathogens and toxins from blood circulating through a dialysis-like circuit. Now, the Wyss Institute team has developed an improved device that synergizes with conventional antibiotic therapies and that has been streamlined to better position it for near-term translation to the clinic.

21 Aug 2015

Advanced liver damage in hepatitis C patients grossly underestimated and underdiagnosed

The number of hepatitis C patients suffering from advanced liver damage may be grossly underestimated and underdiagnosed, according to a study led by researchers at Henry Ford Health System and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

19 Aug 2015

Vtesse reports preliminary results from VTS-270 Phase 1 trial for treatment of Niemann-Pick Disease Type C

Vtesse, Inc. announced preliminary results today from an open-label Phase 1 clinical trial with VTS-270 (a formulation of (2-hydroxypropyl)-beta-cyclodextrin) for treatment of Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC) conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

6 Aug 2015

New study reveals how infectious proteins spread from gut to the brain

Diagnosis of deadly brain conditions could be helped by new research that shows how infectious proteins that cause the disease spread.

5 Aug 2015

New study may help identify novel ways to treat immune thrombocytopenia

Immune thrombocytopenia, or ITP, is an autoimmune disease whereby the immune system sends antibodies to attack and destroy the body's platelets--blood cells responsible for controlling bleeding.

20 Jul 2015

Findings reveal new pathway to develop effective treatments and therapies for asthma, allergy

Investigators have discovered the precise molecular steps that enable immune cells implicated in certain forms of asthma and allergy to develop and survive in the body. The findings from Weill Cornell Medical College reveal a new pathway that scientists could use to develop more effective treatments and therapies for the chronic lung disorder.

7 Jul 2015

Paclitaxel-fostamatinib combination therapy may reduce size of ovarian cancer cells

Working in cell cultures and mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that an experimental drug called fostamatinib combined with the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel may overcome ovarian cancer cells' resistance to paclitaxel.

2 Jul 2015

Researchers map physical properties of live breast cancer cells using advanced AFM technology

Researchers who developed a high-speed form of atomic force microscopy have shown how to image the physical properties of live breast cancer cells, for the first time revealing details about how deactivation of a key protein may lead to metastasis.

30 Jun 2015

Researchers identify potential treatment option for childhood leukemia

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center are reporting a potentially important discovery in the battle against one of the most devastating forms of leukemia that accounts for as many as one in five children with a particularly aggressive form of the disease relapsing within a decade.

10 Jun 2015

Researchers report new way to treat T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

8 Jun 2015

Study: Intravenous nutrition source may significantly reduce toxicity of platinum-based cancer drugs

A single dose of an FDA-approved intravenous nutrition source may be able to significantly reduce the toxicity and increase the bioavailability of platinum-based cancer drugs, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University biologists published in Scientific Reports.

3 Jun 2015

Targeted agent pacritinib significantly reduces burden of advanced myelofibrosis in patients

Use of the targeted agent pacritinib significantly reduced the symptoms and burden of advanced myelofibrosis in patients, says a Mayo Clinic researcher who co-led PERSIST-1, the worldwide phase III clinical trial that tested the therapy. Specifically, pacritinib substantially reduced severe enlargement of the spleen, a typical feature of advanced myelofibrosis, in more than 20 percent of patients and alleviated debilitating side effects in more than 46 percent.

30 May 2015

Positive results from pacritinib Phase 3 trial for treatment of myelofibrosis presented at ASCO 2015

CTI BioPharma Corp. and Baxter International's Bioscience business today announced data from PERSIST-1 – a randomized Phase 3 registration-directed trial examining pacritinib for the treatment of myelofibrosis – in a late-breaking oral session at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 29-June 2, 2015 in Chicago, Ill.