Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Adverse effects in childhood lead to immune impairment later in life

The emotional pains we suffer in childhood can lead to weakened immune systems later in life, according to a new study.Based on this new research, the amount of this immune impairment even enhances that caused by the stress of caregiving later in life."What happens in childhood really matters when it comes to your immune response in the latter part of your life," explained Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University. She explained her work at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Diego.

16 Aug 2010

Mount Sinai receives grant from NIH to continue research on food allergy

Mount Sinai School of Medicine today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has renewed its funding of the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), providing an additional $29.9 million toward genetic research and the prevention and treatment of food allergy. Mount Sinai is the primary research site for CoFAR, leading seven other institutions around the country.

13 Aug 2010

A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network, Institut M-rieux and bioM-rieux partner in TB research

An investment of S$3 million is being pumped into tuberculosis (TB) research by A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), bioindustrial group Institut M-rieux and its in vitro diagnostics company bioM-rieux. The project, which involves setting up a joint laboratory in Biopolis, Singapore aims to investigate and identify novel biomarkers that could allow early identification of individuals at risk of TB disease development and disease reactivation. This could lead to better diagnosis and treatment for the highly contagious disease.

13 Aug 2010

NAC to deliver education program on asthma management for youth

As children with asthma head back to school this fall, the National Asthma Campaign Foundation (NAC) is partnering with Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC) to deliver Fight Asthma Now (FAN), an asthma education program that teaches youth to control and manage their asthma.

13 Aug 2010

Severe inflammatory response to initial UTI causes bladder damage: Research

The immune system may open the door to recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) by overdoing its response to an initial infection, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.Researchers showed in mice that severe inflammatory responses to an initial UTI cause bladder damage and allow infection to persist longer. After one to two weeks of infection, the bladder wall undergoes additional changes that leave mice more vulnerable to later infection. Suppressing the immune system during initial infection decreases these vulnerabilities, they report Aug. 12 in PLoS Pathogens.

13 Aug 2010

Human Immune Phenotyping Centers to receive NIAID grants for research

A new nationwide research initiative has been launched to define changes in the human immune system, using human and not animal studies, in response to infection or to vaccination. Six U. S.-based Human Immune Phenotyping Centers will receive a total of $100 million over five years to conduct this research.Funding for the centers is provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Support for the first year of this initiative will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

12 Aug 2010

NKTreg white blood cells migrate into liver, suppress immune responses: Research

After a transplant - and to assure that the new organ is not rejected - patients are put on life-long therapy to suppress their immune system, which, nevertheless, needs to be left intact enough to be able to defend the body against all kinds of disease. A tricky balance as the many rejected organs attest. But a discovery by Maria Monteiro and Luis Graça, two Portuguese scientists, could change all this, at least for the liver.

11 Aug 2010

Ancient immunoglobulin study explains evolution of human intestinal immune responses

A study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has identified the function of one of the earliest antibodies in the animal kingdom, an ancient immunoglobulin that helps explain the evolution of human intestinal immune responses. It was discovered to play a predominant role in the guts of fish and paves the way for a better understanding of human gut immunity as well as for safer, healthier approaches to keeping fish from pathogen infections. The findings appear in the online version of Nature Immunology and will be featured on the cover of the September issue.

11 Aug 2010

Intellect Neurosciences receives patent for Alzheimer's disease vaccine

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc a biopharmaceutical company with an internal preclinical and clinical-stage pipeline and licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office related to RV01 and RV02, the Company's two lead vaccine candidates. The Notice of Allowance is a written communication stating that the patent application has been allowed and will be granted as a new patent. RV01 and RV02, generated using the Company's RECALL-VAX technology, have the potential to delay the onset of or prevent Alzheimer's disease in individuals susceptible by age, genetic or other risk factor.

11 Aug 2010

Study suggests zinc supplementation may reduce pneumonia risk

A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.

11 Aug 2010

CADTH Review Panel releases recommendations for Biologic Response Modifier Agents for Adults with RA

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health's (CADTH) Therapeutic Review Panel released last week their recommendations for Biologic Response Modifier Agents for Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

10 Aug 2010

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to YM BioSciences' JAK1/2 inhibitor

YM BioSciences Inc., announced that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to the Company's highly-selective JAK1/2 inhibitor, CYT387, for the treatment of myelofibrosis, a chronic debilitating unmet medical need, in which a patient's bone marrow is replaced by scar tissue, and for which treatment options are limited or unsatisfactory.

10 Aug 2010

Three-year efficacy data on STELARA for psoriasis presented at American Academy of Dermatology meeting

New study findings showed that a majority of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who had a previous response to STELARA® (ustekinumab) sustained a clinical response for up to three years with continued treatment regardless of their body weight. Investigators also presented findings from an integrated safety analysis that included data from one Phase 2 and three Phase 3 trials in which treatment with STELARA demonstrated a favorable benefit-risk profile for up to three years of treatment, consistent with previous analyses.

10 Aug 2010

Loyola University forms new institute for molecular level disease research

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine has formed a new research institute dedicated to understanding the molecular causes of cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease and several other illnesses.

10 Aug 2010

Talecris and Grifols receive 'Second Request' from FTC regarding proposed merger

Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. today announced that Talecris and Grifols S.A. have each received a request for additional information and documentary material, often referred to as a "Second Request," from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with their proposed merger.

10 Aug 2010

Pluristem's PLacental eXpanded cell therapy effective against neuropathic and inflammatory nerve pain

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. today announced the results of two separate pre-clinical studies in animal models which demonstrated that its PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cell therapy may be an effective treatment for both neuropathic and inflammatory nerve pain. These animal studies were conducted in collaboration with the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT) and the Department of Anesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care Medicine, both at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin of Berlin, Germany.

10 Aug 2010

Apte wins Elkeles Prize for outstanding scientist in field of medicine

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Professor Ron N. Apte has been awarded the 2010 Samuel and Paula Elkeles Prize for Outstanding Scientist in the Field of Medicine.

9 Aug 2010

Opexa Therapeutics aims to complete planned experiments, develop clinical study protocols

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing Tovaxin, a novel T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 and provided an update on its corporate developments.

7 Aug 2010

ViroPharma announces data on safety, efficacy of Cinryze to treat acute angioedema attacks

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that data from Phase 3 studies of Cinryze (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) have been published in the August 5, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The paper entitled Nanofiltered C1 Inhibitor Concentrate for Treatment of Hereditary Angioedema by Dr. Bruce L. Zuraw et al. describes the safety and efficacy of Cinryze in treating and preventing attacks of hereditary angioedema. Cinryze is the first and only FDA-approved C1 esterase inhibitor therapy indicated for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE), a rare, debilitating and potentially fatal disease; it is not approved by the FDA to treat acute angioedema attacks.

6 Aug 2010

Salamander research findings bring scientists closer to future regenerative therapies

Tissue regeneration in salamanders and newts seems like it should be the stuff of science fiction. But it happens routinely. Why can't we mammals just re-grow a limb or churn out a few new heart muscle cells as needed? New research suggests there might be a very good reason: Restricting our cells' ability to pop in and out of the cell cycle at will - a prerequisite for the cell division necessary to make new tissue - reduces the chances that they'll run amok and form potentially deadly cancers.

6 Aug 2010

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Adverse effects in childhood lead to immune impairment later in life

Mount Sinai receives grant from NIH to continue research on food allergy

A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network, Institut M-rieux and bioM-rieux partner in TB research

NAC to deliver education program on asthma management for youth

Severe inflammatory response to initial UTI causes bladder damage: Research

Human Immune Phenotyping Centers to receive NIAID grants for research

NKTreg white blood cells migrate into liver, suppress immune responses: Research

Ancient immunoglobulin study explains evolution of human intestinal immune responses

Intellect Neurosciences receives patent for Alzheimer's disease vaccine

Study suggests zinc supplementation may reduce pneumonia risk

CADTH Review Panel releases recommendations for Biologic Response Modifier Agents for Adults with RA

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to YM BioSciences' JAK1/2 inhibitor

Three-year efficacy data on STELARA for psoriasis presented at American Academy of Dermatology meeting

Loyola University forms new institute for molecular level disease research

Talecris and Grifols receive 'Second Request' from FTC regarding proposed merger

Pluristem's PLacental eXpanded cell therapy effective against neuropathic and inflammatory nerve pain

Apte wins Elkeles Prize for outstanding scientist in field of medicine

Opexa Therapeutics aims to complete planned experiments, develop clinical study protocols

ViroPharma announces data on safety, efficacy of Cinryze to treat acute angioedema attacks

Salamander research findings bring scientists closer to future regenerative therapies

Immunology eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut