Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Common pain killers may blunt the effect of flu shots

With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers - Advil, Tylenol, aspirin - at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system.

4 Nov 2009

Akonni Biosystems announces worldwide launch of their TruTip product line

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostic (MDx) company focused on providing rapid and highly scalable solutions for research and infectious disease testing, today announced the worldwide launch of their TruTip product line for extracting DNA and RNA from samples with volumes ranging from 100 µl to 1000 µl or more.

3 Nov 2009

Smokers with systemic lupus erythematosus at greater risk of skin damage and rashes

As if there weren't enough reasons to stop smoking, a team of researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have just found another. A study led by Dr. Christian A Pineau, Co-Director of the Lupus and Vasculitis clinic at the MUHC, has clearly linked skin damage and rashes to smoking in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.

3 Nov 2009

GICD, Stanford University collaborate to develop stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and Stanford University School of Medicine will collaborate in a new consortium funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to develop stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies. GICD investigators, led by GICD Director Deepak Srivastava, MD, will collaborate with a Stanford team led by Robert Robbins, MD, professor and chair of cardiothoracic surgery, to investigate how to use induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, to repair damaged heart muscle.

3 Nov 2009

LFB Biotechnologies exercises its option to purchase $12.8 million of stocks in GTC Biotherapeutics

GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced that LFB Biotechnologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of LFB S.A. (Laboratoire français du Fractionnement et des Biotechnologies S.A., Les Ulis, France) and a strategic shareholder in GTC, has exercised its option to purchase $12.8 million of additional convertible preferred stock under the terms described in the financing agreements approved by GTC shareholders in July 2009. This transaction provides $6.4 million of new cash proceeds to GTC.

2 Nov 2009

China far outpaces research activities of rest of the world; expected to overtake USA in the next decade

A study from Thomson Reuters released today shows explosive growth in research output from China, far outpacing research activity in the rest of the world.

2 Nov 2009

Exposure to mercury-based preservative in vaccines is minimal, says researchers

The injectable, multi-dose H1N1 vaccine contains the mercury-based preservative thimerosol to reduce risks of bacterial contamination. The presence of thimerosol has once again raised concerns whether there are risks posed to children when the tiny amount of mercury contained in thimerosol is included in a vaccine.

31 Oct 2009

Tufts University receives $185M grant as part of the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats program

Tufts University has been tapped by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a multidisciplinary team that will receive a grant of up to $185-million to create better synergies among veterinarians, doctors, and public health officials in responding to emerging infectious diseases.

31 Oct 2009

Women may need smaller dose of H1N1 vaccine

THE emergence of the H1N1 swine flu has added urgency to what has become an annual ritual for millions of Americans: getting a flu shot. The good news is that scientists have developed a vaccine against the H1N1 virus. But it is taking much longer than expected to produce the hundreds of millions of doses the government had planned to distribute. And it is still too soon to know how effective the vaccine will be in preventing swine flu.

31 Oct 2009

Public concern can undermine flu vaccination campaigns

The effectiveness of pandemic flu vaccination campaigns - like that now underway for H1N1 - could be undermined by the public incorrectly associating coincidental and unrelated health events with the vaccines.

31 Oct 2009

Helper T cell's effect raises possibility of cellular therapy and vaccine development

A specific type of T helper cell awakens the immune system to the stealthy threat of cancer and triggers an attack of killer T cells custom-made to destroy the tumors, scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the early online edition of the journal Immunity.

30 Oct 2009

La Jolla Institute dedicates new Elam Discovery Wall and Type 1 Diabetes Center

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, an international leader in immunology research and San Diego's only research institute focused solely on immune-mediated diseases, today will dedicate its new Elam Discovery Wall and Type 1 Diabetes Center, which will focus on research into novel immunological-focused approaches to type 1 diabetes.

30 Oct 2009

Women more likely to suffer from adverse drug reactions than men; proactive approach may help reduce problems

Most people have taken a prescription medication at one time or another, but according to a report from the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, Md., not only do women take more medications during their lifetimes, women are more likely to suffer from adverse drug events than men.

30 Oct 2009

USC to develop stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration with CIRM grant

Physician-researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) received a nearly $16 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund the development of a stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss and blindness among the elderly.

29 Oct 2009

ZyGEM signs an agreement with VERITAS Japan to distribute DNA extraction products to the Japanese market

ZyGEM Corp. Ltd., a provider of innovative enzyme-based products for DNA extraction and other life sciences applications, today announced it has entered into an exclusive agreement with VERITAS Japan to distribute ZyGEM's DNA extraction products to the Japanese market.

29 Oct 2009

Sangamo BioSciences awarded a grant to develop zinc finger nuclease-based stem cell therapy for AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced today that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has granted a $14.5 million Disease Team Research Award to develop an AIDS-related lymphoma therapy based on the application of its zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) gene-editing technology in stem cells.

29 Oct 2009

Cardiome Pharmam, Astellas Pharma begin patient enrolment for ACT 5 trial

Cardiome Pharma Corp. and its co-development partner Astellas Pharma US, Inc. ("Astellas") announced today that patient enrolment has begun for the ACT 5 trial, a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial of KYNAPID(TM) (vernakalant hydrochloride) Injection, a drug product candidate under development for the rapid conversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm.

29 Oct 2009

USC researchers receive grant to develop stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration

29 Oct 2009

Pregnant women with symptoms of depression have a stronger biological reaction to the seasonal flu vaccine

Pregnant women with significant symptoms of depression tend to have a stronger biological reaction to the seasonal flu vaccine than do women with lower depression levels, according to a new study.

29 Oct 2009

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital collaborate on respiratory diseases research

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) recently announced the formation of a research agreement between the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston.

28 Oct 2009

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Common pain killers may blunt the effect of flu shots

Akonni Biosystems announces worldwide launch of their TruTip product line

Smokers with systemic lupus erythematosus at greater risk of skin damage and rashes

GICD, Stanford University collaborate to develop stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies

LFB Biotechnologies exercises its option to purchase $12.8 million of stocks in GTC Biotherapeutics

China far outpaces research activities of rest of the world; expected to overtake USA in the next decade

Exposure to mercury-based preservative in vaccines is minimal, says researchers

Tufts University receives $185M grant as part of the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats program

Women may need smaller dose of H1N1 vaccine

Public concern can undermine flu vaccination campaigns

Helper T cell's effect raises possibility of cellular therapy and vaccine development

La Jolla Institute dedicates new Elam Discovery Wall and Type 1 Diabetes Center

Women more likely to suffer from adverse drug reactions than men; proactive approach may help reduce problems

USC to develop stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration with CIRM grant

ZyGEM signs an agreement with VERITAS Japan to distribute DNA extraction products to the Japanese market

Sangamo BioSciences awarded a grant to develop zinc finger nuclease-based stem cell therapy for AIDS

Cardiome Pharmam, Astellas Pharma begin patient enrolment for ACT 5 trial

USC researchers receive grant to develop stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration

Pregnant women with symptoms of depression have a stronger biological reaction to the seasonal flu vaccine

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital collaborate on respiratory diseases research

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