Immune System News and Research

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Study gives insight into how immunotherapies may be delivered directly to brain tumors

A new study gives insight into how immunotherapies, treatments that help the body's immune system fight cancer, might one day be delivered directly to the brain in order to treat brain tumors.

29 Aug 2019

Researchers analyze people’s initial immune response to dengue fever

Researchers have come one step closer to understanding how our immune system responds to acute dengue fever, a disease that has affected hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia this summer alone.

29 Aug 2019

UC San Francisco scientists identify second 'short sleep' gene after 10-year search

After a decade of searching, the UC San Francisco scientists who identified the only human gene known to promote "natural short sleep" -- lifelong, nightly sleep that lasts just four to six hours yet leaves individuals feeling fully rested -- have discovered a second.

28 Aug 2019

Cannabis use may alter gene linked to autism in male sperm

Researchers from Duke University Medical centre, Durham, USA have come up with an important study that shows that use of cannabis among men could alter a specific gene in their sperm that is linked to autism. The study titled, “Cannabis use is associated with potentially heritable widespread changes in autism candidate gene DLGAP2 DNA methylation in sperm,” and is published in the latest issue of the journal Epigenetics.

28 Aug 2019

Drug combination could improve survival of lung transplant patients

Lung transplantation can prolong the lives of patients with end-stage lung disease, but the median survival rate after lung transplant is less than six years, which has improved only slightly in recent decades.

28 Aug 2019

Autism rates growing faster among racial minorities in the United States, research shows

Autism rates among racial minorities in the United States have increased by double digits in recent years, with black rates now exceeding those of whites in most states and Hispanic rates growing faster than any other group, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research.

28 Aug 2019

Maternal high-fat diet may slow learning ability in offspring, study suggests

In a bid to further explore how a mother-to-be's diet might affect her offspring's brain health, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found that pregnant and nursing rats fed high fat diets have offspring that grow up to be slower than expected learners and that have persistently abnormal levels of the components needed for healthy brain development and metabolism.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 28 Aug 2019

Researchers find a weak spot in cancer cells

Cancer cells form tumors. This statement, simple as it seems, hides a complex failure of normal immune responses that should eliminate tumor cells from the body before they ever form viable cancer masses.

28 Aug 2019

Novel immunotherapy method could overcome tumor immunity

Cancer immunotherapy is a form of treatment in which the body’s own immune cells are recruited to overcome the tumor. However, it is only useful in a few tumors, because of tumor immunity where tumor-associated immune cells work to protect the tumor against attack.

28 Aug 2019

Scientists reveal cancer cells' immune weak spot

Scientists have found a vulnerability in cancer cells that could make them more susceptible to being destroyed by the immune system, according to a new report in eLife.

27 Aug 2019

New drug combination shows promise for treating non-small cell lung cancer patients

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer now have more improved treatment options compared to standard of care with the addition of several new agents called immune-checkpoint inhibitors.

27 Aug 2019

Failure of glial cells in the brain triggers epileptic seizures, study finds

Epileptic seizures can happen to anyone. But how do they occur and what initiates such a rapid response?

27 Aug 2019

Genetically altering protein in colon cancer cells may enhance efficacy of chemotherapy

Colorectal cancer outcomes may improve by genetically altering an immune-regulatory protein in cancer cells, making the cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy. That's according to new Mayo Clinic research.

27 Aug 2019

Remodeling unhealthful gut microbiomes with the help of synthetic peptides

You are what you eat -; right down to the microbiome living in your gut. Diet can affect which microbes are in the intestinal tract, and research has shown that harmful gut microbiome changes can lead to illnesses such as heart disease, obesity and cancer.

27 Aug 2019

Early detection method for pinpointing molecular signatures of Lyme disease

When researchers examined the mitochondrial DNA of Ötzi, a man entombed in ice high in the Tyrolean Alps some 5,300 years ago, they made a startling discovery.

26 Aug 2019

Antibiotic use linked to increased odds of developing rheumatoid arthritis

A new study has provided evidence that antibiotic usage is associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

26 Aug 2019

Skin patch delivers melanoma medication in one minute

Researchers have developed a fast-acting skin patch that can deliver medication to treat melanoma in one minute.

26 Aug 2019

Johns Hopkins researchers estimate real-world prevalence of prurigo nodularis

Johns Hopkins researchers report that prurigo nodularis, a skin disease characterized by severely itchy, firm bumps on the skin, may be associated with other inflammatory skin disorders as well as systemic and mental health disorders.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 26 Aug 2019

Removing tumor's protective wall could help boost the effects of cancer treatments

Scientists may have found a way to pull down the protective wall that surrounds tumors, potentially re-exposing them to the killing power of the immune system and immunotherapy treatments, according to a study part funded by Cancer Research UK and published in EBioMedicine today (Monday).

26 Aug 2019

Researchers target cancer's protective barrier

Cancer cells are notorious for their camouflage work, which enables them to escape immune targeting. Now scientists are learning how to strip away the disguise and allow the immune system to do its work, by targeting cells called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that shield the tumor. This would also enhance the effectiveness of newer cancer immunotherapies like Chimeric-Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR-T).

26 Aug 2019