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Do regulatory T cells have a role in human ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection?

Trachoma, which is caused by ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, remains the leading infectious cause of blindness and in 2002 was responsible for 3.6% of total global blindness.

8 Aug 2006

Oragenics issued new patent for novel antibiotic peptide

Oragenics has announced that the US Patent office has issued a fourth patent (No. 7,067,125), that further describes the composition and uses of the company's exclusively licensed novel antibiotic peptide, MU1140.

8 Aug 2006

Role of peptidoglycan protein in immune response may aid HIV research

A family of proteins that serve as the body's first line of defense against bacterial infections may provide a lifeline for individuals with compromised immune systems.

6 Aug 2006

Reappraisal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa hospital-acquired pneumonia mortality

Patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria that is highly resistant to virtually all antibiotics are twice as likely to die as patients infected with other, less resistant bacteria.

6 Aug 2006

Pollution-related closings and health advisories at U.S. beaches

Pollution-related closings and health advisories at U.S. beaches were more numerous than ever in 2005, according to NRDC's annual report (PDF 1.8mb) on beachwater quality.

4 Aug 2006

Turning the immune system against cancer

Medicine can now prevent a host of diseases with a mere shot of vaccine. Polio and smallpox are almost non-existent, and mumps and chicken pox are rarely seen nowadays.

4 Aug 2006

Transgenic goat's milk could help tackle children's intestinal disease

Milk produced by transgenic goats, which carry the gene for an antibacterial enzyme found in human breast milk, altered the intestinal bacteria in young goats and pigs that were fed the milk.

4 Aug 2006

FDA develops cost-effective way to identify bioterror agents used in hoax incidents

Researchers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) are developing a quick, cost-effective way to screen for and identify bioterror agents and other substances used in hoax incidents.

3 Aug 2006

Regulatory T cells learn what to protect while in the thymus and that everything the cells learn may not be good

Regulatory T cells, which function like immune system police, learn early in life what to protect, and that may include viruses, bacteria and tumors, researchers have shown.

3 Aug 2006

Fatty acids found in dairy products shown to treat diabetes

Fatty acids commonly found in dairy products have successfully treated diabetes in mice, according to a researcher at Penn State.

3 Aug 2006

Protein CD86 raises antibody output

Cancer immunologists here have discovered how a protein on the surface of antibody-making immune cells boosts the amount of antibody the cells make.

2 Aug 2006

Tuberculosis relapse due to low weight gain after initial treatment

Among tuberculosis (TB) patients who were underweight when diagnosed, those who subsequently regained less than five percent of their weight during the first two months of treatment had a significantly increased risk of disease relapse.

2 Aug 2006

HHS to stockpile Anthrax immune globulin

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will purchase 10,000 therapeutic courses of treatment of Anthrax Immune Globulin (AIG) from Cangene Corporation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for a total of $143,833,719.

30 Jul 2006

Prebiotics hinders development of skin allergy in babies at high risk

Prebiotics can cut the chances of developing atopic dermatitis in babies at high risk of the disorder, suggests a study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

27 Jul 2006

Honey more effective than antibiotics

A household remedy millennia old is being reinstated: honey helps the treatment of some wounds better than the most modern antibiotics.

27 Jul 2006

Research findings may speed the development of vaccines for Chlamydia and other STDs

Using a novel mouse model that allows scientists to study how the immune system’s fighter cells respond to invaders in the genital tract during the initial stage of infection, researchers have found a way to track immunity against Chlamydia trachomatis.

26 Jul 2006

Vaccination with irradiated Listeria induced protective T cell immunity

Vaccines made with bacteria killed by gamma irradiation, rather than by standard methods of heat or chemical inactivation, may be more effective, say researchers.

26 Jul 2006

Using gamma radiation preserves T-cell responses in bacterial vaccine

Using gamma radiation to inactivate bacteria for the preparation of vaccines, instead of traditional heat or chemical methods of inactivation, appears to create a vaccine that is more effective than so-called "killed" vaccines against disease, and has the added advantage of a longer storage life than "live" vaccines.

26 Jul 2006

Irradiation preserves T-Cell responses in bacterial vaccine

Findings could result in more potent vaccines that are relatively inexpensive to produce, easy to store, and that can be transported without refrigeration.

25 Jul 2006

How does the immune system isolate and destroy intruders?

Dendritic cells are the body's "watchdogs". They recognize and then degrade pathogens, isolating characteristic fragments that are recognized by the immune system thus triggering targeted responses.

25 Jul 2006