Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Patients with documented penicillin allergy more likely to develop surgical site infections, study finds

A study by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators found that surgical patients believed to be allergic to penicillin were significantly more likely to develop surgical site infections than were patients with no documented allergy, a difference totally attributable to the alternative antibiotics used to prevent such infections.

9 Oct 2017

Penn study explains how acute viral infections can linger

Infections caused by viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, measles, parainfluenza, and Ebola, are typically considered acute. These viruses cause disease quickly and live within a host for a limited time. But in some cases, the effects of the infection, and presence of the virus itself, can persist.

6 Oct 2017

Study findings provide new insight into inflammatory bowel disease

Findings from a study into Crohn's disease, led by William G. Kerr, Ph.D., of SUNY Upstate Medical University, and his collaborators at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, provide the first evidence that patients with debilitating inflammatory bowel disease lack sufficient quantities of a protein that comes from the SHIP1 gene.

6 Oct 2017

GW researcher awarded NIH grant to study how cocaine use affects HIV infection

Following studies showing that cocaine influences the replication and transcription of HIV, a researcher at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences was awarded more than $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to look deeper into the involved molecular mechanisms that allow this effect to happen.

5 Oct 2017

Scientists develop synthetic molecule effective at kicking and killing HIV

Current anti-AIDS drugs are highly effective at making HIV undetectable and allowing people with the virus to live longer, healthier lives. The treatments, a class of medications called antiretroviral therapy, also greatly reduce the chance of transmission from person to person.

5 Oct 2017

Two MSU researchers team up to tackle problem of arsenic poisoning

Two Montana State University researchers in different disciplines have teamed up to tackle the problem of arsenic poisoning, which is estimated by the World Health Organization to affect more than 100 million people worldwide, primarily through tainted drinking water.

4 Oct 2017

Asthma linked to increased risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth

Women with asthma suffer more often from preeclampsia (PE) and run a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies. These and other complications during pregnancy and delivery can not be explained by hereditary or environmental factors, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

4 Oct 2017

Researchers look for ways to prevent chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment

Of the 14 million cancer survivors in the United States, a significant number experience a serious side effect called chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI). While easily recognized, little is known about the etiology of this condition, also known informally as "chemo brain."

3 Oct 2017

Researchers discover that beneficial bacteria in yogurt may affect severity of lupus

Researchers at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech have released findings that explain how a type of healthy bacteria in yogurt and other dairy products might reduce disease symptoms in certain patients with lupus.

3 Oct 2017

BSACI’s new guidelines enhance diagnosis and management of peanut allergy

A new guideline published recently by the Standards of Care Committee of the British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI) aims to bring together the latest science in order to improve the diagnosis and management of peanut and tree nut allergy.

30 Sep 2017

Cancer vaccines need to target immune fighters that can withstand battle against malicious tumors

Cancer vaccines may need to better target T cells that can hold up to the long fight against cancer, scientists report.

27 Sep 2017

Scientists gain insight into how Ebola virus uses the body's defenses to speed up infection

Scientists from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have gained new insight into how the Ebola virus uses the body's natural defenses to speed the rate of infection and unleash its lethal disease, according to a new report in mBio.

26 Sep 2017

Existing drugs may be able to improve therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia, mice study shows

Two drugs, already approved for safe use in people, may be able to improve therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a blood cancer that affects myeloid cells, according to results from a University of Iowa study in mice.

26 Sep 2017

Study: Antibody neutralizes dengue and Zika virus in mice

Brazil and other areas hardest hit by the Zika virus – which can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads – are also home to dengue virus, which is spread by the same mosquito species.

25 Sep 2017

Study identifies two genes involved in invasive group A Streptococcus infections

Group A Streptococcus bacteria cause a variety of illnesses that range from mild nuisances like strep throat to life-threatening conditions including pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome and the flesh-eating disease formally known as necrotizing fasciitis.

22 Sep 2017

Global resurgence of whooping cough can be attributed to immunological failures of vaccines

The startling global resurgence of pertussis, or whooping cough, in recent years can largely be attributed to the immunological failures of acellular vaccines, Boston University School of Public Health researchers argue in a new journal article.

21 Sep 2017

UTSW receives $34 million CPRIT award for cancer research and faculty recruitment

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded UT Southwestern researchers more than $34 million for cancer research and faculty recruitment, including support for programs in pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma.

19 Sep 2017

Cholesterol-like molecules act as ‘cut-off’ switch for engine that powers cancer-killing cells

Scientists have just discovered how the engine that powers cancer-killing cells functions. Crucially, their research also highlights how that engine is fuelled and that cholesterol-like molecules, called oxysterols, act as a "cut-off" switch making it hard for our 'Natural Killer' cells to win the war against cancer.