Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Pre-pregnancy maternal weight has significant impact on baby's immune system

Almost 60 percent of women of childbearing age in the United States are overweight or obese. Obesity is a major public health issue, and has been linked to health problems like heart disease, cancer and hypertension. It can complicate pregnancy by increasing the mother's risk of having gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth or a baby with birth defects. Maternal obesity is also linked to several adverse health outcomes for the infant that can persist into adulthood, such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease and mortality.

19 May 2015

UCB sponsoring several presentations on Cimzia for Crohn's disease at DDW 2015

UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company focusing on immunology and neurology treatment and research, is sponsoring several data presentations on Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) at Digestive Disease Week 2015, taking place in Washington, DC from May 16-19.

17 May 2015

Asthma Ally app allows patients to connect with allergist's office for assistance

The adage, "There's an app for that" is even more true in light of an app that sends an alert to your allergist's office when your asthma may be out of control.

15 May 2015

Profiling normal DNA provides opportunity to identify inherited mutations

As the practice of genetically profiling patient tumors for clinical treatment decision making becomes more commonplace, a recent study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center suggests that profiling normal DNA also provides an important opportunity to identify inherited mutations that could be critical for patients and their families.

15 May 2015

Ground-breaking discovery could revolutionise lupus treatments

A ground-breaking discovery by Monash University researchers could revolutionise treatments given to lupus sufferers, saving thousands of people each year from serious illness or death caused by secondary infections.

14 May 2015

New Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center launched

Fundamental research into the causes and cures of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome now has its first home base at a major U.S. medical research center with the launch of the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center. Inaugurated on May 12, 2015, with a major gift from the Lyme Disease Research Foundation, the center plans an ambitious research program targeting this increasingly common disease, which costs the U.S. economy up to $1.3 billion per year in treatment costs alone.

14 May 2015

Researchers devise novel method to perform NIR optical measurements of resected breast tissue

Roughly 1 in 4 women having breast conserving surgery (BCS) return to the surgical suite for further resection because of cancerous tissue left behind due to unclear margins. Investigators at the Optics in Medicine Lab at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Brian W. Pogue, PhD and Keith Paulsen PhD, with first author and PhD candidate David M. McClatchy III, devised a novel approach to perform near infrared (NIR) optical measurements of resected breast tissue after the margins have had their traditional marking by the surgeon to preserve information about their orientation for potential follow-up surgeries.

14 May 2015

Research finding could lead to better treatments for inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) afflicts 1.6 million people in the United States, causing abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, rectal bleeding and other potentially debilitating symptoms.

14 May 2015

UAB opens third multidisciplinary clinic for transverse myelitis

Mike Jezdimir knows firsthand how hard it is to get appropriate medical treatment for his condition, a disease of the spinal cord called transverse myelitis. He has had it for 48 years, since he was 17. TM is fairly uncommon, and many physicians rarely encounter it. Treatment options are limited.

13 May 2015

Simple blood test could help predict effectiveness of interferon-based therapy in HCV-infected patients

A simple blood test can be used to predict which chronic hepatitis C patients will respond to interferon-based therapy, according to a report in the May issue of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the basic science journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

13 May 2015

Case Western Reserve researchers find potential game-changer for triple-negative breast cancer

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University combined finely crafted nanoparticles with one of nature's potent disrupters to prevent the spread of triple-negative breast cancer in mouse models.

13 May 2015

Research paves way for development of individualized immunotherapy for treating cancer

Mainz-based researchers have made significant advances with regard to the development of individualized immunotherapy strategies for treating cancer. They have managed to identify the relevant genetic changes or mutations associated with various types of cancer and have determined their individual blueprints.

13 May 2015

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany granted FDA Fast Track designation for development of evofosfamide

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation for the development of evofosfamide (previously known as TH-302), administered in combination with gemcitabine, for the treatment of previously untreated patients with metastatic or locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer.

12 May 2015

Experimental gene therapy holds promise against metastatic prostate cancer

Even with the best available treatments, the median survival of patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is only two to three years. Driven by the need for more effective therapies for these patients, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have developed a unique approach that uses microscopic gas bubbles to deliver directly to the cancer a viral gene therapy in combination with an experimental drug that targets a specific gene driving the cancer's growth.

12 May 2015

Immune system plays surprising role in the progression of Rett syndrome

New research by investigators at the University of Massachusetts Medical School suggests the immune system plays an unsuspected and surprising role in the progression of Rett syndrome, a severe neurological disorder affecting children. Immune cells known as macrophages are unable to perform their normal function and are instead amplifying the disease.

11 May 2015

Research findings could lead to new targeted treatments for aggressive subtype of lymphoma

An international team of researchers, including Lukas Kenner from the Clinical Department of Pathology at MedUni Vienna, has discovered a specific combination of mutations and new gene fusions, which are heavily implicated in tumour growth in patients with a particularly aggressive subtype of lymphoma (ALCL).

11 May 2015

Global survey finds gap in physicians' understanding on impact of lupus on patients' lives

As many people in the lupus community prepare to come together in support of World Lupus Day (May 10), a global survey shows that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients have difficulty describing their symptoms to their physicians, which leads to a gap in physicians understanding the full impact the illness has on patients' lives.

11 May 2015

Roche announces FDA approval of cobas KRAS Mutation Test for diagnostic use

Roche today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the cobas KRAS Mutation Test for diagnostic use. The real-time PCR test is designed to identify KRAS mutations in tumor samples from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients and aid clinicians in determining a therapeutic path for them.

11 May 2015

Gene expression is key to understanding differences between individuals and predisposition to disease

The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project consortia, which includes scientists from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, have now published their results from their first pilot study in three Science papers...

8 May 2015

GenVec reports net loss of $1.5 million for first quarter 2015

GenVec, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. For the three months ended March 31, 2015, GenVec reported a net loss of $1.5 million, or $0.09 per share, on revenues of $0.4 million, compared with a net loss of $1.0 million, or $0.07 per share, on revenues of $2.1 million, for the same period in the prior year.

8 May 2015

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Pre-pregnancy maternal weight has significant impact on baby's immune system

UCB sponsoring several presentations on Cimzia for Crohn's disease at DDW 2015

Asthma Ally app allows patients to connect with allergist's office for assistance

Profiling normal DNA provides opportunity to identify inherited mutations

Ground-breaking discovery could revolutionise lupus treatments

New Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center launched

Researchers devise novel method to perform NIR optical measurements of resected breast tissue

Research finding could lead to better treatments for inflammatory bowel disease

UAB opens third multidisciplinary clinic for transverse myelitis

Simple blood test could help predict effectiveness of interferon-based therapy in HCV-infected patients

Case Western Reserve researchers find potential game-changer for triple-negative breast cancer

Research paves way for development of individualized immunotherapy for treating cancer

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany granted FDA Fast Track designation for development of evofosfamide

Experimental gene therapy holds promise against metastatic prostate cancer

Immune system plays surprising role in the progression of Rett syndrome

Research findings could lead to new targeted treatments for aggressive subtype of lymphoma

Global survey finds gap in physicians' understanding on impact of lupus on patients' lives

Roche announces FDA approval of cobas KRAS Mutation Test for diagnostic use

Gene expression is key to understanding differences between individuals and predisposition to disease

GenVec reports net loss of $1.5 million for first quarter 2015

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