Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham casts doubt on the long-standing belief that the vaccine for shingles should not be given to patients taking biologics for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

4 Jul 2012

Epigenetic changes due to methylation play a key role in altering genes in RA

It's not just our DNA that makes us susceptible to disease and influences its impact and outcome. Scientists are beginning to realize more and more that important changes in genes that are unrelated to changes in the DNA sequence itself - a field of study known as epigenetics - are equally influential.

4 Jul 2012

Study shows link between changing rates of antibiotic consumption and resistance

A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online shows how seasonal changes in outpatient antibiotic use - retail sales of antibiotics typically get a boost during the winter - can significantly alter seasonal patterns of drug resistance. The findings suggest that hospital campaigns to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use should be coordinated with efforts in the broader community if they are to be most effective.

3 Jul 2012

Study identifies possible new approach to defeat bacterial infections

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a possible new approach to defeating bacterial infections by targeting an innate immune system component in a bid to invigorate the immune response.

3 Jul 2012

Imaging PR status may help identify tumor response to endocrine therapy

Research published in the July issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows imaging progesterone receptor (PR) status also may be able to identify responders and nonresponders to endocrine therapy at an early stage.

3 Jul 2012

Savient's KRYSTEXXA improves HRQOL and physical function in patients with RCG

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a new publication showing that adult patients with refractory chronic gout (RCG) treated bi-weekly with KRYSTEXXA- (pegloticase) experienced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQOL), pain and physical function.

3 Jul 2012

Hay fever symptom severity plateau identified

Study findings suggest that individuals sensitized to Poaceae, a family of land grasses, experience increasing severity in hay fever symptoms in line with daily levels, up to a saturation point.

2 Jul 2012

Janssen seeks accelerated FDA approval for bedaquiline to treat MDR-TB

Janssen Research & Development, LLC today announced it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking accelerated approval for the use of the investigational drug bedaquiline (TMC207) as an oral treatment, to be used as part of combination therapy for pulmonary, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in adults.

2 Jul 2012

New platform for analysis of next generation sequencing data developed by Compugen

Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN) announced today the development of "NexGen," a new platform designed to significantly enhance Compugen’s overall infrastructure for predictive drug and drug target discovery. NexGen is designed to analyze Next Generation Sequencing data which is now beginning to be generated worldwide through RNA-Seq methodology.

2 Jul 2012

Study illuminates key step in the journey of inflammation-producing immune cells

Like detectives seeking footprints and other clues on a television "whodunit," science can also benefit from analyzing the tracks of important players in the body's molecular landscape. Klaus Ley, M.D., a scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, has done just that and illuminated a key step in the journey of inflammation-producing immune cells.

2 Jul 2012

Researchers discover new gene mutations associated with megalencephaly

A research team led by Seattle Children's Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly.

30 Jun 2012

Researchers probe origin of optimized antibodies against infections

An organism's ability to make new antibodies and use them to optimize its own immune defenses is of central importance in the fight against pathogens. In the case of severe infections, the overall relative speed with which an immune response proceeds could mean the difference between life and death.

29 Jun 2012

UCLA Heart Transplant Program performs 2,000th heart transplant surgery

The UCLA Heart Transplant Program performed its 2,000th heart transplant surgery earlier this month, becoming the first program in the western United States and only the second in the world to achieve this remarkable milestone.

28 Jun 2012

U of S training program receives $1.65 million over six years from NSERC

A new University of Saskatchewan training program that will produce future leaders in food safety, infectious disease control and public policy has been awarded $1.65 million over six years through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

28 Jun 2012

SIR/TAC combination more effective in preventing GVHD after allogeneic blood cell transplantation

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have conducted a clinical trial aimed at preventing graft vs. host disease (GVHD) in patients who have received hematopoietic (blood) cell transplants (HCT). The study, comparing the drug tacrolimus (TAC) in combination with either methotrexate (MTX ) or sirolimus (SIR), found that the sirolimus/tacrolimus (SIR/TAC) combination was more effective in preventing grades II-IV acute GVHD and moderate-severe chronic GVHD after allogeneic blood cell transplantation.

27 Jun 2012

Heavily congested highway correlates with higher rates of asthma

Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, found that living near a heavily congested highway correlates with a higher presence of asthma.

27 Jun 2012

Simple blood test may help physicians track progression of RA disease activity

A simple blood test may help physicians track the progression of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

27 Jun 2012

Seahorse Bioscience launches XF Palmitate-BSA FAO Reagent for FAO assays

Seahorse Bioscience, the world leader in manufacturing instrumentation and assay kits for measuring cellular metabolism, has announced the launch of its newest product, the XF Palmitate-BSA FAO Reagent, eliminating the need for radioactivity in fatty acid oxidation (FAO) assays.

27 Jun 2012

SCRI receives NIH grant for Science Adventure Lab program

Over the past three years, more than 20,000 students at 135 schools in Washington State have participated in the Science Adventure Lab program, an initiative launched by Seattle Children's Research Institute in 2009.

26 Jun 2012

Exposure to BBzP during pregnancy can increase risk of eczema in children

Prenatal exposure to a ubiquitous household chemical called butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP) can increase a child's risk for developing eczema, according to research conducted at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

26 Jun 2012