Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Long-term data from Baxter's HyQ clinical study on PI

Baxter International Inc. today announced the presentation of additional long-term data supporting the clinical profile of HyQ, its investigational combination product for use in patients with primary immunodeficiencies.

From Baxter International Inc. 3 Mar 2012

Combination of implanted DCs and EBRT effective in creating sarcoma tumor immune response

A team of 18 researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that treating high-risk, soft tissue sarcoma patients with a combination of implanted dendritic cells (immune system cells) and fractionated external beam radiation (EBRT) provided more than 50 percent of their trial patients with tumor-specific immune responses lasting from 11 to 42 weeks.

2 Mar 2012

New HS44 molecule inhibits lung metastasis

One type of white blood cell, the Natural Killer T Cells, fights against infections and tumours by freeing cytokine proteins which activate the body's immune response and destroy infected or malignant cells. To do so they must receive an activation signal. Specific receptors located on their surface act as switches: they activate the lymphocyte in presence of an antigen, a molecule which triggers alarm signals.

2 Mar 2012

Induced hyperammonaemia increases daytime sleepiness in patients with cirrhosis

Italian and Swiss researchers confirm that induced hyperammonaemia significantly increases daytime sleepiness in patients with cirrhosis. The findings available in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that higher blood levels of ammonia reduced the ability of cirrhotic patients to produce restorative sleep.

2 Mar 2012

Akeso Medical Imaging starts clinical study for proof of concept of imaging device for rheumatoid arthritis disease activity monitoring and control

Akeso Medical Imaging BV, announces today the start of a clinical study with their novel imaging device for assessment of joint inflammation in patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this proof of concept study, Akeso’s imaging device will be compared to other methods to assess disease status, such as the DAS-28 score, Ultrasound and in some cases MRI. The study will be performed at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) in cooperation with Regional Rheumatology Centre Eindhoven (RRC). Seventy subjects will be included; sixty RA patients with varying degrees of inflammation of the joints of hands and wrists at the time of examination and a control group of ten subjects.

1 Mar 2012

Parasitic worms could offer new treatment hope for MS patients

Parasitic worms could offer a new treatment hope for patients suffering from the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, scientists believe.

1 Mar 2012

NKT cells may reduce monocytes accumulation, prevent lung injury in severe flu

While some scientists report engineering a super virulent strain of the H5N1 influenza virus, which could potentially wipe out a significant percentage of the human population, another group of researchers from the United Kingdom now reports a discovery that may one day help mitigate the deadly effects of all flu strains.

1 Mar 2012

ACTB and ACTG1 actin genes cause Baraitser-Winter syndrome

Scientists from Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, in collaboration with the Genomic Disorders Group Nijmegen in the Netherlands, have identified two new genes that cause Baraitser-Winter syndrome, a rare brain malformation that is characterized by droopy eyelids and intellectual disabilities.

1 Mar 2012

First clinical assessment of how interferon fights infections in people

A drug once taken by people with HIV/AIDS but long ago shelved after newer, modern antiretroviral therapies became available has now shed light on how the human body uses its natural immunity to fight the virus—work that could help uncover new targets for drugs.

1 Mar 2012

iBio receives U.S. patent for fusion-protein vaccine technology

iBio, Inc. today announced issuance of a US patent covering the use of iBio's proprietary fusion-protein technology in combination with influenza virus antigens for vaccine product applications.

29 Feb 2012

Scientists find evidence of a ‘different’ flu virus in bats

They were surprised to find genetic fragments of a flu virus in bats. So far, scientists haven't been able to grow it, and it's not clear if — or how well — it spreads. Flu bugs are common in humans, birds and pigs and have even been seen in dogs, horses, seals and whales, among others. About five years ago, Russian virologists claimed finding flu in bats, but they never offered evidence.

28 Feb 2012

Study identifies new processes that lead to development of novel cell implicated in allergies

A collaboration between scientists in Trinity College Dublin and the United Kingdom has identified new processes that lead to the development of a novel cell implicated in allergies. The discovery has the potential for new strategies to treat asthma and other allergic diseases.

28 Feb 2012

FDA assigns Priority Review designation to JRD's XARELTO sNDA

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (JRD) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a Priority Review designation to the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) filed on December 29, 2011 for XARELTO (rivaroxaban), an oral anticoagulant, to reduce the risk of thrombotic cardiovascular events in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS).

27 Feb 2012

WHO removes India from list of countries with endemic Polio

India is nearly free of deadly paralyzing viral infection polio. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad says the WHO removed India from the list Saturday after the country passed one year without registering any new cases. This means only three countries with endemic polio — Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. India must pass another two years without new cases to be declared polio-free.

27 Feb 2012

Flu season starts late but may be just as virulent: CDC

Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the epidemiology prevention branch at the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said for the third consecutive week this season the percent of respiratory specimen testing positive for flu surpassed 10 percent, which is generally a marker to indicate the flu season has begun. “This is the latest start to a flu season in the past 29 years,” said Dr. Bresee.

27 Feb 2012

Survey: 49% of asthma patients are not using controllers

Forty-nine percent of children and adults with persistent asthma are not using controller medications according to results of a first of its kind survey of 1,000 asthma sufferers.

27 Feb 2012

Scripps Florida receives NIH grant to create novel HIV inhibitors

A Scripps Florida team has been awarded nearly $1.5 million by the National Institutes of Health to identify and develop novel potent inhibitors of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.

27 Feb 2012

Bird flu may be more common and less deadly: Study finds

The H5N1 influenza virus commonly called “bird flu” or “avian flu” could be more prevalent and less deadly than health officials had thought, according to a new study published online (Feb. 23) by the journal Science.

26 Feb 2012

Five things that can aggravate suffering of people with spring allergies

Fruits and veggies, air filters, spring breezes, procrastination and self-medication - each can delay relief from a stuffy nose, sneezing, sniffling or other symptoms if you're one of the more than 35 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies.

24 Feb 2012

Scientists identify specific pathways behind breast cell's transformation into cancer

Although it's widely accepted that inflammation is a critical underlying factor in a range of diseases, including the progression of cancer, little is known about its role when normal cells become tumor cells. Now, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shed new light on exactly how the activation of a pair of inflammatory signaling pathways leads to the transformation of normal breast cells to cancer cells.

24 Feb 2012