Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Marin Magazine names Sutter Health physicians among [415] Top Doctors 2012

Almost 250 physicians at California Pacific Medical Center, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, and Novato Community Hospital - all part of the Sutter Health network - have been named on the prestigious list of [415] Top Doctors 2012 by Marin Magazine.

3 Feb 2012

Immune cells from healthy individuals effectively kill cancer cells

Immune cells from healthy individuals can be the new immune cure for cancer. This treatment can kill cancer cells without destroying neighbouring cells. The hope is to eradicate cancer for ever.

3 Feb 2012

Caffeine consumption reduces risk of advanced fibrosis in NAFLD patients

Caffeine consumption has long been associated with decreased risk of liver disease and reduced fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Now, newly published research confirms that coffee caffeine consumption reduces the risk of advanced fibrosis in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

3 Feb 2012

Natural resistance to flu could hold key to universal vaccine

Researchers have found that on infecting 41 healthy volunteers with different strains of flu virus, those with higher levels of a specific type of white blood cell were less likely to develop severe illness. Now the team of researchers hopes to mimic the natural resistance shown by some of the volunteers, by creating a vaccine that boosts levels of a particular subset of the 'T-cells'.

1 Feb 2012

Bird flu virus research and need for censorship

A group of scientists have been working on a genetically modified strain of bird flu. A federal advisory board declared Tuesday that the details of the research are a “grave concern” to public safety and should be kept under wraps.

1 Feb 2012

New combination clinical trial may improve outcome for cancer surgery patients

The week before and two weeks after surgery are a critical period for the long-term survival rate of cancer patients. Physiological and psychological stresses caused by the surgery itself can inhibit the body's immune responses, heightening vulnerability to tumor progression and spreading.

1 Feb 2012

Pneumonic plague bacteria transform lungs into a playground for microbes to flourish

Among medical mysteries baffling many infectious disease experts is exactly how the deadly pneumonic plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, goes undetected in the first few day of lung infection, often until it's too late for medical treatment.

1 Feb 2012

Leprosy pathogen exploits micro-RNAs to weaken immune response

A team of UCLA scientists has found that the pathogen that causes leprosy has a remarkable ability to avoid the human immune system by inhibiting the antimicrobial responses important to our defenses.

30 Jan 2012

Book launch marks anniversary of GABBA Program

On Monday 30th January at 6 p.m. in the Rectory of the University of Porto (Praça Gomes Teixeira), the Secretary of State for Science, Leonor Parreira and the ex-Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Mariano Gago, will attend the commemoration ceremony for the 15th anniversary of the Graduate Program in Basic and Applied Biology (GABBA) at the University of Porto.

30 Jan 2012

SENP1 prevents STAT5 from becoming trapped in nucleus

When SUMO grips STAT5, a protein that activates genes, it blocks the healthy embryonic development of immune B cells and T cells unless its nemesis breaks the hold, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell.

30 Jan 2012

Scientists develop new vaccine to treat cancer at pre-clinical level

Scientists in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, have developed a new vaccine to treat cancer at the pre-clinical level. The research team led by Professor Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin discovered a new approach for treating the disease based on manipulating the immune response to malignant tumours.

27 Jan 2012

Renowned publisher introduces Cell Reports

Cell Press reinforces its commitment to provide a broad range of publishing options for the life sciences community with the inaugural issue of a new open-access journal: Cell Reports.

27 Jan 2012

Boehringer Ingelheim initiates two afatinib phase III trials in head and neck cancer

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today the initiation of two phase III clinical trials, LUX-Head & Neck 1 and LUX-Head & Neck 2. These trials evaluate afatinib in patients with metastatic and recurrent head and neck cancer, and in patients with locally advanced disease, respectively.

27 Jan 2012

Breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease research

Researchers are closer to understanding Alzheimer’s disease using a new stem cell technique. They have successfully replicated Alzheimer’s disease neurons with stem cells for the first time.

26 Jan 2012

Chemicals in packaged food and textiles linked to low immunity in kids: Study

According to researchers children exposed to chemicals from food packaging and textile products may have compromised immune systems. They found kids with more perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, in their blood stream were less likely to respond to routine vaccines.

26 Jan 2012

Seattle Children's receives $5M gift from Ben Towne for pediatric cancer study

Seattle Children's Research Institute today announced a $5 million gift from Ben Towne Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The funding will be used to accelerate the work of Michael Jensen, MD, and his Seattle Children's Research Institute team who are creating new cancer treatments that reprogram a child's immune system to attack and kill cancer cells with the goal of minimizing or even eliminating the need for chemotherapy or radiation.

25 Jan 2012

Cholesterol receptor allows entry of HCV virus into human liver cells

A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

24 Jan 2012

No whooping cough deaths in California in one whole year

The news comes after the state experienced a whooping cough epidemic in 2010 when 9,000 were infected. Most vulnerable to the disease are infants too young to be fully immunized. Ten babies died after exposure from adults or older children. The last year in which no one died was 1991, when the state recorded just 249 cases of pertussis.

24 Jan 2012

Creighton researcher to study role of adult stem cells in repairing damaged coronary arteries

A Creighton University School of Medicine researcher has received a $3.3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to study what role adult stem cells might play in repairing damaged coronary arteries, a complication that often occurs in patients after they undergo angioplasty and stenting.

24 Jan 2012

Novo Nordisk Type 1 Diabetes R&D Center to be established in Seattle

Novo Nordisk announced today that the company will establish a type 1 diabetes research and development center in Seattle, Wash., U.S. The new center will combine Novo Nordisk's history of innovation and leadership in diabetes treatment with the company's growing expertise in immunotherapy.

24 Jan 2012