Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Discovery highlights potential to combat HIV/AIDS

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered how HIV binds to and destroys a specific human antiviral protein called APOBEC3F. The results suggest that a simple chemical change can convert APOBEC3F to a more effective antiviral agent and that shielding of a common feature shared by related proteins may yield a similar outcome.

23 Dec 2010

Researchers find 37° C body temperature is warm enough to ward off fungal infection

Two researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that our 98.6° F (37° C) body temperature strikes a perfect balance: warm enough to ward off fungal infection but not so hot that we need to eat nonstop to maintain our metabolism.

23 Dec 2010

New nanoparticle-based diagnostic platform provides rapid detection of sepsis

Blood poisoning can be fatal. If you suffer from sepsis, you used to have to wait as much as 48 hours for laboratory findings. A new diagnostic platform as big as a credit card will now supply the analysis after as little as an hour. This system is based on nanoparticles that are automatically guided by magnetic forces.

22 Dec 2010

LFB receives positive review feedback for closing of Willfact 1000 IU Mutual Recognition Procedure

LFB received from the German regulatory authority (Paul-Ehrlich-Institute) a positive review feedback for the closing of the Mutual Recognition Procedure (MRP) of Willfact® 1000 IU with Germany as the reference member state.

22 Dec 2010

Altering balance among immune system cells could hold potential for T2D-associated inflammation treatment

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated that certain T cells require input from monocytes in order to maintain their pro-inflammatory response in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The study also showed, for the first time, how a loss in homeostasis in this group of T cells most likely promotes chronic inflammation associated with T2D.

22 Dec 2010

Researchers present definitive explanation of how fibrotic cells destroy human liver

In the latest of a series of related papers, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Austria and elsewhere, present a new and more definitive explanation of how fibrotic cells form, multiply and eventually destroy the human liver, resulting in cirrhosis. In doing so, the findings upend the standing of a long-presumed marker for multiple fibrotic diseases and reveal the existence of a previously unknown kind of inflammatory white blood cell.

21 Dec 2010

New research sheds light on complex regulatory pathways for effective innate immune system

New research by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences reveals that the immune system has an effective backup plan to protect the body from infection when the "master regulator" of the body's innate immune system fails.

21 Dec 2010

Study finds second skin barrier structure may play a role in eczema development

Like a fence or barricade intended to stop unwanted intruders, the skin serves as a barrier protecting the body from the hundreds of allergens, irritants, pollutants and microbes people come in contact with every day.

20 Dec 2010

SAGE publishes first comprehensive textbook on psychology

Psychology for medicine, published today by SAGE, is the first comprehensive textbook on psychology for medical students that is relevant to all of their undergraduate studies.

20 Dec 2010

First comprehensive textbook on psychology for medical students

Psychology for medicine, published today by SAGE, is the first comprehensive textbook on psychology for medical students that is relevant to all of their undergraduate studies. Following the General Medical Council's call for greater coverage of psychology throughout medical degree courses, this groundbreaking textbook does just that - presenting all the psychology an undergraduate medical student needs to know.

17 Dec 2010

New study contradicts presence of oxysterols in multiple sclerosis patients

New research findings appearing in the January Journal of Lipid Research indicate that compounds called oxysterols are not present in any significant amount in multiple sclerosis patients, contradicting a previous study that suggested that some of these cholesterol metabolites were associated with MS and could be used as diagnostic tools in the clinic.

16 Dec 2010

NIH grants $7.5 million for researchers to develop novel compounds in treating nicotine addiction

The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have been awarded approximately $7.5 million over five years to develop novel compounds that could eventually become drug candidates for the treatment of nicotine dependence, and possibly other drug addictions.

16 Dec 2010

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Long considered a freewheeling loner, the Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has revealed a totally unexpected social side, opening a potential chink in the behavioral armor of this and other supposedly solitary human parasites, according to research presented at the American Society for Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

15 Dec 2010

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Profectus Biosciences, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, announced today that its GENEVAX™ IL-12 pDNA adjuvant has significantly improved the vaccine-induced response rate in a Phase I clinical study of an experimental DNA vaccine for the prevention of HIV infection.

15 Dec 2010

Study suggests unexpected role for NLRP3 protein in cancer vaccine development

The promise of vaccines targeted against various types of cancer has raised the hopes of patients and their families. The reality, however, is that these promising treatments are difficult to develop. One of the challenges is identifying a discrete cellular target to stop cancer growth without inactivating the immune system. Scientists at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center report a laboratory finding that has the potential to increase the effectiveness of therapeutic cancer vaccines.

15 Dec 2010

Angiogenesis inhibition is a validated strategy for cancer therapy

Scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute may have uncovered a mechanism for blocking tumor angiogenesis that involves the patient's immune system, according to findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Dec 2010

CRI introduces new model of philanthropic investment to improve cancer patient care

Cancer Research Institute, Inc. (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 1953 to advance the science of tumor immunology and foster the discovery of new cancer immunotherapies, announced today the launch of the Cancer Vaccine Acceleration Fund (CVAF), a new model of philanthropic investment and academic-industry collaboration established in partnership with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ltd (LICR) to speed the clinical development of therapeutic cancer vaccines and other immune system-based therapies.

15 Dec 2010

ISTA commences bepotastine besilate nasal spray Phase 2 study in seasonal allergic rhinitis

ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical study of bepotastine besilate nasal spray for the treatment of symptoms associated with seasonal allergic rhinitis, the inflammation of the nasal passages caused by allergies. The randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group environmental study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of bepotastine besilate, dosed twice daily, in patients presenting with allergic rhinitis caused by one of the most potent seasonal allergy triggers, Mountain Cedar pollen.

14 Dec 2010

Talecris evaluates response to $37M jury verdict in favor of Plasma Centers of America

Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Inc. announced today that a jury in the General Court of Justice, Superior Court Division, Wake County, North Carolina, rendered a verdict on December 13, 2010 in the amount of $37 million in favor of Plasma Centers of America, LLC, against its subsidiary, Talecris Plasma Resources, Inc., in a breach of contract claim.

14 Dec 2010

Clinical trail shows 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine safe and effective in asthma patients

Results from a government-sponsored clinical trial of inactivated 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in people with asthma indicate that a single dose of vaccine was safe and induced a strong immune response predictive of protection.

14 Dec 2010

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Discovery highlights potential to combat HIV/AIDS

Researchers find 37° C body temperature is warm enough to ward off fungal infection

New nanoparticle-based diagnostic platform provides rapid detection of sepsis

LFB receives positive review feedback for closing of Willfact 1000 IU Mutual Recognition Procedure

Altering balance among immune system cells could hold potential for T2D-associated inflammation treatment

Researchers present definitive explanation of how fibrotic cells destroy human liver

New research sheds light on complex regulatory pathways for effective innate immune system

Study finds second skin barrier structure may play a role in eczema development

SAGE publishes first comprehensive textbook on psychology

First comprehensive textbook on psychology for medical students

New study contradicts presence of oxysterols in multiple sclerosis patients

NIH grants $7.5 million for researchers to develop novel compounds in treating nicotine addiction

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Study suggests unexpected role for NLRP3 protein in cancer vaccine development

Angiogenesis inhibition is a validated strategy for cancer therapy

CRI introduces new model of philanthropic investment to improve cancer patient care

ISTA commences bepotastine besilate nasal spray Phase 2 study in seasonal allergic rhinitis

Talecris evaluates response to $37M jury verdict in favor of Plasma Centers of America

Clinical trail shows 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine safe and effective in asthma patients

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