Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today

Jet Device Injects Drugs Without Needles

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:00:00 PDT

The prospect of less painful medicine shots without needles came a step closer this month, as US researchers revealed how they have developed a device that delivers a controlled, tiny, high-pressure jet into the skin without using a hyperdermic needle...

Improved Survival From Severe Malaria With Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A novel anti-inflammatory drug could help to improve survival in the most severe cases of malaria by preventing the immune system from causing irrevocable brain and tissue damage...

H1N1 Vaccination During Pregnancy Shows Unexpected Benefits In Large Study

Thu, 24 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Getting a flu shot during pregnancy provides unanticipated benefits to the baby, according to the authors of a large population-based study examining the issue. Specifically, the study showed that H1N1 vaccination during the pandemic was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and extremely small babies at birth...

Research Links Abacavir Hypersensitivity Reactions In HIV To Attacks By Body's Own Immune System

Thu, 24 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Potentially severe hypersensitivity reactions to the anti-HIV drug abacavir occur through an autoimmune mechanism, resulting from the creation of drug-induced immunogens that are attacked by the body's immune system, according to a study published online by the journal AIDS, official journal of the International AIDS Society...

New Findings For Novel Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Presented At Digestive Disease Week

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A novel pancreatic cancer vaccine shows promise in improving survival when added to standard treatment, according to new research out of University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine...

Premature Death Rates Among Black Women With Sarcoidosis

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A new study conducted by researchers from Boston University has found that sarcoidosis accounts for 25 percent of all deaths among women in the Black Women's Health Study who have the disease. The study is the largest epidemiologic study to date to specifically address mortality in black females with sarcoidosis...

Scientists Aiming To Activate Tumor Suppressor Gene And Inhibit Cancer

Wed, 23 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

A team of scientists has developed a promising new strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die. The researchers hope that their discovery will aid in the development of an innovative anti-cancer drug that effectively targets unhealthy, cancerous tissue without damaging healthy, non-cancerous tissue and vital organs...

Underrated Danger In Rheumatoid Arthritis From Standard Heart Disease Risk Tools

Wed, 23 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Heart disease risk assessment tools commonly used by physicians often underestimate the cardiovascular disease danger faced by rheumatoid arthritis patients, a Mayo Clinic study has found. Inflammation plays a key role in putting those with rheumatoid arthritis in greater jeopardy for heart disease, yet many cardiovascular disease risk assessment methods do not factor it in, the researchers note...

Antibodies Against Multiple Flu Strains Produced By Pandemic 2009 H1N1 Vaccination

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

The pandemic 2009 H1N1 vaccine can generate antibodies in vaccinated individuals not only against the H1N1 virus, but also against other influenza virus strains including H5N1 and H3N2...

The Effects Of Social Status On Wound Healing, Death And Disease

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Turns out it's not bad being top dog, or in this case, top baboon. A new study by University of Notre Dame biologist Beth Archie and colleagues from Princeton University and Duke University finds that high-ranking male baboons recover more quickly from injuries and are less likely to become ill than other males...

Rare Genetic Immune Disease XLP2 Examined

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:00:00 PDT

Researchers have taken an important step in understanding a rare genetic immune disorder which affects male children. Using biochemical analyses, the team was able to map how the XIAP protein activates a vital component of the immune defense system, specifically the component that fights bacterial infections in the gastro-intestinal system...

Some People Predisposed For Recurrent C. difficile Infection

Tue, 22 May 2012 02:00:00 PDT

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that some patients appear to be more predisposed for recurrent infection from the bacterium Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, and that it may advance to a more serious inflammatory condition in those individuals. These findings were presented via poster during Digestive Disease Week, Monday, May 21, 2012, in San, Diego...

Higher Mortality Rates In Older Asthma Patients May Be Due To Inflammation

Tue, 22 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

Higher mortality rates among older adult asthma patients compared to their younger counterparts may be due, at least in part, to an increase in airway inflammation, according to a study conducted by researchers in Canada, who note that their results imply that elderly patients are either less likely to follow asthma medication dosing instructions, or that the underlying airway ...

Immune Response At Birth May Predict Babies' Susceptibility To Colds

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. And babies with a better innate response to viruses have fewer respiratory illnesses in the first year of life. "Viral respiratory infections are common during childhood," says first author Kaharu Sumino, MD, assistant professor of medicine...

Hybrid Vaccine Demonstrates Potential To Prevent Breast Cancer Recurrence

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A breast cancer vaccine already shown to elicit a powerful immune response in women with varying levels of HER2 expression has the ability to improve recurrence rates and is well tolerated in an adjuvant setting, according to new research from a clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center...

Clinical Trials Needed To Test Non-Skeletal Benefits Of Vitamin D

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

The Endocrine Society's new scientific statement published online represents the first comprehensive evaluation of both the basic and clinical evidence related to the non-skeletal effects of vitamin D. The statement addresses current research regarding the associations of vitamin D with immune function, hypertension, stroke, skin conditions and maternal/fetal health...

Serious But Rare Genetic Immune Disorder Studied By Scientists

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Defects in the gene that encodes the XIAP protein result in a serious immune malfunction. Scientists used biochemical analyses to map the protein's ability to activate vital components of the immune system. Their results have recently been published in Molecular Cell, a journal of international scientific repute...

The Cause Identified Of LGL Leukemia

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

LGL leukemia is a relatively rare, malignant blood disease of the mature T-cells and, in many cases, it is related to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The pathogenetic mechanism of the disease has been unknown and it has previously been unclear if the disease is an overreaction of the normal defense system or a malignant hematological disease...

Established Cancer Vaccine Works Better In Tandem With FDA-Approved Kidney Transplant Drug

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A team from the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania found that the FDA-approved drug daclizumab improved the survival of breast cancer patients taking a cancer vaccine by 30 percent, compared to those patients not taking daclizumab. This proof-of-concept study is published this week in Science Translational Medicine...

Minimal Residual Disease Detected In Nearly Double The Number Of Leukemia Patients Using High-Throughput Sequencing

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a next-generation, high-speed DNA-decoding technology called high-throughput sequencing can detect the earliest signs of potential relapse in nearly twice the number of leukemia patients as compared to flow cytometry, the current gold standard for detecting minimal residual disease...

Should Children Be Made To Have Vaccines?

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:00:00 PDT

Two experts discuss in the journal BMJ whether childhood vaccination should be mandatory in the UK. According to Paul Offit, Chief of Infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, mandatory vaccination is essential to protect those who are vulnerable from infection...

Potential Breast Cancer Vaccine Combination Therapy

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

A vaccine that targets cancer cells in combination with the drug letrozole, a standard hormonal therapy against breast cancer, significantly increased survival when tested in mice, a team of UC Davis investigators has found. The findings were published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research...

Findings Suggest The Possibility Of Boosting The Health Benefits Of Omega-3 Oils

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

For the first time, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have peered inside a living mouse cell and mapped the processes that power the celebrated health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids...

Potential To Treat Arthritis Using Delivery System For Gene Therapy

Wed, 16 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

A DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report. Within a few hours of injecting empty-handed DNA nanoparticles, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers were surprised to see increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response...

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: May 15, 2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 01:00:00 PDT

DEVELOPMENT Hope for new treatment options for the rare disease Beare-Stevenson syndrome Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome is an extremely rare genetic disease that causes serious physical problems affecting the skin and skull...