Recent Autoimmune System News from Science Daily:

 

• Evidence in mice that childhood asthma is influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine
• Complex organ models grown in the lab
• Ketogenic diet helps tame flu virus
• Bacterial protein impairs important cellular processes
• Faster, stronger rabies vaccine
• Findings could identify aggressive breast cancers that will respond to immunotherapy
• Newly developed nanoparticles help fight lung cancer in animal model
• Slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis
• How self-reactive immune cells are allowed to develop
• Insulin can increase mosquitoes’ immunity to West Nile virus
• Could cytotoxic T-cells be a key to longevity?
• Small RNAs link immune system and brain cells
• Scientists identify immune cells linked to malaria-induced anemia through autoantibody production
• Boosting host immune defenses to treat tuberculosis
• Dose of medication more likely to put patients with pemphigus into remission
• New vaccine protects from widespread, costly infection, mice study shows
• Genetic diversity facilitates cancer therapy
• Glutamine-blocking drug slows tumor growth and strengthens anti-tumor response
• To monitor cancer therapy, researchers tag CAR T cells with imaging markers
• Modified CRISPR gene editing tool could improve therapies for HIV, sickle cell disease
• Why beta-blockers cause skin inflammation
• Vitamin D dials down the aggression in melanoma cells
• Critical protein that could unlock West Nile/Zika virus treatments identified
• How measles wipes out the body’s immune memory
• Gut bacteria is key factor in childhood obesity
• How cancer and immune cells communicate
• Immune ‘control switch’ could prevent brain injury in premature babies
• New method identifies aggressive breast cancer
• Implantable cancer traps could provide earlier diagnosis, help monitor treatment
• Potential new target for treatment of gout
• Brown and white body fat speak different languages
• Catalytic immunotherapy for cancer: Nanoparticles act as artificial enzymes
• Scientists find molecular key to body making healthy T cells
• Scientists uncover the process behind protein mutations that impact gut health
• How Ebola virus disables the body’s immune defenses
• Scientists adapt CAR-T immunotherapy to target the HIV latent reservoir
• Why targeted immuno-oncology drugs sometimes fail
• Clues to improve cancer immunotherapy revealed
• Scientists unveil the secret of cancer-associated Warburg effect
• Even the fetus has gut bacteria
• Anti-arthritis drug also stops tuberculosis bacillus from multiplying in blood stem cells
• New treatment may reverse celiac disease
• New way to think about brain’s link to postpartum depression
• Immune reaction causes malaria organ damage
• Creatine powers T cells’ fight against cancer
• Inactive receptor renders cancer immunotherapies ineffective
• Frontotemporal dementia is associated with alterations in immune system function
• ‘Back in time’: Researchers unravel early makings of an exhausted T cell
• Scientists help immune system find hidden cancer cells
• First cell map of developing human liver reveals how blood and immune system develops

Autoimmune Disease News

• New approach may lead to better diagnostic techniques for autoimmune disorders
• New Oral Drug Found to Reduce Relapses in Multiple Sclerosis Patients.  A new oral drug–teriflunomide–has been shown in a large international clinical trial to significantly reduce the relapse rate of people with multiple sclerosis and to slow the progression of the disease. ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2011)
• New oral drug found to reduce relapses in multiple sclerosis patients. A new oral drug has been shown in a large international clinical trial to significantly reduce the relapse rate of people with multiple sclerosis and to slow the progression of the disease. Science Daily (Oct 6, 2011)
• Cleveland Clinic study discovers new targets for treating inflammatory, autoimmune diseases. Researchers have discovered a cellular pathway that promotes inflammation in diseases like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis. Understanding the details of this pathway may provide opportunities for tailored treatments of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Cleveland Clinic. (Oct. 7, 2011)
• Autoimmune diseases a growing problem, Johns Hopkins expert says. Autoimmune diseases are a large and growing problem, particularly in the Caribbean and the United States, says Dr. Noel Rose, director, Center for Autoimmune Disease Research at John Hopkins University, who presented on Autoimmune Disease: The Common Thread, during the Caribbean Autoimmune Diseases Summit 2011. Trinidad Guardian. (Oct. 4, 2011)
• New Research Could Extend Life of Arthritic Joints. A medication already approved to build bone mass in patients with osteoporosis–human parathyroid hormone (brand name: Forteo)–also builds cartilage around joints and could potentially be re-purposed to treat millions of people suffering from arthritis, according to orthopaedic research at the University of Rochester Medical Center. ScienceDaily (Sep. 21, 2011)
• Components That Keep Immune System in Check Identified.  Within the immune system, a subtle balance exists between the cells that destroy alien pathogens and those that preserve the body’s own tissues. When the balance gets out of whack, the cells that normally target viruses or bacteria can go astray, attacking innocent cells and causing autoimmune and inflammatory disease.  Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have revealed the genetic underpinnings of the cells that can prevent the immune response from turning cannibalistic. Their finding lends insight into these key cells, which are currently being tested as treatments for autoimmune diseases such as type I diabetes, arthritis and lupus. ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2011)
• Blocking Inflammation Could Lead to Tailored Medical Treatments.  Researchers at the University of Calgary have discovered a new class of molecules that can inhibit   inflammation in the body – a key feature in autoimmune disease. Current anti-inflammatory drugs block all inflammation in the body. However, these newly discovered molecules may offer a more tailored course of treatment for some diseases, for example to help people suffering from inflammatory diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2011)
• Starving inflammatory immune cells slows damage caused by multiple sclerosis, study finds.  Researchers report that inhibiting the ability of immune cells to use fatty acids as fuel measurably slows disease progression in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS).  Science Daily. (Sep 1,  2011)
• University of Miami Researchers Target Inflammatory and Autoimmune Diseases.  New research shows that activating a specific integrin—one of the receptors that mediate attachment between a cell and surrounding tissue and play a role in cell signaling—could lead to more therapies for fighting inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that afflict millions of people worldwide–Miller School of Medicine (Sept. 12, 2011)
• New Anti-Inflammatory Agents Silence Overactive Immune Response; offer  a promising new approach to treat inflammatory auto-immune disorders such as lupus and multiple sclerosis–Science Daily (Aug. 16, 2011)
• Three artists Shine Celebrity Spotlight on Autoimmune Disease Family Ties. Autoimmune disease often runs in families. Three celebrities recently announced their own fight with autoimmune disease and the family connections. American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA). (July 28, 2100)
• Anti-malaria drug chloroquine finding may lead to treatments for arthritis, cancer and other diseases. In a new study, scientists demonstrate on the molecular level how the anti-malaria drug chloroquine (widely used to control inflammation in autoimmune diseases such as APS)  represses inflammation, which may provide a blueprint for new strategies for treating inflammation and a multitude of autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and certain cancers – Science Daily (July 18, 2011)

• Newly Discovered B Cells Suggest Why Women Suffer More Autoimmune Disease  – National Jewish Hospital (July 1, 2011)

• Shingles can increase risk of triggering multiple sclerosis, study finds – Los Angeles Times (June 9, 2011)

• New approach for identifying autoimmune diseases developed by Harvard Researchers – Science Daily (June 2, 2011)

• Cardiac Arrhythmia Tied to Autoimmune Diseases – Doctors Lounge (May 6, 2011)

• Lupus complication rates soar in young people – Medical News Today (March 29, 2011)