Recent Autoimmune System News from Science Daily:

 

• Raising eyebrows on neuroinflammation: Study finds novel role for ‘skin plumping’ molecule
• Are the ‘viral’ agents of MS, ALS and schizophrenia buried in our genome?
• Immune molecules found inside mycetoma lesions surveyed
• Immune system effectiveness appears key to antibiotic success against persistent bacteria
• New vaccine strategy boosts T-cell therapy
• High-risk pregnancy: The interferon effect
• Endometriosis: Immune cell discovery could provide relief for women with ‘hidden’ pain disorder
• How plague pathogens trick the immune system
• Successful T cell engineering with gene scissors
• An ‘EpiPen’ for spinal cord injuries
• Cancer killing capability of lesser-known immune cells
• How the mosquito immune system fights off the malaria parasite
• Shingles vaccine safely prevents outbreaks among stem cell transplant patients
• New evidence shows cytotoxic T cells can identify, invade, and destroy targets of large mass like Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts
• Preeclampsia risk may be reduced by a healthy high-fiber diet
• Natural antioxidant helps improve immune-based therapies by modulating T-cells
• Immunotherapy could work against bowel cancers resistant to important targeted treatment
• Strain of common cold virus could revolutionize treatment of bladder cancer
• B cells off rails early in lupus
• Innate immune responses to high-fat diets lead to obesity
• Antibiotics weaken flu defenses in the lung
• Using a common anticonvulsant to counteract inflammation
• High doses of 60 plus-year-old chemo drug found to spur immune system attack on lymphoma
• Standard TB tests may not detect infection in certain exposed individuals
• Gene activity database could spare thousands of mice
• Medicines made of solid gold to help the immune system
• Pathway discovered that prevents buildup of Alzheimer’s protein
• How inhaled fungal spores cause fatal meningitis
• New knowledge on the development of asthma
• ‘Doublet’ immune cells more common and more important than previously thought
• Newly discovered immune cells at the frontline of HIV infection
• Immunology: Not just supporting actors
• Phenols in cocoa bean shells may reverse obesity-related problems in mouse cells
• How hepatitis B and delta viruses establish infection of liver cells
• Immunity: Redundancies in T cells
• Molecular switch for ‘exhaustion mode’ of immune cells discovered
• Genetic cause for fatal response to Hepatitis A
• Possible targets to help tackle Crohn’s disease
• Immune system can slow degenerative eye disease
• ‘Locking’ an arthritis drug may be key to improving it
• Fetal genome involved in triggering premature birth
• Taking the ‘killer’ out of natural killer cells
• Special fibroblasts help pancreatic cancer cells evade immune detection
• Breaking the code: How is a mother’s immunity transferred to her baby?
• Lowering cholesterol is not enough to reduce hyperactivity of the immune system
• Adjuvant that prevents vaccine-enhanced respiratory disease in RSV identified
• Macrophages’ pathway to nurture PTEN-deficient glioblastoma
• How cells in the body can sense cancer
• ‘Cells eating cells’ is a double-whammy for cell health
• The bacteria building your baby

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)