Immune system | Page 4 of 57

Elephantiasis :: Scientists solve genetic code of parasitic worm that causes elephantiasis

More than 150 million people worldwide are infected with filarial parasites — long, thread-like worms that can live for years inside the human body and cause severe, debilitating diseases such as elephantiasis. Mosquitoes spread the larvae of these parasitic nematodes from human to human, placing at risk more than a billion people who live in places in Africa, Asia and Latin America where filarial parasites thrive.

Insulin :: Smart insulin nanostructures pass feasibility test, UT study reports

Biomedical engineers at the University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences at Houston have announced pre-clinical test results in the September issue of the International Journal of Nanomedicine demonstrating the feasibility of a smart particle insulin release system that detects spikes in glucose or blood sugar levels and releases insulin to counteract them

Gastroenterology :: Common abdominal pain may be due to a potentially treatable newly recognized inflammatory reaction

As many as one in four people in westernized countries experience pain or discomfort in their upper abdomen, and physicians have almost nothing to offer except anti-acid medicines, which usually don’t work. Now, in a small but novel study, researchers have found evidence that an abnormal amount of inflammatory cells populates the upper intestine of affected individuals, which suggests a fresh way of understanding the common complaint.

Genetic :: NIH-funded scientists solve genetic code of parasitic worm that causes elephantiasis

Stem Cell :: Penn Veterinary Medicine report new strategy to create genetically-modified animals

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the potential of a new strategy for genetic modification of large animals. The method employs a harmless gene therapy virus that transfers a genetic modification to male reproductive cells, which is then passed naturally on to offspring.

Flu :: Flu virus trots globe during off season

The influenza A virus does not lie dormant during summer but migrates globally and mixes with other viral strains before returning to the Northern Hemisphere as a genetically different virus, according to biologists who say the finding settles a key debate on what the virus does during the summer off season when it is not infecting people.

Genetic :: Scientists Identify Cause of Job’s Syndrome

The rare immunodeficiency disorder known as Job’s syndrome is caused by a specific genetic mutation that both overstimulates and understimulates the human immune system, leading to harmful bacterial and fungal infections and the physical features characteristic of the syndrome, according to two independent groups of scientists, one from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the other from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

Cancer :: Their immune cells, fighting your cancer

Immune cells from “cancer-resistant” people are to be injected into those with cancer to help fight the disease. Zheng Cui at Wake Forest University of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and his colleagues have received permission from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to screen people for their ability to ward off cancer.

Lupus :: Gene linked to Lupus

Lupus occurs when the immune system misfires and attacks the body’s organs and tissues. Nobody knows exactly why this happens, but a new study points to one possible cause.

Vaccine :: Sanofi Pasteur’s H5N1 Influenza Vaccine achieves high immune response at low dosage

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis Group, announced data showing that its new investigational H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine containing a proprietary adjuvant achieved a high immune response at the lowest dose of H5N1 antigen reported to date.