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.
Gynecomastia, the benign enlargement of male breast tissue, is a common occurrence in adolescents as well as in middle-aged and older men. While there are several reasons why men develop breast tissue, it is usually not a health concern, often resolves on its own, and is generally treatable, according to a clinical practice article appearing in the September 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
A cooling technique intended to protect the skin may actually increase the risk of discoloration in dark-skinned patients undergoing laser treatments for mole-like skin lesions, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Good news for public health: Bioengineering researchers from the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, have developed and patented a nanoparticle that can deliver vaccines more effectively, with fewer side effects, and at a fraction of the cost of current vaccine technologies.
A human peptide that acts as a natural antibiotic against invading microbes can also bind to the body’s own DNA and trigger an immune response in the absence of an infection, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in an early online publication in Nature.
The Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at theUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has been awarded $2.3million over the next four years to study biological indicators ofexposure to cigarette smoke. The grant is part of the NationalInstitutes of Health new Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative(GEI).
Giving children a diet rich in fish and “fruity vegetables” can reduce asthma and allergies, according to a seven-year study of 460 Spanish children, published in the September issue of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.
UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells.
Breastfeeding exclusively or for a prolonged period does not protect children against developing asthma and allergies, according to the results of a large randomized trial published online today.
Prof. Ehud Assia, of Tel Aviv University?s Sackler School of Medicine is, quite simply, a rock star in the field of eye surgery. One of a small number of surgeons in the world who currently perform a complicated form of glaucoma surgery, Prof. Assia has developed a novel laser device that promises to revolutionize treatment of the disease.