http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at Emory Vaccine Center have shown that an immune regulatory molecule called IL-21 is needed for long-lasting antibody responses in mice against viral infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-vaccine-blackjack-il-critical-viral.html Immunology Thu, 23 May 2013 07:46:40 EST news288513993 The University of Gothenburg Vaccine Research Institute (GUVAX) announces successful results in a placebo controlled phase I study of an oral, inactivated Escherichia coli diarrhea vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-succesful-results-oral-vaccine-diarrhea.html Medications Wed, 22 May 2013 08:20:02 EST news288427521 By tracking the very earliest days of one person's robust immune response to HIV, researchers have charted a new route for developing a long-sought vaccine that could boost the body's ability to neutralize the virus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-potential-effective-hiv-vaccine.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:16:45 EST news284213799 Use of a vaccine to prevent Staphylococcus aureus infections among patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery did not reduce the rate of serious postoperative S aureus infections compared with placebo and was associated with increased mortality among patients who developed S aureus infections, according to a study in the April 3 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vaccine-effective-post-operative-staph-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:00:07 EST news284126075 A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has unveiled a new technique for vaccine design that could be particularly useful against HIV and other fast-changing viruses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-vaccine-design-approach-hiv-fast-mutating-viruses.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:29:32 EST news283699766 (Medical Xpress)—Collaborating scientists from Nationwide Children's Hospital, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified an important mechanism for stimulating protective immune responses following seasonal influenza vaccinations. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine, a journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-reveals-properties-influenza-vaccines.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:02:38 EST news283420946 Seasonal epidemics of influenza result in nearly 36,000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Current vaccines against the influenza virus elicit an antibody response specific for proteins on the outside of the virus, specifically the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-two-pronged-immune-cell-approach-universal.html Medical research Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:00:05 EST news282498498 Women who are pregnant or using synthetic progesterone birth control injections have a conspicuous vulnerability to certain infections including malaria, Listeria, HIV, and herpes simplex virus. A new research report appearing in the March 2013 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology offers strong evidence for a possible explanation: the progesterone receptor, a pregnancy hormone sensor, targets a part of the immune system responsible for protection against these and other invaders. In addition to helping explain why some women are more vulnerable to certain infections, it also sheds light on why some autoimmune diseases, notably rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, often go into remission during pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-progesterone-pregnant-women-vulnerable-infections.html Medical research Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:11:23 EST news281272260 Among healthy adults who were administered a cold virus, those with shorter telomere length (a structure at the end of a chromosome) in certain cells were more likely to develop experimentally-induced upper respiratory infection than participants with longer telomeres, according to results of preliminary research published in the February 20 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-association-length-biological-marker-respiratory.html Medical research Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:20:02 EST news280514010 Four years ago, a potential HIV vaccine showed promise against the virus that causes AIDS, but it fell short of providing the broad protection necessary to stem the spread of disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-insights-hiv-vaccine-drug.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:00:04 EST news277027034 In a study published today in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens, researchers at Emory University have discovered a potentially important mechanism by which the Ebola virus alters and evades the immune response of its infected host. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-ebola-virus-protein-decoy-subvert.html Immunology Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:23:30 EST news274641804 New research, presented this morning at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), has identified important associations between Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria and endemic Burkitt Lymphoma (eBL) that may help researchers identify young children who are more susceptible to eBL. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-susceptibility-burkitt-lymphoma.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Dec 2012 14:54:08 EST news274459994 Early results of a trial to treat leukaemia with a WT1 DNA vaccine, has shown robust vaccine-specific antibody responses in all vaccinated patients evaluated to date. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-positive-early-results-clinical-trial.html Cancer Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:50:06 EST news274100504 (Medical Xpress)—More than a million people die each year of malaria caused by different strains of the Plasmodium parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. The medical world has yet to find an effective vaccine against the deadly parasite, which mainly affects pregnant women and children under the age of five. By figuring out how the most dangerous strain evades the watchful eye of the immune system, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now paved the way for the development of new approaches to cure this acute infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-deadly-malaria-parasite-evades-immune.html Medical research Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:58:30 EST news273747380 Every fall, people wonder whether to get an influenza or flu shot. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-dispelling-common-myths-flu-vaccine.html Medications Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:06:06 EST news273395139 The antibody response to immune threats is managed by cells known as B lymphocytes. The differentiation and function of B cells are tightly regulated to ensure a prompt response to confirmed dangers, such as viruses or bacteria, and also to prevent the emergence of harmful autoimmune responses that can damage healthy tissues in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-defects-protein-sabotage-immune-multiple.html Immunology Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:22:56 EST news272704962 Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have performed successful tests of an experimental methamphetamine vaccine on rats. Vaccinated animals that received the drug were largely protected from typical signs of meth intoxication. If the vaccine proves effective in humans too, it could become the first specific treatment for meth addiction, which is estimated to affect 25 million people worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-meth-vaccine-results-early.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:25:34 EST news270980723 Wits researchers have played a pivotal role in an AIDS study published today in the journal, Nature Medicine, which describes how a unique change in the outer covering of the virus found in two HIV infected South African women enabled them to make potent antibodies which are able to kill up to 88% of HIV types from around the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-unique-feature-hiv-antibodies.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:25:42 EST news270116729 (Medical Xpress)—Mathematicians are helping to build a better picture of how populations develop immunity to flu and which groups are most at risk of getting – and transmitting – infection each year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-antigenic-center-age-specific-influenza-immunity.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 11 Oct 2012 06:55:03 EST news269157294 Increasing blood levels of particular proteins may act as warning signs for patients with one of the most common diseases of the kidney, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings could lead to better diagnosis and management of patients with the disease, called IgA nephropathy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-blood-markers-reveal-severity-common.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:00:04 EST news264345347 The deadliest form of malaria is caused the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum. During its life-cycle in human blood, the parasite P. falciparum expresses unique proteins on the surface on infected blood cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-human-immunity-malaria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:00:02 EST news263039631 Today, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, in partnership with the George Washington University and the Children's National Medical Center, began vaccinating participants for a Phase 1 clinical trial of a novel human hookworm vaccine. The trial will investigate the Na-GST-1 antigen developed by the Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership (Sabin PDP) to prevent hookworm infections in endemic areas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-clinical-trial-human-hookworm-vaccine.html Medications Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:50:25 EST news258803411 Women who have been infected by two different strains of HIV from two different sexual partners – a condition known as HIV superinfection – have more potent antibody responses that block the replication of the virus compared to women who've only been infected once. These findings, by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, are published online March 29 in PLoS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-hiv-superinfection-boosts-immune-response.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:28:39 EST news252260908 A new study finds that perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), widely used in manufactured products such as non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and fast-food packaging, were associated with lowered immune response to vaccinations in children. It is the first study to document how PFCs, which can be transferred to children prenatally (via the mother) and postnatally from exposure in the environment, can adversely affect vaccine response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-pfcs-chemicals-environment-linked-lowered.html Immunology Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:03 EST news246642813 Results from a recent study show that novel vaccine combinations can provide partial protection against infection by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in rhesus monkeys. In addition, in the animals that became infected, the optimal vaccine combinations also substantially reduced the amount of virus in the blood. Results from the studies were published online today in the journal Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-experimental-vaccine-partially-monkeys-hiv-like.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:00:03 EST news244898042 Vaccines with broader reach might be made by stimulating specialized immune cells to recognize foreign cell membrane proteins that are shared across bacterial species, say researchers from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a report published online today in Immunity. The approach could be particularly beneficial in preventing infection by multi-drug resistant organisms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-cell-membrane-proteins-broader-vaccines.html Medical research Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:37:04 EST news243794216 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from The Australian National University have discovered a new type of cell which boosts the human body’s ability to fight off infections and life-threatening diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-natural-killers-human-disease.html Medical research Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:23:27 EST news241676556 In a report on a preclinical investigation titled "Flagellin Enhances Saliva IgA Response and Protection of Anti-caries DNA Vaccine," lead author Wei Shi, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team of researchers demonstrate that anti-caries DNA vaccines, including pGJA-P/VAX, are promising for preventing dental caries. However, challenges remain because of the low immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. This study is published in the Journal of Dental Research, the official publication of the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-iadraadr-publish-dental-caries-vaccine.html Other Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:39:59 EST news238771528 A team of researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), The Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences Inc., a LabCorp company, report in the current issue of Nature the isolation of 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-isolate-potent-broadly-effective-antibodies.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:02:12 EST news232804902 Children younger than 3 years old receive the same protective antibody response from the recommended two doses of licensed seasonal influenza vaccines regardless of whether the two doses are injected by needle, inhaled through a nasal spray or provided through one dose of each in any order, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Doctors usually give young children two matching vaccines, and one goal of the study was to determine whether giving two different types of vaccines works just as well. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-prime-boost-flu-vaccine-shields-toddlers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:44:34 EST news232710259