http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates that a newly approved blood thinner that blocks a key component of the human blood clotting system may increase the risk and severity of certain viral infections, including flu and myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart and a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-newly-blood-thinner-susceptibility-viral.html Medical research Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:05:02 EST news284040294 Rice University researchers have found an unexpected link between a protein that triggers the formation of blood clots and other proteins that are essential for the body's immune system. The find could lead to new treatments for thousands of patients who suffer from inflammatory diseases and disorders that cause abnormal blood clotting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-link-blood-clotting-immune-response.html Immunology Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:36:49 EST news284031401 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at UC Davis have shown how the innate immune system distinguishes between dangerous pathogens and friendly microbes. Like burglars entering a house, hostile bacteria give themselves away by breaking into cells. However, sensing proteins instantly detect the invasion, triggering an alarm that mobilizes the innate immune response. This new understanding of immunity could ultimately help researchers find new targets to treat inflammatory disorders. The paper was published in Nature on March 31. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-team-cells-distinguish-friend-foe.html Immunology Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:28:09 EST news284030879 Findings from a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study could lead to the development of new drugs to treat gout. The study, led by Liang Qiao, MD, and his colleagues and collaborators, was published March 19 in the journal Nature Communications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-aid-drugs-gout.html Immunology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:02:20 EST news282927733 Medical scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have bred a first-of-its-kind mouse model that possesses an immune response system more like a human's. The discovery makes way for quicker and more cost-effective development of next-generation drugs to treat human diseases like cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-mouse-human-like-immune-response.html Immunology Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:01 EST news279195839 Infants with severe lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may have a dysfunctional innate immune response that relates to the severity of their disease. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-infants-severe-rsv-disease-immunosuppressed.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:12:22 EST news274367529 When hospital patients need assistance breathing and are placed on a mechanical ventilator for days at a time, their lungs react to the pressure generated by the ventilator with an out-of-control immune response that can lead to excessive inflammation, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-lungs-hospital-ventilator-infection.html Medical research Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:00:47 EST news261849639 University of Washington researchers have made a discovery that sheds light on why the human body is unable to adequately fight off HIV infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-human-body-hiv-infection-results.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:50:54 EST news261305418 Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a possible new approach to defeating bacterial infections by targeting an innate immune system component in a bid to invigorate the immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-innate-immune-protein-war-bacterial.html Immunology Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:04:21 EST news260445856 Both innate and adaptive immune responses play an important role in controlling influenza virus infection, according to a study, published in the Open Access journal PLoS Computational Biology, by researchers from Oakland University, Michigan, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-innate-immune-responses-critical-influenza.html Medical research Thu, 28 Jun 2012 17:32:23 EST news260123465 Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have unlocked the structure of a key protein that, when sensing certain viruses and bacteria, triggers the body's immediate immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-reveal-crucial-immune-fighter-role.html Medical research Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:15:14 EST news259258502 Listeria, one of the most deadly causes of bacterial food poisoning, subverts a normally protective immune response to spread its infection more effectively, according to new research at National Jewish Health. Immunologists Laurel Lenz, PhD, Peter Henson, PhD, and their colleagues report online April 26, 2012, in the journal Immunity that production of nitric oxide (NO) by activated macrophages, which is normally thought of as an infection-fighting response, actually helps Listeria monocytogenes to more efficiently disseminate between infected and neighboring uninfected cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-bacteria-subverts-immune-response-aid.html Immunology Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:39:38 EST news254662692 Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered the regulation and functional significance of the acute phase response during a lung infection. The findings, which will be published in the May edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrate that the liver responds in order to increase defenses in the blood that prevent localized infections from spreading throughout the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scientists-uncover-liver-role-dissemination.html Medical research Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:00:05 EST news252584136 Recent research found that microneedle vaccine patches are more effective at delivering protection against influenza virus in mice than subcutaneous or intramuscular inoculation. A new, detailed analysis of the early immune responses by the Emory and Georgia Tech research team helps explain why the skin is such fertile ground for vaccination with these tiny, virtually painless microneedles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-microneedle-vaccine-patch-boosts-flu.html Immunology Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:48:56 EST news250228106 UC Davis scientists have uncovered a key suspect in the destructive inflammation that underlies heart disease and diabetes. The new research shows elevated levels of a receptor present on leucocytes of the innate immune response in people at risk for these chronic diseases. The receptors are the body's first line of defense against infectious invaders, and they trigger a rush of cytokines, the body's aggressive immune soldiers, into the bloodstream. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-trigger-epidemic-metabolic-syndrome.html Diabetes Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:36:41 EST news249147386 Investigators in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Systems Biology have discovered a previously unknown type of immune cell, a B cell that can produce the important growth factor GM-CSF, which stimulates many other immune cells. They also found that these novel cells may help protect against the overwhelming, life-threatening immune reaction known as sepsis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-newly-immune-cell-important-protector.html Immunology Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:10:01 EST news245595518 Scientists have discovered more about the intricacies of the immune system in a breakthrough that may help combat viral infections such as HIV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-unraveling-mysteries-natural-killer.html Medical research Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:47:11 EST news238672023 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Johns Hopkins have modified HIV in a way that makes it no longer able to suppress the immune system. Their work, they say in a report published online September 19 in the journal Blood, could remove a major hurdle in HIV vaccine development and lead to new treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-hide-and-seek-hiv-evade-immune.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:39:40 EST news236425160 Researchers have found a way to prevent HIV from damaging the immune system, in a new lab-based study published in the journal Blood. The research, led by scientists at Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins University, could have important implications for the development of HIV vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-scientists-hiv-vaccine.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:35:59 EST news235672547 A surprising finding in a study comparing hepatitis C virus (HCV) with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in chimpanzees by a team that includes scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute sheds new light on the nature of the body's immune response to these viruses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-immune-hepatitis-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:00:08 EST news227792633 People often talk about "boosting" their immunity to prevent and fight colds. Nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods claim to stave off colds by augmenting the immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-heightened-immunity-colds-asthma-flare-ups.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:40:18 EST news227432395 A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that adult patients admitted to the hospital with pneumonia are more likely to die if they have Vitamin D deficiency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-vitamin-d-deficiency-pneumonia-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 10 May 2011 10:07:13 EST news224240792