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 scientific benefits of whole genome sequencing at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will be presented at the 14th International Myeloma Workshop, April 3-7 at the Kyoto International Conference Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-tgen-professor-discusses-benefits-genome.html Cancer Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:51:25 EST news284201476 Patients who successfully beat infection with dengue virus remain vulnerable to reinfection by other dengue variants, and these secondary infections tend to be more severe. The antibodies arising from the immune system's first encounter with the virus can play a complicated role in how these secondary infections unfold. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-insights-profiling-immune-response-viral.html Immunology Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:07:15 EST news283586829 Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer in which the plasma cells in the bone marrow grow out of control, causing damage to bones as well as predisposing patients to anaemia, infection and kidney failure. A medical procedure called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, commonly known as a stem cell transplant, can often be an important treatment option for many patients. Unfortunately, multiple myeloma continues to progress even after a transplant. Within this domain, European researchers have been looking into alternative treatment and in particular at marine extracts and active substances in their search for new methods to fight this disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-treatment-bone-marrow-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:20:02 EST news281862054 Efficient immune protection requires the ability to rapidly recognize intruders that the body has encountered in the past. This is achieved via 'memory' B cells, which develop following immune system activation by a virus, bacterium or other threat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-rapid-response-pathway-immune-cell.html Medical research Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:50:04 EST news280143016 Scientists have identified the gene essential for survival of antibody-producing cells, a finding that could lead to better treatments for diseases where these cells are out of control, such as myeloma and chronic immune disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-immune-cell-survival-gene-key.html Immunology Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:00:23 EST news279115369 Singapore scientists have identified FAIM, a molecule that typically prevents cell death, as a potential biomarker to identify an incurable form of cancer in the bone marrow. Patients with this form of cancer usually do not get cured with current standard treatments such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, with an average survival of only about four years. FAIM could thus be a therapeutic target in these patients, as drugs developed to target the molecule could destroy multiple myeloma cells and hence eradicate the cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-biomarker-cancer-bone-marrow.html Cancer Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:25:56 EST news274609544 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 Adding a third anti-cancer agent to a current drug cocktail appears to have contributed to dramatic improvement in three infants with the most severe form of Pompe disease—a rare, often-fatal genetic disorder characterized by low or no production of an enzyme crucial to survival. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-anti-cancer-drug-immune-reaction-infants.html Genetics Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:37:43 EST news269192255 Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers, working with colleagues in Canada, have found that one or more substances produced by a type of immune cell in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may play a role in the disease's progression. The finding could lead to new targeted therapies for MS treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-team-clue-multiple-sclerosis.html Neuroscience Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:41:14 EST news262971603 Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown how an aggressive form of multiple myeloma resists chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-culprit-chemo-resistance-rare-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:00:03 EST news260448788 Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer where the plasma cells in the bone marrow grow out of control, causing damage to bones as well as predisposing patients to anemia, infection and kidney failure. A medical procedure called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, commonly known as a stem cell transplant, is frequently an important treatment option for many patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-benefit-maintenance-therapy-multiple-myeloma.html Cancer Fri, 11 May 2012 15:13:34 EST news255968004 (HealthDay) -- Three new studies confirm that the drug lenalidomide can significantly lengthen the time that people with multiple myeloma experience no worsening of their disease, either after having a stem cell transplant or getting chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drug-myeloma-patients.html Cancer Wed, 09 May 2012 20:50:01 EST news255805953 A new study from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, shows that MAL3-101, a recently developed inhibitor of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), appears to have potent anti-tumor effects on multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer. Despite aggressive modes of treatments, myeloma ultimately remains incurable. The disease has a high incidence in the communities served by SUNY Downstate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-effective-treatment-multiple-myeloma.html Cancer Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:02:38 EST news245347352 Researchers at the University of Toronto have found an explanation for how the intestinal tract influences a key component of the immune system to prevent infection, offering a potential clue to the cause of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-intestine-crucial-function-immune-cells.html Medical research Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:37:55 EST news242930266 (Medical Xpress) -- A three-drug combination treatment for the blood cancer multiple myeloma compares favorably to the best established therapy for newly diagnosed patients, according to a multi-center study led by Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the multiple myeloma program at the University of Chicago Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-drug-combination-highly-effective-newly.html Cancer Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:00:01 EST news242545705 A team of researchers led by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), has found treatment of selected immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis patients with high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDM/SCT) resulted in a high organ response rate and increased overall survival (OS), even for those patients who did not achieve a hematologic complete response (CR). These findings appear in the current issue of Blood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-high-dose-melphalan-autologous-stem-cell.html Cancer Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:33:19 EST news238854783 A paper published today in the scientific research journal Science, describes a novel, proprietary monoclonal antibody (FI6) discovered in a collaboration between Humabs BioMed SA, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine ("IRB") and the UK Medical Research Council (MRC). FI6 is the first neutralizing antibody that targets all 16 hemagglutinin subtypes of influenza A and represents an important development in the treatment of severe cases of flu, and in finding a universal flu vaccine. The paper also discusses Humabs' high throughput method of selecting rare antibodies from cultured plasma cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-humabs-antibody-neutralize-group-influenza.html Medical research Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:05:29 EST news231080717 (Medical Xpress) -- When immune system B cells are alerted to the presence of a threat within the body, they form structures called germinal centers, which serve as ad hoc headquarters for marshaling a targeted immune response. These cells subsequently differentiate into plasma cells, which produce antibodies directed against foreign entities, or memory cells, which retain the capacity to become plasma cells if the same threat reappears in the future. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-awaiting-retaliate.html Medical research Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:24:41 EST news228129860