autoimmune disorders
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.
Over nearly a century, thousands of residents and workers in Libby, MT, have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore, leading to markedly higher rates of lung disease and autoimmune d
The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.
It was nine years ago that University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers discovered that a mysterious human protein called zonulin played a critical role in celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Now, scientists have solved the mystery of zonulin's identity, putting a face to the name, in a sense.
August 11, 2009, New York, NY -- A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the bacteria causing common throat infections.
New Orleans, LA -- For the first time, an international group of researchers has found genetic evidence linking schizophrenia to a specific region of DNA -- on chromosome 6. This is the same area where key genes for immune function are located.
(Boston) -- Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and collaborators have discovered and analyzed several new compounds, collectively called the ''EUK-400 series,'' which could someday be used to prevent radiation-induced injuries to kidneys, lungs, skin, intestinal tract and brains of radiological terrorism victims.
Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a team of collaborators from across the country have identified a new risk factor gene for rheumatoid arthritis. The paper will be published in Nature Genetics and the finding brings light to the nature of the disease.
A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Children's Hospital Boston (PCMM/IDI), along with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine identifies the presence of cardiovascular risk factors as an indicator of how likely it is that elderly, hospitalized patients who receive intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment will have a stroke or heart attack.
Certain cells from a mother persist in their children's bodies and can provoke an immune response in which the child's body attacks itself, according to Mayo Clinic research. The findings are important not only in seeking the cause and treatments of this disease, but also in understanding an entire class of autoimmune disorders. Juvenile dermatomyositis (der-mat-o-my-o-SITE-us), or JDM, is a rare muscle-damaging condition that causes a child's immune system to attack the body, as if it were an invading life form. Muscles deteriorate and the child becomes weak and fragile. There is no cure for JDM. Current treatments include medication, physical therapy and added nutrition.
A cousin to the anti-anxiety drug Valium has been shown in mice to reduce some of the symptoms associated with lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues. "The best available therapies for lupus haven't changed for many, many years," says U-M's Gary D. Glick, Ph.D., one of the lead authors on the study. "It's a disease where the mechanisms that normally prevent the immune system from attacking components of one's own body are defective. Because we do not yet understand what triggers lupus, it has been very difficult to develop lupus-specific therapies."
