Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/immune_system/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125267.php ROTATEQ® (rotavirus vaccine, live, oral, pentavalent), the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine from Merck & Co., Inc., that helps prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants and children, has been awarded pre-qualification status by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO pre-qualification allows for expanded access to ROTATEQ and provides a greater opportunity to help protect millions of babies from rotavirus gastroenteritis. GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125241.php The nation′s immunization coverage rates for preteens and teens are increasing for routinely recommended vaccines, but most still do not have all of the recommended immunizations, according to 2007 estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "The overall trends are good news," said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the Division of Immunization Services at the CDC′s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Pediatrics / Children's Health Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125246.php Cyto Pulse Sciences, a leading producer of electric field based, intradermal DNA Vaccine delivery systems, today announced approval by Swedish regulatory authorities to begin a Phase I/II study of DNA vaccination in patients with recurring prostate cancer. The trial will investigate the safety of a xenogenic DNA vaccine delivered by the Derma Vax™ intradermal electroporation system. Prostate / Prostate Cancer Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125247.php Lev Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: LEVP.OB) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cinryze™ (C1 inhibitor [human]) for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE), also known as C1 inhibitor deficiency. Cinryze is expected to be commercially available for prophylaxis against HAE later this year. Dermatology Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125220.php Excessive activation of inflammatory mediator cascade during SAP is a major cause of distant organ injury and high mortality. Cytokines such as TNF- alpha and IL-1 beta are released early in the development of systemic inflammatory response. This leaves a narrow therapeutic window for administration of therapeutics and delayed delivery of that anti-inflammatory therapeutics is not effective after the inflammatory mediator cascade has developed. GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125226.php Hospital for Special Surgery researchers have found that statins may be able to prevent miscarriages in women who are suffering from pregnancy complications caused by antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), according to a study in mice. In this autoimmune syndrome, the body produces antibodies directed at phospholipids, the main components of cell membranes. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125227.php National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have identified a protein that plays matchmaker between two key types of white blood cells, T and B cells, enabling them to interact in a way that is crucial to establishing long-lasting immunity after an infection. Immune System / Vaccines Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125229.php Elevation Biotech, a start-up biotechnology company funded by LIFElab, an agency of the South African Department of Science and Technology, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), the world's only global non-profit organization dedicated solely to AIDS vaccine development, have partnered to develop the next generation of AIDS vaccine candidates. "An AIDS vaccine remains our best hope for ending AIDS. HIV / AIDS Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125081.php Over the past twenty-five years, the number of patients with compromised immune systems has grown astronomically. High-risk patients such as these require a unique set of healthcare solutions that take into consideration everything from the etiology and degree of immune suppression to the individual patient's nutritional status. Immune System / Vaccines Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125124.php ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTC: IMUC) (IMUC), a biotechnology company, announced the filing of a provisional U.S. patent application relating to its novel vaccine technology targeting cancer stem cells. The vaccine technology is exclusively licensed from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The patent claims are broad and include compositions of peptides for cancer immunotherapy as well as methods for inducing immune responses against tumor antigens in cancer patients. Cancer / Oncology Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125035.php Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, two French scientists who jointly were awarded half of the Nobel Prize for medicine earlier this week, spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday about the effect that the world financial crisis could have on global funding for HIV/AIDS, the HIV / AIDS Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125092.php Essential for life in higher animals, vitamin D, once linked to only bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, is now recognized as a major player in contributing to overall human health, emphasizes UC Riverside's Anthony Norman, an international expert on vitamin D. Nutrition / Diet Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125058.php The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded two five-year contracts to establish Clinical Proteomics Centers for Infectious Diseases and Biodefense. The contracts were awarded to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, and to the Canadian firm Caprion Proteomics, Montreal. Tropical Diseases Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125002.php Herpes simplex virus type I can cause bouts of cold sores, blindness and potentially lethal encephalitis when it reawakens from a quiescent state in the nerve cells it infects. To prevent these consequences, the stealthy virus is kept under constant guard by the immune system, say University of Pittsburgh scientists. Their research challenges the once common notion that latent HSV-1 in sensory neurons is invisible to the immune system. Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124976.php Diamyd Medical reports that the world's most influential medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, has published an article with results from the company's study of the Diamyd(R) diabetes vaccine for type 1 diabetes. The article is now available on the journal's web site (http://www.nejm.org) and will be in print on October 30. Diabetes Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124906.php As health authorities across Europe start their annual campaigns to immunise people against seasonal influenza, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has highlighted the benefits of older people getting vaccinated - but refused to make predictions on the severity of this year's influenza season. ECDC stated that there is no reason to believe the influenza season this winter will be any more, or any less, severe than last winter. Flu / Cold / SARS Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124829.php An international study led by University of Leicester researchers has determined that vaccination will be the best way to protect people in the event of the next influenza pandemic - but that each person would need two doses. In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine published on October 9, researchers from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester report on a study carried out at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. Flu / Cold / SARS Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124832.php Professor Alan Cowman, Professor Brendan Crabb, Dr Paul Gilson and Dr Toby Sargeant are WEHI members of international research teams that have made significant discoveries about two deadly malaria parasites, Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium vivax. Cowman and Sargeant have contributed to defining the genome sequence of the malaria parasite P. knowlesi, which has recently been recognised as a major malaria pathogen of humans. Tropical Diseases Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124835.php The article is now available on the journal's web site (http://www.nejm.org) and will be in print on October 30. It presents the results of the concluded Phase II study of the Diamyd(R) diabetes vaccine. Diabetes Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124781.php Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corporation (TSX: NVN) presented positive data from preclinical studies using its proprietary Toll-like Receptor 3 agonist, Poly IC-Poly Arginine (Poly-ICR), at the World Vaccine Congress 2008 in Lyon, France. Study results demonstrated Poly-ICR to be a potent vaccine adjuvant targeting the Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) pathway. Immune System / Vaccines Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124801.php The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a collaboration with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (PATH-MVI) to develop laboratory tests to better predict the level of safety and effectiveness of experimental malaria vaccines before they are used in human clinical trials. "This collaboration with the PATH-MVI supports the overall mission of the FDA and specifically the Agency's work under our Critical Path Initiative," said Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., M.P.H. Tropical Diseases Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124827.php A novel delivery system that could lead to more efficient and more disease-specific vaccines against infectious diseases has been developed by biomedical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin. Immune System / Vaccines Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124783.php Cancer immune surveillance is considered to be important in the anti-tumor protection of the host. The growing tumor escapes the immune control under the immunosuppressive conditions. The surgical removal of the tumor may reverse the immunosuppression. The TF antigen and Tn belong to tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACA). TF antigen is implicated in the metastatic spread due to the adhesion of cancer cells to the endothelium. Cancer / Oncology Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124727.php Oncologists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla are hoping to stave off the relentless march of advanced lung cancer by treating patients with a novel kind of cancer vaccine. While many vaccines attempt to pump up the immune system to fight off a cancer, the new vaccine, Lucanix, is genetically engineered to also trick the cancer into turning off its immune system-suppressing activities. Lung Cancer Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124680.php Data from a new study suggests that individuals who engage in compassion meditation may benefit by reductions in inflammatory and behavioral responses to stress that have been linked to depression and a number of medical illnesses. The study's findings are published online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/ and in the medical journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. Psychology / Psychiatry