http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—One of the main reasons that nanoparticles can boost the effectiveness of an anticancer drug while decreasing its toxicity is that they are able to accumulate at cancerous sites in the body through the abnormally leaky blood vessels that surround most solid tumors. While enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) phenomenon is effective, it is inefficient and the vast majority of an injected dose of nanoparticle-entrapped drug is excreted from the body without ever reaching its intended target. Now, however, a team of investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has found a way of markedly enhancing the EPR effect and boosting nanoparticle accumulation in tumors by more than 20 fold. http://phys.org/news280746140.html Nanotechnology Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:20:02 EST news280746140 In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. http://phys.org/news272462122.html Nanotechnology Sun, 18 Nov 2012 13:00:28 EST news272462122 Bioengineers at Harvard have developed a gel-based sponge that can be molded to any shape, loaded with drugs or stem cells, compressed to a fraction of its size, and delivered via injection. Once inside the body, it pops back to its original shape and gradually releases its cargo, before safely degrading. http://phys.org/news272037174.html Biology Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:53:10 EST news272037174 Monash University researchers are working on a vaccine that could completely cure asthma brought on by house dust mite allergies. http://phys.org/news219928787.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:30:02 EST news219928787 (PhysOrg.com) -- Allergy experts at the University of Cambridge have convincing evidence that a new treatment for peanut allergies is effective, following a three-year trial. http://phys.org/news219925223.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:20:44 EST news219925223 At present, cartilage implants created using stem cells can only be constructed as a solid shape, acting as an interim measure before the almost inevitable need for total joint replacement. http://phys.org/news219578778.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:06:29 EST news219578778 An experimental immunotherapy may someday become the newest weapon against lung cancer. Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center are enrolling patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as part of an ongoing Phase III trial. http://phys.org/news210350639.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:10:01 EST news210350639 A new Mayo Clinic study found that nerve inflammation may cause the pain, numbness and weakness following surgical procedures that is known as postsurgical neuropathy. The development of postsurgical neuropathies is typically attributed to compression or stretching of nerves during surgery. This new research shows that, in some cases, the neuropathy is actually caused by the immune system attacking the nerves and is potentially treatable with immunosuppressive drugs. The study was published in this month's issue of Brain. http://phys.org/news204371619.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:20:01 EST news204371619 New findings indicate that the target of autoantibodies that are associated with limbic encephalitis is LGI1 - a protein involved in fine-tuning of neuronal synapses. The results suggest that testing for these antibodies to LGI1 is diagnostic for limbic encephalitis, and mean that the current classification of the disease should be changed, concludes an Article published Online First and in the August edition of The Lancet Neurology. http://phys.org/news196856857.html Medicine & Health Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:30:01 EST news196856857 Combined targeted therapy against the BRAF/MAPK pathway with immunotherapy shows promise as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of melanoma, according to results of a preclinical study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://phys.org/news195828922.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:20:01 EST news195828922 According to a study presented at SNM's 57th Annual Meeting, molecular imaging can evaluate and optimize non-Hodgkin's lymphoma therapy with Zevalin, a front-line radioimmunotherapy drug that uses a dose of radioactive material and mimics the body's own immune response to target and kill cancer cells while sparing nearby healthy tissues. http://phys.org/news195134653.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:30:07 EST news195134653 Early trials using targeted monoclonal antibodies in combination with existing therapies show promise in treating pancreatic cancer and metastatic breast cancer, according to research that will be presented by investigators from the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center at the 2010 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology June 4 through 8. One study uses an antibody to enhance the effectiveness of a breast cancer vaccine developed at Penn to treat women with advanced breast cancer, while a pancreatic cancer trial uses an immune-enhancing antibody to increase the effectiveness of a current standard drug used to treat pancreatic cancer. http://phys.org/news194620827.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:40:01 EST news194620827 Bladder cancer often becomes aggressive and spreads in patients despite treatment, but now researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein they believe is involved in pushing tumors to become invasive - and deadly. http://phys.org/news193057625.html Medicine & Health Fri, 14 May 2010 12:07:26 EST news193057625 In what could be a shot in the arm for adoptive immunotherapy, new Stanford University research shows promise in enhancing and controlling the growth of T cells in living mice and in human cell cultures, potentially overcoming one of the therapy's drawbacks. http://phys.org/news191486227.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:00:05 EST news191486227 Dr. Neal Shore (GB) presented for the first time in Europe the updated results of the study "Sipuleucel-T Active Cellular Immunotherapy for Metastatic, Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: results from the IMPACT trial," during the second plenary session of the 25th Anniversary EAU Congress in Barcelona. http://phys.org/news190892785.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:46:37 EST news190892785 An innovative treatment for HIV patients developed by McGill University Health Centre researchers has passed its first clinical trial with flying colours. The new approach is an immunotherapy customized for each individual patient, and was developed by Dr. J-P. Routy from the Research Institute of the MUHC in collaboration with Dr. R. Sékaly from the Université de Montréal. "This is a vaccine made for the individual patient - an "haute couture" therapy, instead of an off-the-rack treatment" said Dr Routy. http://phys.org/news178370803.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:40:01 EST news178370803 Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system. http://phys.org/news177761560.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:50:08 EST news177761560 Sublingual immunotherapy for the treatment of allergy symptoms caused by a wide variety of environmental inhalants has been effectively used in Europe. It should be employed to further treatment of allergies in the United States, where allergic symptoms are largely undertreated, according to an invited article in the April 2009 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. A response to the article, published in the same journal issue, expresses cautious optimism, but calls for additional research. http://phys.org/news160224166.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:43:11 EST news160224166 A team of scientists at The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research (CFIBCR) at Princess Margaret Hospital and international collaborators have discovered how to trigger an improved immune response to cancer that could be included in new clinical trials that use a patient's own cells to destroy tumours. http://phys.org/news159973760.html Medicine & Health Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:10:03 EST news159973760 Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered genetic variations in the inflammation pathway that reduce the likelihood of recurrence and increase survival of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) who are treated with mainstream therapy. http://phys.org/news159456587.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:30:07 EST news159456587 Researchers from the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have created a device that significantly decreases the time needed to produce genetically manipulated T cells in preclinical tests for leukemia. http://phys.org/news153756392.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:07:01 EST news153756392