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Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have created synthetic nanoparticles that target lymph nodes and greatly boost vaccine responses, said lead author Ashley St. John, Ph.D., a researcher at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. http://phys.org/news246455187.html Nanotechnology Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:00:10 EST news246455187 Researchers from Johns Hopkins have quantified the number of possible decisions that an individual cell can make after receiving a cue from its environment, and surprisingly, it's only two. http://phys.org/news237655030.html Biology Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:17:19 EST news237655030 By identifying a surprising association of two intracellular proteins, University of Iowa researchers have laid the groundwork for the development of new therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and autoimmune disease. http://phys.org/news222424739.html Chemistry Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:39:12 EST news222424739 Biological systems, including cells, tissues and organs, can function properly only when their parts are working in harmony. These systems are often dauntingly complex: Inside a single cell, thousands of proteins interact with each other to determine how the cell will develop and respond to its environment. http://phys.org/news220102323.html Biology Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:10:01 EST news220102323 A recent trial of rituximab in combination with a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor and methotrexate (MTX) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) found the safety profile to be consistent with other RA trials with TNF inhibitors. While the trial reported no new safety risks, clear evidence of an efficacy advantage in RA patients receiving the combination therapy was not observed in this study sample. Results of the trial are published in the March issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology. http://phys.org/news218800444.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:30:02 EST news218800444 Scientists have discovered that molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the energy factories, or mitochondria, in cells, may play a role in a rare inherited disorder in which uncontrolled inflammation damages the body's tissues. Their research in human and mouse cells suggests that blocking these molecules could reduce inflammation in TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) and possibly other inflammatory diseases. http://phys.org/news215703435.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:37:58 EST news215703435 Patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are current smokers were less likely to achieve good response to methotrexate (MTX) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors than those who never smoked. The study by researchers from Sweden also found that RA patients who smoked in the past did not experience a lower response to these therapies. Results of the 10-year study appear in the January 2011 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). http://phys.org/news213363245.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:20:07 EST news213363245 A study was carried out to examine the extent to which quercetin and trans-resveratrol (RSV) prevented inflammation or insulin resistance in primary cultures of human adipocytes treated with tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a)—an inflammatory cytokine elevated in the plasma and adipose tissue of obese, diabetic individuals. http://phys.org/news212328512.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:08:44 EST news212328512 Anti-inflammatory drugs currently used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis may also help prevent cognitive decline after surgery, according to a new study led by researchers at UCSF and colleagues at Imperial College, London. http://phys.org/news207847642.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:27:36 EST news207847642 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received reports of malignancies in children using tumor necrosis factor a (TNF) blockers, raising concerns of an associated risk and prompting an investigation. Researchers from the FDA set out to identify all reports of malignancy in children using infliximab, etanercept, and adalimumab and their report is published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology. http://phys.org/news199639725.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:40:01 EST news199639725 Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that Sfrp5, which refers to secreted frizzled-related protein 5, is an anti-inflammatory adipokine whose expression is disrupted in animal models of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings, which currently appear on-line in Science, may provide a new way of targeting metabolic disease, specifically obesity. http://phys.org/news195995181.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:00:15 EST news195995181 A research team from Italy reported a case of a 23-year-old patient suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF) and Crohn's disease who was successfully treated with infliximab. This case report was thought to be one of the first regarding the use of biological therapy in patients with CF. http://phys.org/news190892601.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:43:32 EST news190892601 Lung transplant patients may one day benefit from a synthetic peptide that mimics the body's natural ability to reduce excess fluid accumulation, Medical College of Georgia researchers report. http://phys.org/news188645266.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:28:12 EST news188645266 Although obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and coronary heart disease worldwide, only some obese individuals go on to develop these metabolic complications, while others are relatively protected. Defining these protective factors could help scientists prevent disease in the wider population. http://phys.org/news184435488.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:20:01 EST news184435488 In a surprising finding, researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered the critical importance of a protein previously believed to be a redundant "on switch" for certain immune-system responses. http://phys.org/news183303274.html Chemistry Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:50:01 EST news183303274 Robarts Clinical Trials at The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, has been awarded a 4.7 million dollar grant to conduct a randomized controlled trial evaluating treatment options for Crohn's disease. The outcome is expected to lead to a more streamlined treatment path and better disease management for patients. Abbott, the global health care company, has provided a grant to complete research for the REACT (Randomized Evaluation of an Algorithm for Crohn's Treatment) study. http://phys.org/news181830715.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:33:04 EST news181830715 (PhysOrg.com) -- The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has awarded University of Rochester Medical Center researchers $2.5 million to investigate the impact of psychological interventions on attacks of psoriasis and the intensity of the disease. http://phys.org/news177180535.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:49:30 EST news177180535 A recent study by Swedish researchers found that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients did not experience an elevated cancer risk in the first 6 years after starting anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy. The research team, led by Johan Askling, M.D., Ph.D., from Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden assessed the short-term and medium-term cancer risk for RA patients using anti-TNF therapies: infliximab, adalimumab, and etanercept. Details of the study appear in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology published by Wiley-Blackwell. http://phys.org/news176015876.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:20:01 EST news176015876 In patients with recent onset type-2 diabetes, treatment with insulin or the diabetes drug metformin did not reduce inflammatory biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, although the treatment did improve glucose control, according to a study in the September 16 issue of JAMA. http://phys.org/news172253516.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:20:01 EST news172253516 It is known that I/R induces an inflammatory response deleterious to the organ involved but also to the system as a whole. Mesenteric ischemia occurs when the veins or arteries that supply blood to the intestine are obstructed. In transplants, the organ undergoes total (arterial and venous) I/R. Few available treatments exist. Greater knowledge of these conditions would aid in the search for new therapies. However, the precise nature of the response arises after venous, arterial or total ischemia is not fully understood. http://phys.org/news170499781.html Medicine & Health Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:10:04 EST news170499781 (AP) -- Federal regulators on Tuesday added stronger warnings to a group of best-selling drugs used to treat arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, saying they can increase the risk of cancer in children and adolescents. http://phys.org/news168613251.html Medicine & Health Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:01:21 EST news168613251 High cholesterol levels are considered to be a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, many cholesterol lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years. In addition to the cholesterol reducing effect of statins Amalia Dolga, PhD, of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and her co-investigators have demonstrated that statins can protect nerve cells against damage which we know to occur in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients. The results are published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. http://phys.org/news164886164.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:43:27 EST news164886164 In concept, the human immune system has the power to destroy cancer cells with great specificity. Therefore, cancer vaccines, like vaccines against influenza or other diseases, offer the hope of enticing the immune system to recognize proteins found on the surface of cancerous cells. The reality, however, is that the immune system rarely takes the bait that these vaccines offer, and that other approaches to stimulating anti-cancer immunity are needed. http://phys.org/news159631218.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:00:44 EST news159631218 Psoriatic arthritis affects about 11 percent of patients with psoriasis. Anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα) agents, which block signaling molecules that induce inflammation, improve the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. Golimumab is a new human monoclonal antibody that works against TNFα and has been shown to be beneficial within two weeks of the first subcutaneous injection in a phase II rheumatoid arthritis trial. A new phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the largest of its kind to be completed with a biologic agent to treat psoriatic arthritis and the first placebo-controlled study evaluating the effect of a TNF inhibitor on nail psoriasis, found that golimumab significantly improved active psoriatic arthritis and associated skin and nail psoriasis. The study was published in the April issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. http://phys.org/news158328373.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:06:31 EST news158328373 New research expands our understanding of how a type of immune cell called a B lymphocyte enables the immune system to mount a successful defense against an intestinal parasite. The study, published by Cell Press online in the journal Immunity on 26 February, provides some intriguing insight into the variety of mechanisms implemented by B cells to protect the host from infection. http://phys.org/news154876355.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:13:13 EST news154876355 A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that sleep duration is associated with changes in the levels of specific cytokines that are important in regulating inflammation. The results suggest that inflammation may be the pathway linking extreme sleep durations to an increased risk for disease. http://phys.org/news152806699.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:18:46 EST news152806699