Immunotherapy Weekly articles from February 2001

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from February 2001

Prime-Boost Regimens Enhance DNA Vaccine Efficacy.(against Mycobacterium tuberculosis)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Knowing when, how much, and how often helped researchers in England improve the immunogenicity and efficacy of a DNA vaccine against Mycobacterium...

Granulysin Kills Bacteria by Altering Membrane Permeability.(granulysin found to be effective in Escherichia coli infection and Mycobacterium tuberculosis therapy)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in the United States reported the discovery of a novel antimicrobial protein with efficacy against Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium...

Routine Graft-Versus-Host Disease Therapy May Be Unnecessary.
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Prophylactic therapy to prevent graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow transplantation is often unnecessary and may impair graft efficacy,...

Topical Application of Cytokine Receptor Encourages Neovascularization.(tumor necrosis factor)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Rats who receive corneal transplants benefit from the application of topical soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type I (sTNFR-I) shortly after the...

Mice Inoculated with Hepatitis B Tagged Microspheres Show Good Immune Response.(possible drug delivery systems for hepatitis B vaccines)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Tiny microspheres embedded with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) may comprise the next generation of drug delivery systems for hepatitis B vaccines, if...

Adoptive Transfer Reduces Gastritis Complications.(splenocyte adoptive transfer may help cure Helicobacter pylori infection without causing gastritis)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Adoptive transfer of splenocytes may effect cure of Helicobacter pylori without gastritis complications, suggest researchers. "Vaccination...

Neutralizing Antibodies Against DPT Induced by Recombinant BCG.(new diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccine sought)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Brazil, seeking a new vaccine against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT), put a mutant twist on the old and reliable bacillus...

Anti-Idiotypic Humoral Responses Induced by T-Cell Vaccination.
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Humans can respond to T-cell vaccination with anti-idiotypic antibody (Ab) responses, neurologists report. "Immunization with irradiated...

Results Positive for Hepatitis C Response to Interferon Beta-1a.
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Interferon-alpha therapy, whether used alone or in combination with ribavirin, is a mainstay for hepatitis C virus treatment. Recombinant interferon beta-1a...

Autologous T Lymphocytes Specifically Recognize Leukemic B Cells.(possible vaccine for chronic lymphocytic leukemia)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from Sweden, the spontaneous immunity found in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients could be harnessed in a vaccine....

Combination Therapy Approach Induces Long-Term Antitumor Immunity.(electrochemotherapy and cytokine gene transfer)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- A combination of electrochemotherapy with cytokine gene transfer resulted in long-term antitumor immunity in a murine B16 melanoma model, a recent...

Oral Vaccination with Mycobacterial Hsp65 Successful in Rat Model.(heat-shock protein therapy for autoimmune diseases)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Oral mycobacterial heat-shock protein 65 (Hsp65) therapy for autoimmune diseases was evaluated by researchers in The Netherlands. "Oral...

Tucaresol Can Stimulate Beneficial Immune Function.(HIV infection therapy)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Immunologists in Italy have shown that the compound tucaresol can effectively mobilize the body's immune system, making it a potential weapon in the...

Interferon-(alpha) Therapy Gets a Boost.(by the addition of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor in leukemia therapeutics)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- The addition of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to interferon-(alpha) therapy may augment its effectiveness in some leukemia...

Pertussis Toxin Binding Subunit Blocks HIV Replication.
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- The toxin responsible for whooping cough in children may soon be pressed into service as a potent inhibitor of HIV replication, researchers report. ...

IGF-I Triple-Helix Induces Immunological Changes in Cancer Cells.(antisense gene therapy for cancer)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to researchers in France, IGF-I triple-helix antisense gene therapy can alter the tumorigenicity of embryonal carcinoma cells. "IGF-I...

Dendritic Cell Vaccine Study Shows Promise in Helping Immune System Combat Cancer.
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, have found that a dendritic cell "vaccine" was able to elicit a systemic immune...

DNA Immunization with Ras Oncogene Peptide Elicits T-Cell Responses.
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in the United States have discovered a ras oncogene peptide with anticancer potential. "Mutations in ras proto oncogenes are commonly...

Two Ligands Elicit Similar Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Responses.(B7-1 and B7-2 CD28 ligands stimulate plasmid DNA-vaccine-elicited response)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from the United States, two CD28 ligands, B7-1 and B7-2, are functionally equivalent at stimulating plasmid DNA-vaccine-elicited...

Antigen May be Possible Vaccine Candidate.(Ag85A may be a potential vaccine against tuberculosis)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from England, a major secreted mycobacterial antigen (Ag) may have potential as a candidate vaccine against tuberculosis. ...

Latent Reservoirs of Pathogen May Hide in Dendritic Cells.(mycobacterial infections may remain in dendritic cells)
February 14, 2001... 2001 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Dendritic cells (DC) apparently do not clear mycobacterial infections as readily as macrophages. "The interaction of microbes with dendritic cells...

Enzyme Concentrations, Skin Disease Predict Reaction Severity to Bee, Wasp Stings.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Higher concentrations of the enzyme tryptase, associated with previously undiagnosed skin disease, might be a predictor of how people react to bee and wasp stings. Five percent of adults in...

Monoclonal Antibodies May Effectively Inhibit HIV.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers in New York have shown that monoclonal antibodies targeting the crucial CCR5 co-receptor can potently and selectively block HIV infection, to...

Interferon/Interleukin Decreases Cytokine that Prevents Depression.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- New research reports a link between combined interferon-alpha and interleukin (IL)-2 therapy and decreased activity of a serum cytokine that would...

Some with Peanut Allergy May Outgrow Condition.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People who live in fear of their peanut allergy might be excited to learn that they might outgrow it. Those who have peanut allergies anxiously avoid numerous products, and they worry that...

Low-Level Conditioning Regimens Increase Risk of Protein-Related Rejection.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Experimental forms of bone marrow transplantation that use minimal immunosuppressive conditioning regimens run a serious risk of Ly5-related complications,...

Shiga Toxin/Peptide Vaccine Elicits Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Responses.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in France have developed a cancer vaccine that works without an adjuvant. "Immunization with peptide or recombinant proteins generally...

Gluten May Be Cause of Recurring Headaches.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers found that removing or cutting back on gluten - a protein in wheat and other grains - in the diet greatly reduced headaches or lack of coordination symptoms among members of a...

Vaccination Protects Adult Community.(diphtheria )
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Sweden conducted a study to see if adult vaccination could be used to help stem the tide of a diphtheria epidemic in the former Soviet...

Peptide's Protective Mechanism Against HIV Revealed.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Biochemists in France have elucidated the mechanisms by which the peptide SPC3 is able to protect against cellular invasion by some HIV strains. "SPC3...

(beta)-Chemokines Appear to Inhibit Bone Marrow Infection.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Hematologists in Pennsylvania investigating how bone marrow cells fight HIV infection, have found that (beta)-chemokines appear to be pivotal in...

Chimera Vaccine Evaluated.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in the United States evaluated different vaccine strains to find the best candidate to provide protection against Japanese encephalitis. ...

Revaccination May Result in Reduced Antibody Response.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from England, repeated immunization using meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines may actually reduce antibody response. ...

Toxin Fusion Protein Can Be Effective for Stem Cell Purging.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A protein derived from diphtheria toxin is able to effectively and selectively purge bone marrow of leukemic cells in some patients with acute myeloid...

T Lymphocytes Have Little Effect on Infection.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Non-functioning cytotoxic T lymphocytes have little if any impact on the course of HIV infection, study results indicate. "The highly sensitive...

Combination Therapy for Hepatitis B Increases T-Helper Cell, Cytokine Response.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Combination drug therapy incorporating ribavirin and interferon (IFN)-alpha elicits long-term immune response in hepatitis B virus patients. T helper...

Chronic Stress Modulates Adult Immune Responses.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from the United States, adults with chronic stress do not maintain long-term immunity after vaccinations. "Influenza and...

Immunization Schedule Protects Burn Patients.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from South Korea, burn patients will benefit from a three-dose vaccine schedule to protect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. "The...

T Cells Resist Apoptosis and Antigen Stimulation.
February 21, 2001... 2001 FEB 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- T cells that lose their characteristic ability to proliferate and secrete cytokines in response to antigen stimulation are said to be anergic. Anergy occurs under several different circumstances,...