Immunotherapy Weekly articles from March 2000

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from March 2000

One Year of IFN Useful in Cirrhotic Hepatitis C Patients.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- A multicenter controlled study from Japan suggests that a 12-month course of interferon is of some use in cirrhotic patients who are infected with hepatitis C. The selection of hepatitis C virus...

Skin Test Not Affected by High Dose Corticosteroids.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- "Treatment with high dose intravenous corticosteroids may not alter immediate skin test reactivity," according to Anahita F. Dioun of Harvard Medical School reporting at the 8th Biennial Meeting of the...

HER2 Overexpression Is Target for Tumor-Specific Therapies.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a recent article in the Journal of Cellular Physiology, overexpression of the HER2 proto-oncogene is an appropriate target for tumor-specific therapies, a number of which are being explored. ...

Plasma Activates Release of Inflammatory Cytokines.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Plasma from packed red blood cells selectively activates polymorphonuclear leukocytes to release inflammatory cytokines, according to a study performed in the United States. Packed red blood cell (PRBC)...

Recombinant Interferon (alpha)-2b Is Effective Treatment.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Low dose recombinant interferon (alpha)-2b was effective in treating a patient with intracranial hemangioendothelioma. G. Palmieri and colleagues described a case of intracranial hemangioendothelioma in a...

CD8(+) T Lymphocytes Not Essential to DNA Flu Vaccine.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Contrary to convention wisdom, the CD8(+) T lymphocytes are not critical in the operation of DNA-based influenza vaccinations, say researchers. "DNA vaccination offers the advantages of viral gene...

Novel Vector Expresses Multiple HIV-1 Antigens.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- A novel vaccine strategy incorporates several HIV-1 accessory genes as part of a single, multi-component immunogen, researchers from the United States reported. DNA vaccination generates both humoral and...

Cytokine Therapy Produces Antitumoral Effects.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Cytokine therapy using electroporation produced an antitumoral effect in esophageal cancer, according to researchers. In previous research, Hisahiro Matsubara and colleagues used interleuken-2 (IL-2) or...

CD4 T Cells Contribute to Protective Immunity.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- CD4 T cells contribute to protective immunity to Plasmodium chabaudi infection after apical membrane antigen-1 immunization, reported researchers in Australia. "Apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA1) is a...

Hydrophobically Tagged Immunogens Developed for Iscom Incorporation.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Strategies for the production of hydrophobically tagged immunogens for efficient iscom incorporation are being assessed by researchers from Sweden. According to Christin Andersson and colleagues from the...

New Technique Uses Topical Application of Vaccine Antigens.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new immunization technique uses topical application of vaccine antigens to the skin. "Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) is a new technique that utilizes a topical application of vaccine antigens in a...

Collaboration Will Work on Vaccine.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Targeted Genetics Corp. is collaborating with two institutions to develop a vaccine to prevent AIDS, the three concerns said in a joint statement on February 16, 2000. Seattle, Washington-based Targeted...

NewsRx.com Daily Health, Medical, and Biotech News Site Opens at www.NewsRx.com with $30 Million Giveaway.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- After months of anticipation by current subscribers, NewsRx.com has launched its daily health and medical news site with tiered content for professionals and consumers at www.NewsRx.com. "NewsRx.com...

Baffling Increase in Cases Studied.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- It started with flu-like symptoms that Michael L. just couldn't shake. Then an egg-shaped lump ballooned on his jaw, and his doctor knew - the New York man was a victim of the nation's baffling rise in...

Major T-Cell Epitope-Containing Peptides Can Elicit Strong Antibody Responses.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Belgium have researched the possibility of using non-immuogenic peptides containing major T-cell epitopes, which have the ability to induce T-cell anergy, for the treatment of allergic and...

Novel Formulations Protect Microencapsulated Antigens from Degradation.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Novel formulations of microparticles can protect microencapsulated antigens from degradation and therefore elicit enhanced immune responses, according to new research. "Immunization with antigens...

Mechanisms of Pollen Immunotherapy Explored.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Japan conducted a study to illustrate the mechanisms behind immunotherapy effectiveness in patients suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis due to Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)...

Gene Therapy Uses Plasmids Encoding IFN{{gamma}} or IL-4.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Gene therapy using chimeric proteins consisting of nonimmunogenic self elements are suitable for long-term therapy of autoimmune disorders, suggested researchers from Canada. "Interferon gamma (IFN gamma)...

Interferon Treatment Could Help Reduce Symptoms Associated with Blood Vessel Condition.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- New research published in the February 19, 2000, issue of The Lancet suggests that interferon could play a significant role in reducing symptoms associated with Behcet's disease - a rare condition affecting...

Polysaccharide Exhibits Anti-Tumor Activity.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in the Peoples Republic of China have shown that the K1 capsular polysaccharide antigen (K1CPS) of Klebsiella displays anti-tumor activities. In this study, Y.M. Choy and colleagues at the...

Adjuvant Active Specific Immunotherapy for Stage II and III Colon Cancer.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Adjuvant active specific immunotherapy for stage II and III colon cancer with an autologous tumor cell vaccine was evaluated in a clinical trial, reported researchers from the United States. "A...

Anti-Urushiol MAb ALG 991 Regulates Contact Sensitivity.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- The anti-urushiol monoclonal antibody ALG 991 can be used to regulate the contact sensitivity response to urushiol, reported researchers from England. "The objective of the studies was to demonstrate that...

Resistance Induced by Targeting Immune Cells with a Specific Monoclonal Antibody.
March 12, 2000... 2000 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com) -- Resistance to diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice can be induced by targeting CD44 with a specific monoclonal antibody, suggested a study from Israel. "Inflammatory destruction of insulin-producing beta...

Monoclonal Antibody Reduces Acute Graft Rejection.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Daclizumab reduces acute graft rejection without compromising standard cyclosporin-based immunosuppression, reported researchers from New Zealand. "The humanized monoclonal antibody (MAb) daclizumab is an...

Anti-Idiotype Antibody Vaccine Mimics Disialoganglioside GD2.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- TriGem used as a cancer vaccine has minimal toxicity and generates robust and specific IgG immune responses against the disialoganglioside GD2, reported researchers from the United States. "To determine...

Adaptor Molecule Linked to Cellular Response to Bacteria.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- The molecule MyD88 plays a crucial role in the response of cells to bacterial components, according to researchers. "MyD88 is an adaptor molecule essential for signaling via the Toll-like receptor...

New Monoclonal Antibodies Combat Virus in Mice.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- The deadly Ebola virus didn't kill laboratory mice protected by newly developed monoclonal antibodies to the virus glycoprotein, report U.S. army medical researchers. J.A. Wilson and colleagues, writing...

NS5a Does Not Predict IFN Success in HCV Patients.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- The amino acid sequence of NS5a is not predictive of treatment success in chronic hepatitis C patients given interferon therapy. Patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3 have a better...

Metastatic Disease Results "Striking" But Preliminary.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- A vaccine-like treatment wiped out or shrank tumors in patients whose kidney cancer had spread elsewhere in their bodies, according to a new study. Experts called the results striking but cautioned that...

DNA Priming is Required for Enhancing DNA Immunity.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- A report from Korea could advance the search for an effective vaccine against hepatitis C virus infection. Researcher M.K. Song and colleagues from Pohang University of Science and Technology found that...

Interleukin-10 Plays Immunomodulatory Role.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Interleukin-10 plays an immunomodulatory role in the inhibition of cellular immune responses associated with the xenotransplantation, according to a recent report. Pigs are being used as an alternative...

Progress Reported with Genetically-Engineered Cancer Immunotherapy.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Immunomedics, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, announced that a presentation was made at the International Conference on Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy on the use of a method to genetically-engineer cancer...

C1qRp is an Immune Receptor Found on Myeloid/Lymphoid Cells.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Rat C1qRp is an innate immune receptor found on natural killer cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, reported researchers collaborating from several institutes in Europe and the United States. "Here we...

New Research Presented on Macrophage Reaction to Ebola Virus.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new study may shed more light on the role played by macrophages in the course of Ebola virus infections. "We investigated the role of monocytes/macrophages (Mp) in pathogenesis of Ebola virus (EV)...

Dendritic Cells Important in Anti-Mycobacterial T-Cell Responses.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from London, England, reported dendritic cells (DCs) were important in priming anti-mycobacterial T-cell responses. Ricardo E. Tascon and associates from the National Institute for Medical...

Oxazolone Response Analysis Facilitates Understanding of Antibody Response.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Detailed analysis of the oxazolone response will facilitate understanding of the antibody response which will thus facilitate vaccine research, suggested researchers from the United Kingdom. "We have...

FDA Approves Once-Daily Nonsedating Antihistamine Dosage for Seasonal Allergies.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Allegra (fexofenadine HCl) 180-mg tablets, a new dosage form for the Allegra family of products, may help patients 12 and older experiencing allergies do a 180(degree) turn-around - from suffering to relief....

Allopeptide-Pulsed Host DCs Induce Allograft Tolerance.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to recent research from the United States, donor-specific tolerance to rat cardiac allografts can be induced by allopeptide-pulsed host dendritic cells. "Presentation of peptides either by...

Bladder Cancer Targeted by Monoclonal Antibody C595.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- Superficial bladder cancer can be targeted by the intravesical administration of copper-67-labeled anti-MUC1 mucin monoclonal antibody (MAb) C595, researchers from England reported. "More effective...

U.S. National Institutes of Health Launches ClinicalTrials.gov Web Site.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced the launch of the first phase of a consumer-friendly database, ClinicalTrials.gov, with information on more than 4,000 federal and private medical studies...

Health News Mega Site www.NewsRx.com Offer Jams Web Site; NewsRx.com Named Official Online News Sponsor of eHealthcareWorld.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- The $30 million health news giveaway announced by NewsRx.com at www.NewsRx.com resulted in an instantaneous onrush. "We announced the giveaway at 7:30 a.m. Traffic peaked immediately and by 8:00 a.m. the...

Clinical Trial Evaluates MAb in Lymphoma Patients.
March 19, 2000... 2000 MAR 19 - (NewsRx.com) -- A European Phase II study evaluated Rituximab (chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) in patients with lymphoma. "Mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL), immunocytoma (IMC), and small B-cell lymphocytic lymphoma...

Interleukin-2 May Have Role in HIV Treatment.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Interleukin-2 may be a useful adjuvant therapy for patients with HIV infection, a report from the U.S. National Institutes of Health suggests. Immunomodulation has become a major focus of HIV research in...

Early HAART Offers Best Treatment Advantage.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Initiating antiretroviral therapy early in HIV infection results in rapid stabilization of T-cell receptor beta chain repertoire. Early therapy also results in a reduced level of T-cell oligoclonality,...

Interferon Treatment Beneficial in Stem Cell Transplantation.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- In some patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia a treatment regimen that contains interferon might benefit autologous stem cell transplantation, according to researchers working in Italy. The treatment...

Researchers Link Decline in Lung Antioxidants to Asthma Attacks.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Scientists at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute have found that levels of certain lung enzymes decrease during allergen-provoked asthma, creating the potential for development of novel drugs to...

Human Autoantibodies to CEA Induced By Vaccinia-CEA Vaccine.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Human autoantibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) can be induced by a vaccinia-CEA vaccine, researchers from the United States reported. "CEA is a well-characterized oncofetal glycoprotein whose...

Antitumor Immunity Induced by Indomethacin and Cancer Vaccine.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Combination immunotherapy and indomethacin induced anticancer immunity in murine cancer models, researchers from Israel reported. "Irradiated tumor cells given, together with indomethacin, to syngeneic...

Single Dose of GM-CSF May Improve HBV Vaccination Efficacy.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- A single dose of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor prior to hepatitis B virus vaccination may improve the efficacy of the vaccine in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Patients on...

NicVAX-Induced Antibodies Attenuate the Induction of Nicotine Dependence.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Nabi, Boca Raton, Florida, announced the presentation of results from pre-clinical studies on Nabi NicVAX, nicotine conjugate vaccine, at the Sixth Annual Meeting Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco...

The Presence of Three Quantitative Trait Loci Confirmed.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a second study of quantitative trait loci (QTL) in collagen-induced arthritis presented at the 1999 conference on "Physiological Genomics and Rat Models" in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, University of Utah...

New Inhaled Drug Is Effective.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- An experimental new asthma drug that, like current treatments, is inhaled - but weekly rather than several times daily - is raising the prospect of a revolution in asthma treatment, according to a new study....

DNA Priming Followed by Protein Boosting Enhances Immune Response.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- DNA priming followed by protein boosting enhances the immune response of the vaccine to acceptable levels, reported researchers from Taiwan in a study on foot-and-mouth disease. "Foot-and-mouth disease...

DNA Family Shuffling Used to Improve Immune Response.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers have used DNA Family Shuffling to improve antiviral activity in human cells. Molecular breeding, a powerful process that recombines single genes or gene families, can rapidly evolve desired...

Oral Delivery of Peptide Vaccines Explored.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- A lipid-core-peptide delivery system may have merit for oral delivery of synthetic peptide vaccines, researchers from the United Kingdom reported. "In order for synthetic peptide vaccines to be delivered...

HIV Vector Studied in CD4(+) Cells.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- An HIV vector may be useful for targeted gene transfer in CD4(+) T cells. This was the finding of Koichi Miyake and colleagues from Tokyo, Japan's Nippon Medical School presented at the "Gene Therapy of...

Dendritic/Cancer Cell Fusion Technology Licensed.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Genzyme Molecular Oncology, Framingham, Massachusetts, announced that it has exclusively licensed dendritic/cancer cell fusion technology for all therapeutic uses from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This...

Results of Fibromyalgia Syndrome Phase II Trial Announced.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- A just-completed Phase II clinical study conducted by Amarillo Biosciences, Inc., has shown promising results for patients of fibromyalgia syndrome. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by achy pain...

Vaccine Candidate Announced.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Cel-Sci Corp., Vienna, Virginia, announced that it has identified a novel vaccine candidate for the treatment of HIV. The vaccine would be used in conjunction with antiviral drug therapy to stimulate an...

NIH Funds Phase II Trial of MAb Drug Candidate.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. National Institutes of Health has awarded approximately $1.0 million to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center to fund a multi-center Phase II...

Fast-Acting Treatment Introduced for Itch Associated with Allergic Conjunctivitis.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- The availability of Alocril (nedocromil sodium ophthalmic solution) 2%, an effective topical allergy treatment for itch associated with allergic conjunctivitis, was announced by Allergan, Inc. The U.S....

Phase II Trial Results Reported for OvaRex(TM) MAb.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- AltaRex Corp., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, announced that their OvaRex(TM) monoclonal antibody (MAb) induced a tumor-specific cellular immune response in the first ovarian cancer patient to be tested for this...

Technology Expanded to Functional Genomics.
March 26, 2000... 2000 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com) -- Antigenics, Inc., New York, New York, announced the issuance of three U.S. patents expanding the use of the company's proprietary technology into the field of functional genomics. This technology involves...