Immunotherapy Weekly articles from March 2004

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from March 2004

Human embryonic stem cells may promise medical advances.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research released at the 2004 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting may be a first step toward methods for treating diabetes, osteoarthritis, Parkinson and other...

Novel NK cell receptor mediates bone marrow rejection.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A natural killer (NK) cell receptor has been identified as the mediator of bone marrow allograft rejection. NK cells "mediate bone marrow allograft rejection," scientists in Japan explained....

Influenza virus enhances asthma.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Asthma in children is increasingly common in Westernized countries. Ironically, the greater prevalence of allergic disease is thought to be due to lifestyle improvements that bring with them better...

Immune system's attack dogs kept on genetic leash.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When they're not busy battling invaders, some of the cells that act as the attack dogs of the mouse immune system have to be kept on a genetic leash to prevent them from mounting inappropriate attacks...

CD1a presents mycobacterial lipopeptides.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CD1a presents mycobacterial lipopeptides. "Unlike major histocompatibility proteins, which bind peptides, CD1 proteins display lipid antigens to T cells," immunologists in Boston explained. In...

HIV exhausts the immune system through chronic nonspecific activation.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Like most persistent viruses, HIV uses a variety of strategies to counteract its host's response to infection. HIV infects the very cells that coordinate the immune response, which compromises the...

Early fevers associated with lower allergy risk later in childhood.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Infants who experience fevers before their first birthday are less likely to develop allergies by ages 6 or 7, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious...

Phase III trial initiated to explore use of Humira.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Abbott Laboratories (ABT) announced the initiation of a global phase III study evaluating the potential of Humira (adalimumab) in treating ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), or...

Active, passive smoking in N.C. middle school children boosts asthma cases 15%.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- One of the largest surveys ever done among North Carolina school children shows that those who sometimes smoke or are exposed to tobacco smoke at home or elsewhere suffer more asthma than their...

Structure of key autoimmune disease target discovered.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Xencor reported the structure of BAFF, also called BLyS or TALL-1, a key regulator of immune function and an important target in autoimmune disease. Scientists from Xencor demonstrated that BAFF's...

Immune response to telomerase tumor antigen studied as possible vaccine.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania have begun a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a telomerase peptide as a possible vaccine against breast...

Cialis maker reports results for 2003.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ICOS Corp. (ICOS) summarized 2003 highlights, released its financial results for the year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2003, and provided guidance regarding financial performance expectations...

Company to close Palo Alto facilities, cut workforce, focus on drug discovery.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Incyte Corp. (INCY) announced that it will close its Palo Alto, California, research facilities and headquarters, effective April 2, 2004, completing its transition to a drug discovery and development...

Fourth phase II trial initiated for new stem cell transplantation drug candidate.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AnorMED, Inc., (AOM) announced the initiation of its fourth phase II clinical trial to evaluate AMD3100 as a new stem cell transplantation drug candidate for cancer patients. Clinical data to date...

Selective cytokine inhibitors staunch VEGF and interleukin-6 to quell myeloma.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Selective cytokine inhibitors staunch VEGF and interleukin-6 to quell myeloma. "Myeloma cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cocultured to model in vitro the interactions...

Cancer vaccines use high molecular weight stress proteins.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists are developing cancer vaccines using autologous and recombinant high molecular weight stress proteins. According to published research from the United States, "High molecular weight heat...

Phase III CFS clinical trial complete.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., (HEB) has completed the randomization and placebo-controlled dosage stage of its phase III clinical trial for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), becoming - according to the...

Companies ink agreement to develop MicroPyramid-based vaccine delivery.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NanoPass Technologies, Ltd., has signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline's Biopharmaceutical Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery (GSK) to develop NanoPass' MicroPyramid technology for the delivery...

Drug discovery and development collaboration amended.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) announced that Vertex and Novartis Pharma AG have amended their collaboration directed at targets in the protein kinase gene family. The revised agreement...

FDA approves Erbitux for metastatic disease.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has approved Erbitux (cetuximab) to treat patients with advanced colorectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Erbitux is the first...

Diabetogenic T cells are primed in pancreatic and gut-associated lymph nodes.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diabetogenic T cells are primed both in pancreatic and gut-associated lymph nodes in NOD mice. According to published research from Finland, "Activation of an islet-specific immune response is an...

Alpha-1 antitrypsin gene therapy prevents type I diabetes in NOD mice.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alpha-1 antitrypsin gene therapy prevents type I diabetes in NOD mice. According to a study from the United States, "type I diabetes results from an autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing...

Ceplene maker reports net loss for first quarter.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maxim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (MAXM) announced results for the quarter ended December 31, 2003, the first quarter of the company's 2004 fiscal year. The net loss applicable to common stock for the...

Drug-delivery company reports second quarter sales.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IOMED, Inc., (IOX) reported financial results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2003. The company posted the highest second-quarter product sales in its history, positive cash flow, and net...

Pharmaceutical company announces 2003 financial results.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (RIGL) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2003. Rigel reported revenue from collaborations of $2.1 million in the fourth...

Synthetic DNA company announces conversion of series A preferred stock.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hybridon, Inc., (HBY) announced that essentially all its shares of outstanding series A preferred stock has been converted into 21.2 million shares of common stock. These conversions raise the...

Enterobacter sakazakii thermally inactivated in rehydrated infant formula.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Enterobacter sakazakii in rehydrated infant formula can be thermally inactivated. "The presence of low levels of Enterobacter sakazakii in dried infant formula have been linked to outbreaks of...

Manifestations and treatment of dematiaceous fungal infections described.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and therapy of infections caused by dematiaceous fungi have been described in a recent issue of the Journal of Chemotherapy. According to published...

Whole genome optical map completed of world's most frequent fungal infection.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- OpGen, Inc., has completed a whole genome map of the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus (strain Af293) for an international project aimed at determining the complete genome sequence of this organism....

CXCR4 mediates gp120 neurotoxicity in cerebellar granule cells.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CXCR4 mediates HIV gp120-induced neurotoxicity in cerebellar granule cells. "The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) glycoprotein gp120 causes neuronal cell death; however, the molecular...

Novel gp41-derived peptides inhibit HIV cell entry.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel gp42-derived peptides inhibit strongly inhibit HIV-cell membrane fusion. According to a study from Germany, "As the limitations of antiretroviral drug therapy, such as toxicity and resistance,...

Enyzme immunoassay suitable for cryptosporidiosis diagnosis.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cryptosporidiosis diagnosis through EIA appears to be feasible in HIV patients. Scientists in Brazil conducted a study "to verify the occurrence of Cryptosporidium infection in 52 human...

Murine T cytotoxic-1 CD8 cells are effector cells against P. carinii.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In mice, anti-Pneumocystis immune activity is effected by T cytotoxic-1 CD8 cells. "Host defenses are profoundly compromised in HIV-infected hosts due to progressive depletion of CD4+ T...

C-type lectin DC-SIGN microdomains enable HIV entry.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- C-type lectin DC-SIGN microdomains act as portals for HIV entry. "The C-type lectin dendritic cell (DC)-specific intercellular adhesion molecule grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN; CD209) facilitates...

Internalization and recycling mechanisms of CCR5 clarified.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The internalization and recycling mechanisms of CCR5 have been characterized. "CCR5 is a G protein-coupled receptor that binds several natural chemokines but it is also a coreceptor for the entry of...

Houston firm set to begin human trials of new HIV treatment.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stratus Research Labs will soon begin human trials in Latin America of its treatment, A-221-HIV, on patients infected with the HIV virus. Stratus is a privately held company with offices in Houston,...

T-20 cross-reactive gp41 antibody does not reduce T-20 efficacy.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Enfuvirtide cross-reactive gp41 antibody has no significant effect on the outcome of enfuvirtide treatment. In a recent study, scientists in Canada "investigated the effect of enfuvirtide...

Measles virus expressing HIV proteins induces antibodies to HIV.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A single injection of recombinant measles virus vaccines expressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 clade B envelope glycoproteins induces neutralizing antibodies and cellular immune responses...

Monoclonal antibodies show promise for AIDS vaccines.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Monoclonal antibodies show promise for AIDS vaccines. According to a study from the United States, "Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is phylogenetically classified into groups and clades...

HBV treatment can lead to recovery of virus-specific T-cell responses.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HBV treatment can lead to the recovery of HBV-specific T-cell responses in HIV patients. "Liver-related mortality is an increasing problem in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis B virus...

Haemophilus influenzae vaccine does not elicit helper T cells.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine does not elicit antigen-specific helper T cells. "A small number of fully vaccinated children in the U.K. have experienced invasive Haemophilus...

Phase I study to begin for therapeutic vaccine for hepatitis.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genencor International, Inc., (GCOR) will begin phase I safety and immunogenicity testing for its DNA-based therapeutic vaccine to treat hepatitis B. Trials are scheduled to begin under an...

Cucumber mosaic virus as carrier of a hepatitis C virus-derived epitope.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The cucumber mosaic virus can be used as a carrier of a hepatitis C virus-derived epitope. "Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a three component isodiametric plant virus which is common worldwide and...

IL-23 induces strong immune responses in hepatitis C DNA immunization.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IL-23 induces stronger sustained CTL and Th1 immune responses than does IL-12 after hepatitis C virus envelope protein 2 DNA immunization. "IL-23 is a heterodimeric cytokine consisting of p19 and...

Adenovirus expressing papillomavirus E2 protein eliminates infection.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vaccination of rabbits with an adenovirus vector expressing the papillomavirus E2 protein leads to clearance of papillomas and infection. "Cervical cancer arises from lesions caused by infection...

Prevention of cervical cancer through HPV vaccination reviewed.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A researcher has reviewed the prevention of cervical cancer through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in a recent issue of Nature Reviews Immunology. According to recent research from...

Company agrees to settle Relafen antitrust litigation.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it has agreed to settle a U.S. antitrust case involving the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory product Relafen. GSK will pay $175 million in settlement of a class...

Effects of SAP, SLAM on Th1 cytokines during TB elucidated.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SAP and SLAM have divergent effects on the production of Th1 cytokines during tuberculosis infection. According to recent research from Argentina, "[p]roduction of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma by T...

ImmuneRegen appoints new member to its scientific advisory board.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., has appointed Elizabeth Ceilley, MD, a radiation oncology specialist, to assist the company with its development of Homspera for the use of treating acute radiation...

Lipoxins act as endogenous regulators of inflammation.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lipoxins act as endogenous regulators of inflammation. "Over the past decade, compelling in vivo and in vitro studies have highlighted lipoxins (LXs) and aspirin-triggered LXs (ATLs) as...

Human serum haptoglobin is toxic to cultured P. falciparum.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Haptoglobin has toxic effects on P. falcipaurm in vitro. According to a study from England, "Innate immune responses are important in the control of malaria, particularly in those who have not yet...

Apical membrane antigen 1 mediates merozoite attachment to host cells.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Apical membrane antigen 1, a major malaria vaccine candidate, mediates the close attachment of invasive merozoites to host red blood cells. "Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1) of Plasmodium...

Malaria vaccine developments reviewed.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers review recent developments in malaria vaccines in the journal Lancet. "Large gains in the reduction of malaria mortality in the early 20th century were lost in subsequent decades....

Medicare law could decrease payments for immunosuppressants.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent changes to Medicare law were designed to provide better drug coverage and hold down prices, but some health advocates are worried the shift may hurt one group of patients: those with organ...

Antibody to neisserial antigen 2132 protects against bacteremia.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antibody to genome-derived neisserial antigen 2132, a Neisseria meningitidis candidate vaccine, confers protection against bacteremia in the absence of complement-mediated bactericidal activity. ...

FDA approves Orthovisc; Anika to receive $20M milestone payment.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Anika Therapeutics, Inc., (ANIK) announced that it has received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Orthovisc, a highly purified, high molecular weight form of...

Ketan Desai to lead clinical development.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neose Technologies, Inc., (NTEC) announced the appointment of Ketan Desai, MD, PhD, to the position of vice president, preclinical and clinical development. Desai joins Neose from Aventis...

Conjugate vaccines may prevent otitis media.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Conjugate vaccines may be able to prevent otitis media. According to a study from England, "The relative abilities of pneumococcal serotypes and strains (clones) to cause acute otitis media (AOM)...

Epidemiology of otitis media caused by S. pneumoniae reported.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists report the epidemiology of acute otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae before and after licensure of the 7-valent pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccine. "We studied, by...

Tumor RNA-pulsed dendritic cells treat pancreatic tumors in mice.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Intratumoral immunization with tumor RNA-pulsed dendritic cells confers antitumor immunity in a C57BL/6 pancreatic murine tumor model. "Pancreatic tumors lack adequate recruitment of...

Patent granted for EradicAide technology to diagnose, prevent, treat AIDS.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adventrx Pharmaceuticals (AVRX) announced that its collaborators at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have been issued United States Patent number 6,656,471 entitled "HIV-specific...

Dr. Vincent F. Simmon named chief operating officer.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics in immunology and oncology, announced that Vincent F. Simmon, PhD, has joined the company as chief operating...

Drug delivery company appoints new VP, finance and administration.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NOBEX Corp., a drug development company specializing in drug delivery, announced that Russell M. Savre has recently accepted the position of vice president of finance and administration. Savre...

Gearing up for expansion, biopharma company strengthens senior management team.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- To support the progress of its lead therapeutics in clinical phases and to accelerate manufacturing expansion of products nearing commercial approval, ProMetic Life Sciences, Inc., (PLI) announced a...

Pharmacokinetics of emtricitabine in HIV-infected children determined.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Investigators report the pharmacokinetics of emtricitabine in HIV-infected children in a recent issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. "Emtricitabine (FTC; Emtriva), a potent deoxycytidine...

Survey shows impact of psoriasis is more than skin deep.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People with psoriasis experience a crisis in self-confidence so severe it can darken almost every aspect of life, from the quality of their love life to performance on the job and day-to-day social...

U.S. patent issued for CTLA4-Ig rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Repligen Corporation (RGEN) announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. patent # 6,685,941 entitled "Methods of Treating Autoimmune Disease via CTLA4-Ig," covering a method...

Immune response makes stem cells transduced by lentiviral vectors disappear.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immune response makes stem cells transduced by lentiviral vectors disappear. "Lentiviral vectors are increasingly being used for transferring genes into hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) due to their...

Donor T-cell IL-13 output predicts GVHD.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surprisingly, production of IL-13 by donor T cells can predict the development of acute graft-versus-host reactions. According to a study from England, "Despite the success of human leukocyte...

HistoCheck software can help prevent HLA mismatches.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel software program can help prevent HLA mismatches in transplant recipients. "HLA polymorphism is a major barrier for hematopoietic stem-cell and solid organ transplantation," scientists in...

Potential vaccine antigens of Streptococcus pyogenes identified.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have characterized 16 putative extracellular lipoproteins made by Streptococcus pyogenes, which are new candidate vaccine antigens. "Putative extracellular lipoproteins made by group A...

A little stress may go a long way toward boosting skin's immunity.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of studies in rats and mice suggests that short bouts of stress increase the skin's ability to fight infections and heal minor wounds. The immune response of animals exposed to acute stress...

International grant supports study related to preventing organ rejection.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Iowa (UI) researcher is among a handful of organ transplantation investigators in the United States to receive an international competitive grant. Roche Organ Transplantation...

STAT1 plays key role in defense against pulmonary TB in mice.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- STAT1 activity is crucial for control of pulmonary tuberculosis in mice. Scientists in Japan conducted a study to "determine the roles of STAT1 protein in defense against mycobacterial infection."...

Defective M. tuberculosis provides greater TB immunity than BCG vaccine.
March 3, 2004... 2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mycobacterium tuberculosis defective in phthiocerol dimycocerosate translocation provides greater protective immunity against tuberculosis than does the existing bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine....

Interleukin 3 modulates etoposide toxicity on mouse macrophages.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interleukin 3 modulates the toxic action of etoposide on mouse peritoneal macrophages. According to recent research from Spain, "In the present work, we have studied the toxic action of etoposide...

Common virus may contribute to uncommon bone disease.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A common virus may play a major role in causing a painful disease of immune cells that attacks children's bones, according to a new study. The research may eventually lead to an easier diagnosis and to...

Increased thrombin activity occurs after allergen challenge.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Increased thrombin activity occurs after allergen challenge. "In addition to its central role in homeostasis, thrombin may play a role in inflammation and remodeling. To investigate the...

CD4+CD25+ T[subscript]R cells control anti-HIV, CMV T-cell activity.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CD4+CD25+ T[subscript]R cells control T-cell responses to HIV and CMV infection. "Regulatory T (T[subscript]R) cells maintain tolerance to self-antigens and control immune responses to alloantigens...

Study shows recipients' livers grow more than donors'.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The liver regenerates rapidly in both donors and recipients of partial liver transplants in the months following their surgeries, but surprisingly, recipients show greater liver growth than their...

Structure of M. tuberculosis MPT51 protein characterized.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The structure of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis MPT51 protein has been characterized. M. tuberculosis, "the causative agent of tuberculosis, is known to secrete a number of highly immunogenic...

FDA approval granted for immune response modifier for precancerous skin lesions.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to the American Academy of Dermatology, actinic keratosis (AK) affects as many as 10 million Americans each year. Caused by chronic sun exposure, actinic keratoses are precancerous skin...

Phase II/III trial initiated for ragweed allergy immunotherapy.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dynavax Technologies Corporation (DVAX) announced the start of a multi-site, phase II/III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its ragweed allergy immunotherapy product candidate, AIC....

Inhaled steroid therapy does not reduce fetal growth.
March 31, 2004... 2004 MAR 31 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Inhaled steroid therapy by pregnant women with asthma does not lead to a restriction in fetal growth, researchers report. In the largest sample to date examining the potential effects that inhaled...