Immunity Health News

Researchers from VIB and Ghent University are beginning Phase I of human testing of their new Universal Flu Vaccine.

that is, the candidate vaccine is being administered to a small group of healthy people in order to verify the safety of the product and to provide an initial insight into the vaccine’s effect on the human immune system.

While the external structure of all flu viruses changes each year through mutation — thus becoming unrecognizeable to our immune systems antibodies and requiring a new vaccine — all human flu viruses known carry the so-called M2 protein on their surface, and it is this which the vaccine targets.

There is much controversy concerning overvaccination. Keeping in mind that flu viruses cause 3 to 5 million hospitalizations and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths per year, and the looming threat of a pandemic flu virus like the Spanish Flu of 1918, perhaps this vaccine would be worth consideration.

Read more.

Alopecia areata is thought to be an autoimmune disease affecting about one percent of the population. The body’s immune system mistakingly attacks its own hair follicles, presenting bald patches in the scalp or beard.

It strikes women and men in equal numbers and is found in all races.

The cause is probably an immune attack by the body on its own hair follicles. What sets off the attack is something yet to be explained. Often, alopecia areata runs in families. Sometimes it’s seen in association with other illnesses, like type 1 diabetes, lupus, asthma or thyroid gland inflammation.

Read more about treatment.

The wiki link above is also full of information.

As if there weren’t enough things to keep pregnant mothers on edge, scientists have now discovered that women who contract respiratory infections during their second trimester have a 7 times greater likelihood of having a child with schizophrenia, as well as an increased risk of autism.

The good news, however, is that the scientists

found that it was the mother’s immune response that caused the problem, rather than the virus itself.

This means that they are

closer to a therapy to reverse the effects of viruses on fetuses.

Read the whole article.

A team of the leading cancer researchers in Canada are being funded $3.5 million by the Terry Fox Foundation to conduct experiments aimed at training the immune system to recognize and target cancerous tissue.

“Tumours avoid immune attack by convincing the immune system that they are normal, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said Bramson. “Our strategies are designed to teach the immune system how to spot the tell-tale signs of the wolf. In this way, the tumours will no longer be able to hide, but the healthy tissues will be left untouched.”

Read more.

An Israeli biopharmaceutical company has developed a way to train the body’s immune cells to attack cancer by introducing “angered” immune cells from a donor.

The company takes T-cells from a normal donor and produces them ex-vivo in a nine-day proprietary culture process in a bioreactor. There is no need to match the donor to the recipient as required in BMT procedures. The AlloStim product is an intentional mismatch to the recipient. In the bioreactor the cells are activated with monoclonal antibody-coated particles that are removed before they are given to the patient.

“We provoke these cells, so that they become very ‘angry’ immune cells that are highly stimulated,” explains Har-Noy. “Then we infuse them into the patient. The patient’s immune system sees these new ‘angry’ cells as a great danger to the body, and rallies to the defense to eliminate the threat, releasing an array of inflammatory cytokines, in what is a bit like the fight or flight response of adrenaline.”

So far, this has only been tested on mice. Clinical trials on advanced cancer patients begin in 2008.

Read more.

Research published today in the journal Development shows a link between the immune system and the cells which produce milk during lactation. Until now, milk production was thought to be solely a response to steroid and peptide hormones.

The researchers, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), found that cytokines, which have a central role in immune response, are used in the breast to promote the production of milk producing cells. The finding has implications for understanding breast cancer as cells that respond incorrectly to cytokine signalling can grow out of control and become cancerous.

“The breast undergoes tremendous and amazing changes during and after pregnancy. The body generates milk producing cells using signalling mechanisms adopted from the immune system and once a child is weaned these cells die and the mammary gland returns to its pre-pregnant state. It is vital that we understand the processes involved as it is when these normal developmental events go wrong that we are at risk of cancer developing.”

Read the whole article.

The days of the peanut allergy may be numbered.

Researchers at Britain’s Institute of Food Research have identified a missing molecule — interleukin-12 – which may be responsible for preventing food allergies.

The dendritic cells of mice bred to be allergic to peanuts did not produce this molecule.

If an allergen such as a peanut were taken alongside the Interleukin-12, Dr Nicoletti said that the allergic reactions might be brought under control.

Read more.

A study last year out of the University of British Columbia shows that babies exposed to at least one antibiotic are twice as likely as those unexposed to develop asthma in childhood. It also concludes that for each additional course taken during the first year of life the overall chance of developing asthma increased by 16 per cent.

More about antibiotics in infants.

In a related study, children who grew up with dogs in the home were less likely to develop asthma, possibly because the increased number of microbes the dog brings in helps to prime the child’s immune system.

More about dogs and asthma.

Scientists have long known that immune responses differ between men and women, which is why they tend to use male animals in their research (in case female hormones complicate the study data).

But new research has shown in mice exposed to ozone a greater susceptibility to infection among females than males.

“If we could extrapolate what we found to the human population, it would mean women with lung infections may be at higher risk for negative outcomes if they are exposed to high amounts of air pollution, and in particular, ozone,” said Joanna Floros, Ph.D., Penn State College of Medicine professor of cellular and molecular physiology, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology, and the lead investigator on the study.

Read the whole article.

Rose hips may provide an effective treatment for Rheumatoid arthritis, according to recent research.

Severely affected patients already being treated with conventional drugs experienced significant improvement after taking capsules of rose-hip powder for six months, a pilot study showed. More.

At the same time, research was presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain, suggesting that alcohol reduced the chances of developing R.a.:

The benefits were seen when a person drank three servings of alcohol a week and when there was [sic] ten units a week there was even more protection. More.

In ages past, one type of mead was made with rosehips. That might save you having to organize two drinks! here’s the recipe from beertown.org:

Rose Hip Mead, served at AHA Conference Herb and Spice Beer

Ingredients: for 3 gallons:*12 lb. Orange Blossom Honey*2 gallons spring water*1 T Dry malt extract*15 gm white wine yeast*3 lb dried rose hips in secondary*

Instructions: Heat must to 150F for 20 minutes. Chill. Pitch yeast. Ferment. Transfer to secondary on top of rose hips. rack to tertiary and top up. When clear, rack and bottle. Share with friends.