autoimmune disease

Pesearchers probe kidney damage, protection in lupus

harminka — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:37:37 -0500

Kidney damage associated with the autoimmune disease lupus is linked to a malfunction of immune cells that causes them to congregate in and attack the organs, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a mouse study.

Vitamin D may exacerbate autoimmune disease

harminka — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:26:10 -0500

Deficiency in vitamin D has been widely regarded as contributing to autoimmune disease, but a review appearing in Autoimmunity Reviews explains that low levels of vitamin D in patients with autoimmune disease may be a result rather than a cause of disease and that supplementing with vitamin D may actually exacerbate autoimmune disease.

Fireflies and jellyfish help illuminate quest for cause of infertility

harminka — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:35:06 -0500

Genes taken from fireflies and jellyfish are literally shedding light on possible causes of infertility and autoimmune diseases in humans.

New structural motif in key enzymes is essential to prevent autoimmune disease

harminka — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:11:56 -0600

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation have found a specific mutation that leads to the development of severe autoimmune kidney disease in mice.

Neurotransmitter defect may trigger autoimmune disease

harminka — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:12:53 -0500

A potentially blinding neurological disorder, often confused with multiple sclerosis (MS), has now become a little less mysterious. A new study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, may have uncovered the cause of Devic's disease.

Type 1 diabetes may result from good genes behaving badly

harminka — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:50:42 -0500

New research from Stanford University scientists suggests that type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that develops in children and young adults, may not be due to bad genes but rather to good genes behaving badly.

Despite Risks, Powerful Drugs Offer Hope and Relief to Autoimmune Patients

gstone — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:04:53 -0500

New Survey by Applied Data Research Analyzes Therapeutic and Commercial Factors in Treating Autoimmune Diseases

Lung inflammation from influenza could be turned off with new discovery

harminka — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:23:06 -0500

A new discovery could lead to treatments which turn off the inflammation in the lungs caused by influenza and other infections, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Immunology.

Pre-eclampsia may be autoimmune disease

harminka — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:14:17 -0500

Biochemists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston say they are the first to provide pre-clinical evidence that pregnancy-induced high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia may be an autoimmune disease. Their research could provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities for this intractable disease. Findings appear online in Nature Medicine on July 27.

Dartmouth researchers discover gene signatures for scleroderma

harminka — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:11:54 -0500

Distinct genetic profiles can discern different groups of patients with scleroderma, a vexing autoimmune disease in which the body turns against itself, Dartmouth Medical School researchers report.

Strengthening the tumor-fighting ability of T cells

harminka — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:01:43 -0500

When faced with cancer, the immune system dispatches cells, called T cells, to kill the tumor. But these killer cells often fail to completely eliminate the tumor because they’re deactivated by a distinct population of T cells known as regulatory T cells.

Significance and limitations of new lupus gene expression research

harminka — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:25:12 -0600

Some 1.5 million Americans, most of them women, suffer from lupus, a disease where the person’s immune system attacks the body’s own tissue. This week marks a significant step forward in understanding how the disease works with the online publication of four new studies identifying genes involved in this often debilitating chronic disease.