In an effort to develop more effective cancer treatments, scientists are looking for therapies that supercharge patients’ immune systems. One possibility is to use antibodies that activate CD40, an immune-cell protein that, when triggered, prompts the rest of the immune system to spring into action. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Though promising, drugs that target CD40...
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Brainwave activity reveals potential biomarker for autism in children
Kanazawa, Japan – Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can impair communication ability, socialization, and verbal and motor skills. It generally starts in early childhood and is diagnosed through behavior observation. This means of assessment can be imprecise, which is especially problematic when early identification is vital for developmental follow up. A...
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Cytokine levels could predict autoimmune reactions to cancer Immunotherapy
The development of immunotherapy, which mobilizes the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells, is one of the greatest advances in cancer treatment, but immunotherapy can cause harm to healthy tissue in some patients. Researchers at UT Southwestern have identified blood-based biomarkers that may help identify those patients at greatest risk of developing autoimmune...
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It started as a ‘weird idea,’ but a new study shows the appendix can initiate Parkinson’s
Asquishy, 4-inch gut organ whose function has baffled anatomists for centuries is about to have its moment of fame: The lowly appendix, scientists reported in a study on Wednesday, can initiate Parkinson’s disease. It does so, they suspect, by serving as a reservoir of misfolded, clumping, neurotoxic proteins that travel to the brainstem via the vagus nerve, which runs from the gut...
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Inflammation can lead to circadian sleep disorders
Novel technology turns inflammation on and off, affecting body clock in mice NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY CHICAGO — Inflammation, which is the root cause of autoimmune disorders including arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn’s disease, has unexpected effects on body clock function and can lead to sleep and shiftwork-type disorders, a new Northwestern Medicine study in...
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New study offers hope for patients suffering from a rare form of blindness
A new form of therapy may halt or even reverse a form of progressive vision loss that, until now, has inevitably led to blindness. This hyper-targeted approach offers hope to individuals living with spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) and validates a new form of therapy with the potential to treat neurogenetic diseases effectively and with...
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Cell-compressing technique a new path in Immunotherapy
Cell-based immunotherapies, which often involve engineering cells to activate or suppress the immune system, have delivered some dramatic results to cancer patients with few other options. But the complex process of developing these therapies has limited a field that many believe could be a powerful new frontier in medicine. To engineer cell functions, SQZ Biotech uses tiny...
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Anti-CD47 cancer therapy safe, shows promise in small clinical trial
A novel immunotherapy appears safe for use in patients with a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to a phase-1 multicenter clinical trial led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Although some patients showed signs of a transitory anemia or reactions at the injection site, there were few other...
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Is it brain infection or cancer? A new rapid test could hold the answer
When patients present with neurologic symptoms such as severe headaches or seizures, the symptoms could suggest anything from infection, cancer, or an autoimmune disease of the brain or spinal cord, leaving physicians scrambling to find the cause in a short amount of time. The differences in diagnosis can mean having mere hours to act or...
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Cooling ‘brains on fire’ to treat Parkinson’s
A promising new therapy to stop Parkinson’s disease in its tracks has been developed at The University of Queensland. UQ Faculty of Medicine researcher Associate Professor Trent Woodruff said the team found that a small molecule, MCC950, stopped the development of Parkinson’s in several animal models. The NLRP3 inflammasome (green) is expressed by immune cells...