Posted Today After decades of attempts by the scientific community, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Peking University have provided the first clear look at a protein implicated in a vast array of inflammatory conditions. The finding, published in Nature, lifts a blindfold that has hampered scientists’ ability to intervene when the immune system overreacts to...
Category: <span>Inflammation</span>
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Inflamed monkey guts produce Parkinson’s-related proteins
by Chris Barncard, University of Wisconsin-Madison The intestinal linings of monkeys with inflamed bowels show chemical alterations similar to abnormal protein deposits in the brains of Parkinson’s patients, lending support to the idea that inflammation may play a key role in the development of the degenerative neurological disorder. A study published by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers today in the Journal of...
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Researchers identify previously unknown bacterial strain
by Johannes Angerer, Medical University of Vienna Clinicians at the Department of Neurology of MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital identified muscle weakness and severe fatigue in a previously healthy patient, to the extent that he was soon confined to a wheelchair. These symptoms were indicative of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis. However, the treating neurologist, Matthias Tomschik,...
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Phenols in purple corn fight diabetes, obesity, inflammation in mouse cells
Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed new hybrids of purple corn containing different combinations of phytochemicals that may fight obesity, inflammation and diabetes, a new study in mice indicates. The pericarp – or outer layer – of purple and other brightly colored corn kernels also may provide an alternative source of colorants for food products, giving corn producers another value-added product from their crop, said the U....
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Cimzia injection approved for new inflammatory arthritis indication
(HealthDay)—Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) injection has been approved to treat adults with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) with objective signs of inflammation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced. The injection is the first treatment approved for nr-axSpA. Approval was based on data from a randomized clinical trial of 317 adult patients with nr-axSpA and objective signs of inflammation as indicated by magnetic resonance imaging showing elevated C-reactive protein levels...
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New approach to treating gastrointestinal disease patches up leaky intestines
Doctors typically prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs to people suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. These medications, however, leave much to be desired: they are often ineffective and can come with unpleasant side effects. What’s more, they tend to remedy the symptoms of the disease rather than fixing the underlying problem. Now, a multi-institutional study...
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Inflammatory monocytes play contradictory roles in fungal infections
Immune cells called inflammatory monocytes are often one of the first responders to infections, but they actually facilitate the progression of Cryptococcus neoformans infection in mice, according to a study published March 21 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Lena Heung and Tobias Hohl of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. According to the authors, these disparate results indicate that inflammatory monocytes possess a plasticity of...
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Inflamm-aging’ causes loss of bone healing ability in the elderly
Increases in chronic inflammation—not the passage of time—is the main reason why injured bones do not heal as well with age. This is the finding of a study in mice and humans published March 18 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The results revolve around the known breakdown, due to wear and tear,...
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Inflammatory monocytes play contradictory roles in fungal infections
by Public Library of Science Cryptococcus neoformans cells (black arrows) are visualized within multinucleated giant cells (white asterisks) in the lungs of wild type mice (left panel). Ablation of monocytes in CCR2-DTR mice (right panel) reduces the number of macrophages and multinucleated giant cells and impedes the proliferation of C. neoformans in the lungs. Credit: Heung 2019 Immune cells...
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UTSW researchers identify new mechanism to reduce inflammation
CREDIT: UT SOUTHWESTERN DALLAS – March 21, 2019 – UT Southwestern researchers have identified two proteins that act as gatekeepers to dampen a potentially life-threatening immune response to chronic infection. IMAGE: DR. ZIXU LIU view more CREDIT: UT SOUTHWESTERN The proteins – the transcription factors SIX1 and SIX2 – activate cellular pathways required for fetal development and later switch to...