http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the December 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. http://www.physorg.com/news178264218.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:10:02 EST news178264218 A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms - and improved vision - following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease. http://www.physorg.com/news176737372.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:43:30 EST news176737372 (PhysOrg.com) -- A study into the relationship between antibodies and proteins in people with Lupus could mean earlier diagnosis of kidney disease in such patients, and lead the way for earlier diagnoses for other autoimmune diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news176661020.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:31:29 EST news176661020 Currently, 5-8% of the U.S. population is afflicted with an autoimmune disease. Many of these are chronic and require life-long care. Moreover, different autoimmune diseases aggregate within a single family, suggesting they are caused by disruptions in common biological pathways. http://www.physorg.com/news176047087.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:01 EST news176047087 The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) released new data today showing that a staggering 285 million people worldwide have diabetes. The latest figures from the IDF Diabetes Atlas indicate that people in low and middle-income countries (LMCs) are bearing the brunt of the epidemic, and that the disease is affecting far more people of working age than previously believed. http://www.physorg.com/news175257091.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:50:01 EST news175257091 Macrophages, the scavenger cells of the body's immune system, are responsible for disposing of dying cells. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified one pathway in this important process in mice that, if disrupted, causes a lupuslike autoimmune disease. http://www.physorg.com/news175093362.html Medicine & Health Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:03:19 EST news175093362 (PhysOrg.com) -- Mercury, the silvery liquid formerly used in thermometers, is now known to be highly toxic. The worst of the toxins are organic mercury compounds, such as methylmercury. Most previous analytical procedures for the detection of methylmercury were technically difficult and could only be carried out in a laboratory. http://www.physorg.com/news174822407.html Chemistry Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:03 EST news174822407 More studies that directly compare the effectiveness of different biologic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are needed, say Cochrane Researchers. The researchers reviewed all previous Cochrane Systematic Reviews assessing the effectiveness of biologic disease-modifying drugs for treatment of RA and found that although all were very effective, there was little data on direct comparisons between the drugs that could help doctors decide which to prescribe. http://www.physorg.com/news174112238.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:00:02 EST news174112238 Abatacept, a member of a new class of drug that targets immune cells to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is effective against RA, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. The review examines recent trials to assess safety and efficacy of the drug. http://www.physorg.com/news174077828.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:30:02 EST news174077828 Today, The Lewin Group, a national health care consulting firm, issued recommendations on ways to overcome the barriers that have obstructed lupus drug development resulting in no new drug approval for this disease in more than 50 years - since the Eisenhower Administration. The recommendations are included in the report, "Overcoming Barriers to Drug Development in Lupus," which is the outcome of a 9-month study commissioned by the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA). The recommendations highlight the need for a national collaborative and coordinated effort among key stakeholders, including the FDA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers and scientists from academia, the LFA, and industry, to implement a range of initiatives that would create a path forward to develop a robust arsenal of safe, effective, and more tolerable treatments for this difficult to treat and devastating disease. http://www.physorg.com/news173941754.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:40:02 EST news173941754 (PhysOrg.com) -- The master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting 'Natural Killer' (NK) immune cells has been identified by scientists, in a study published in Nature Immunology today. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news172072752.html Medicine & Health Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:50:03 EST news172072752 University of Michigan scientists say they have uncovered a fundamentally new mechanism that holds in check aggressive immune cells that can attack the body's own cells. The findings open a new avenue of research for future therapies for conditions ranging from autoimmune diseases to organ transplants to cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news171028780.html Chemistry Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:10:02 EST news171028780 UCSF researchers have identified the two key circuits that control a cell's ability to adapt to changes in its environment, a finding that could have applications ranging from diabetes and autoimmune research to targeted drug development for complex diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news170136477.html Biology Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:30:02 EST news170136477 Scientists at Stanford University have identified a gene that may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body's insulin-producing cells. Insulin, a hormone produced by cells of the pancreas, helps the body to absorb sugars found in food and to maintain blood sugar at appropriate levels. http://www.physorg.com/news169121256.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:08:15 EST news169121256 Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight may be associated with the development of certain autoimmune diseases, particularly in women, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.physorg.com/news168179179.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:40:01 EST news168179179 Patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of infection, due to both disturbances in their immune responses and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. Because morbidity and mortality related to influenza are increased in immunocompromised patients, it is recommended that patients with SLE get annual flu shots, which are safe and do not increase disease activity. http://www.physorg.com/news168152658.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:20:01 EST news168152658 Expression of a single gene programs an immune system helper T cell that fuels rapid growth and diversification of antibodies in a cellular structure implicated in autoimmune diseases and development of B cell lymphoma, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported today in Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news167578949.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:30:01 EST news167578949 A recently identified gene allows immune cells to start the self-destructive processes thought to underlie autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. http://www.physorg.com/news166986841.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:20:02 EST news166986841 The more than 1.5 million Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus (or lupus) suffer from a variety of symptoms that flare and subside, often including painful or swollen joints, extreme fatigue, skin rashes, fever, and kidney problems. Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have now identified the main trigger for the development of this disease. http://www.physorg.com/news165516329.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:20:05 EST news165516329 In a study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified cells in blood that predict which HIV-positive individuals are most likely to develop deadly fungal meningitis, a major cause of HIV-related death. This form of meningitis affects more than 900,000 HIV-infected people globally -most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas of the world where antiretroviral therapy for HIV is not available. http://www.physorg.com/news164337240.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:50:01 EST news164337240 The immune system's T-cells react to foreign protein fragments and therefore are crucial to combating viruses and bacteria. Errant cells that attack the body's own material are in most cases driven to cell death. Some of these autoreactive T-cells, however, undergo a kind of reeducation to become "regulatory T-cells" that keep other autoreactive T-cells under control. A group led by immunologist Professor Ludger Klein of LMU Munich has now shown that the developmental stage of an autoreactive T-cell is decisive to its ultimate destiny. http://www.physorg.com/news164290757.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:10:02 EST news164290757 Australian and New Zealand researchers have accelerated research into Multiple Sclerosis by discovering two new locations of genes which will help to unravel the causes of MS and other autoimmune disease. http://www.physorg.com/news164207328.html Medicine & Health Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:09:32 EST news164207328 Cigarette smoking induced COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a disease that results in severe breathing difficulty. According to World Health Organization (WHO) it is the fourth leading killer worldwide. However the mechanisms responsible for some smokers developing COPD and others evading the disease have not been well understood. http://www.physorg.com/news163335346.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:56:08 EST news163335346 Linking genetic material microRNAs with cells that regulate the immune system could one day lead to new therapies for treating cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. http://www.physorg.com/news163096621.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:37:37 EST news163096621 The full details about the molecules and mechanisms that underlie the development of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, remain to be discovered. One compound that may have a role in alleviating these conditions is quinoline-3-carboxamide, which is currently being tested in various clinical trials. In this week's PLoS Biology, researchers from Lund University, Sweden, the University of Munster in Germany, and the company Active Biotech AB, identify a molecular target for quinoline compounds. http://www.physorg.com/news160129369.html Biology Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:23:20 EST news160129369 Autoimmune diseases have long been regarded as illnesses in which the immune system creates autoantibodies to attack the body itself. But, researchers at the California non-profit Autoimmunity Research Foundation (ARF) explain that the antibodies observed in autoimmune disease actually result from alteration of human genes and gene products by hidden bacteria. http://www.physorg.com/news160046187.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:16:57 EST news160046187 (PhysOrg.com) -- Parasite infestations might have a good side. Wild mice from a Nottinghamshire forest have given experts at The University of Nottingham clues as to the importance of some parasites, such as lice, for the conditioning of a `natural` immune system. http://www.physorg.com/news159636984.html Biology Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:36:56 EST news159636984 Patients with a rare, blinding eye disease saw their vision improve after treatment with drugs to suppress their immune systems, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. Because autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) is difficult to diagnose, the biggest challenge now is to find biologic markers that identify patients who can benefit from treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news158862397.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:27:05 EST news158862397 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. http://www.physorg.com/news158425579.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:06:48 EST news158425579 Genes taken from fireflies and jellyfish are literally shedding light on possible causes of infertility and autoimmune diseases in humans. http://www.physorg.com/news157369371.html Medicine & Health Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:45:07 EST news157369371