Scientists develop a novel strategy to help prevent transplant rejection
...on resigns the recipient to a lifetime of powerful immunosuppressive drugs that have many unwanted side effects. "Increasingly organ transplants in the case of kidneys, liver or lung tissue occur between living relatives so you know in advance who the donor and recipient are. Our strategy opens up the possibility of o...Embryonic pig cell transplants halt rat diabetes
...her take insulin, or would I rather take all these immunosuppressive drugs? It's not the greatest choice in the world." The next phase of research will involve pig-to-primate transplants. If those are successful, then pig-to-human transplant trials can be considered. Hammerman also is studying the use of...Other highlights in the May 5 JNCI
...ing to a new study. Glucocorticoids are a group of immunosuppressive drugs, such as prednisone, that are used to treat acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Henrik Toft Srensen, M.D., Ph.D., of Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark, and colleagues identified 59,043 individuals from the North Jutland Presc...Insight into transplant rejection might lead to novel prevention therapies
...s in 60 percent of lung recipients despite current immunosuppressive treatments, all of which are directed at the adaptive immune system, he added. Although the initial rejection can in many cases be managed with further treatment, a new suite of drugs aimed at suppressing the innate response in the lung could signifi...Protective mechanism exploited by tumors may provide new cancer treatment
...f normal host immune cells were expressing IDO, an immunosuppressive enzyme also expressed by the fetus to help avoid rejection by the mother's immune system. They also found that when they gave a drug to block IDO expression, the immune system rallied. "Our hypothesis in this situation was that the bad guys in this c...U-M scientists find common virus in human prostate tissue
... discovered in kidney transplant patients who take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent their body from rejecting a new kidney. Scientists have found BK virus in several types of human cancer and it has been shown to cause kidney tumors in laboratory mice. While the virus has received scientific study for its role in k...Joslin Diabetes Center launches research section on developmental and stem cell biology
...the lack of donor tissue and the need for powerful immunosuppressive drugs. Scientists hope that stem cells may someda...nts without the need for prolonged use of powerful immunosuppressive drugs. In related studies, using strategies that previously have been successful in identifying pr...Stem cell research targets cerebral palsy
...ompare the success of transplants that include the immunosuppressive agent, cyclosporine-A, to those that don't. He'll also look at the bottom line: whether the motor skills of the animal model are improved following the transplant. Since he began his studies of stem cell transplants, parents nationwide have asked wh...New model can aid in understanding immune system diseases
...onucleosis. But for people with AIDS or who are on immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection of a donated organ, there is a risk that the activated virus will produce a viral protein called latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), which in turn can cause B cell lymphoma, or tumors, Bishop said. The new mouse model will he...Probing the surface of white blood cells to enhance immune system medicine
...hey would be able to use this knowledge to develop immunosuppressive or anti-metastatic agents, enhancing the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Higgs and other Dartmouth medical researchers are working to investigate this promising tool through funding from a $12 million Centers of Biomedical Research and Exce...