News by Subject Medicine & Health

Giving children an additional dose of rotavirus vaccine when they are nine months old would provide only a modest improvement in the vaccine's effectiveness in low-income countries, according to a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health and the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool.

Gluten-free diets have been trendy for several years now, with adherents claiming that avoiding grains that contain the substance helps with weight loss or improves general health. However, for people with celiac disease, avoiding gluten is not a fad but a necessity. Now, researchers reporting in the Journal of Proteome Research have developed a method to detect proteins from rye, which could help food manufacturers meet regulatory requirements for 'gluten-free' claims on foods.

A team led by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has gained new insights into the mechanism of vaccine-induced T cell immunity, including regulation, gene expression and metabolic pathways. This study, published in Nature Communications, used samples from a Phase 1 clinical trial for TAK-003, a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine. Though these discoveries occurred in the context of a dengue vaccine trial, they are applicable to the development of vaccines for numerous viral diseases.

A new study shows that the risk of giving birth to a child with microcephaly might be related to how the immune system reacts against the Zika virus -- specifically what kind of antibodies it produces.

New research led by scientists at The Rockefeller University in New York may help explain why Zika virus infection causes birth defects in some children but not others. The study, which will be published August 14 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that the risk of developing an abnormally small head (microcephaly) depends on the types of antibody produced by pregnant mothers in response to Zika infection.

With the help of new technology, the researchers of the University of Turku in Finland have gained more detailed information on the diversity of the human lymphatic system than before. The research results can help to understand the human defence mechanisms on the molecular level even better than before. Several cancers, such as breast cancer and head and neck cancers, spread primarily via the lymphatic system.

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have identified a molecular switch that impacts immune responses to viral infections, and whether or not protective antibodies are produced. The team also made the surprising discovery that the immune system protects against different viruses via distinct pathways. Their findings could lead to better strategies to develop vaccines for previously hard-to-prevent viruses.

A new multicenter study at Columbia University links long-term exposure to air pollution, especially ozone, to development of emphysema, accelerating lung disease progression as much as a pack a day of cigarettes.