News by Subject Medicine & Health

The field of immunotherapy is moving forward at an unprecedented rate and cancer immunotherapy, in particular, has recently come of age!

Adding another reason for doctors to avoid the overuse of antibiotics, new research shows that a reduction in the variety of microbes in the gut interferes with the immune system's ability to fight off disease.

University of Alberta researchers have found that peroxisomes are required for cells in the innate immune response to bacteria and fungi. Research Associate Francesca Di Cara, together with Richard Rachubinski, professor and chair of the Department of Cell Biology, and Andrew Simmonds, cell biology associate professor, found that peroxisomes are necessary for proper functioning of the innate immune system, the body's first line of defense against microorganisms.

A study led by Wistar scientists describes a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer based on the use of synthetic DNA to directly encode protective antibodies against a cancer-specific protein.

Hemorrhagic fevers are severe viral diseases that are often fatal. Researchers from the University of Basel have now identified messenger substances of the immune system, which in infected mice lead to the development of shock. These results, published in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe, open up new possibilities for the development of life-saving therapies.

Molecular biologists led by Leonid Pobezinsky and his wife and research collaborator Elena Pobezinskaya at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have published results that for the first time show how a microRNA molecule known as Lethal-7 (let-7) serves as a molecular control hub to direct the function of cytotoxic T lymphocytes by putting the brakes on their cell-killing activities.

An ECDC expert opinion concludes that there is clear evidence supporting the use of neuraminidase inhibitors in the treatment and prevention of influenza. Moreover, the current recommendations in European countries on the use of the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir and zanamivir are appropriate and should be applied by prescribing physicians.