One Step At A Time: Understanding A Bacterial Immune System
Researchers at the University of Alberta have taken an important step in understanding an immune system of bacteria, a finding that could have implications for medical care and both the pharmaceutical and dairy industries. In research published in the high impact journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Andrew MacMillan and co-workers in his lab have described the first step of the immune response of bacterial cells. Scientists had previously found that a bacterial virus, called a bacteriophage, attacks a bacterial cell by injecting its DNA in to the cell.
Flu Vaccine Microinjection Fluzone Approved By FDA
A new intradermal microinjection delivery system - Fluzone Intradermal (Influenza Virus Vaccine) - has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The flu vaccine is to be used for patients aged 18 to 64 years of age to protect against influenza subtypes A and type B. An intradermal injection is given into the skin. The Fluzone Intradermal vaccine has an ultra-fine needle, only 10% of the length of most intramuscular vaccines for flu. It generates an immune response from the dendritic skin cells.
African-Americans With SLE More Responsive To Flu Vaccine Than Patients Of European Descent
New research shows that African Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) had a higher antibody response to influenza vaccination than European American patients. Treatment with prednisone, a history of hemolytic anemia, and increased disease flares were also linked to low antibody response in SLE patients who received the flu vaccine according to the study now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a peer-reviewed journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).