Innovative Approach Stops Disease-Fueling Inflammation In Lab Tests
Scientists have developed a unique compound that in laboratory tests blocks inflammation-causing molecules in blood cells known to fuel ailments like cancer and cardiovascular disease without causing harmful toxicity. Past attempts to identify new compounds that tamp down so-called reactive oxygen species (ROS) molecules in cells have been complicated by toxicity issues and a lack of specificity in targeting molecular processes. Researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center report in the Feb.
Skin Infection Sheds Light On Immune Cells Living In Our Skin
Very recently, researchers discovered an important population of immune cells called memory T cells living in parts of the body that are in contact with the environment (e.g., skin, lung, GI tract). How these "resident" memory T cells are generated was unknown, and their importance with regard to how our immune system remembers infection and how it prevents against re-infection is being studied intensively. Now, a study by a Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) research team led by Xiaodong Jiang, PhD, research scientist and Thomas S.
Babies Benefit When Their Mothers Are Vaccinated For Influenza During Pregnancy
Vaccinating pregnant women against the influenza virus appears to have a significant positive effect on birth weight in babies, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The study, a randomized controlled trial involving 340 healthy pregnant women in Bangladesh in the third trimester, looked at the effect of immunization with the influenza vaccine on babies born to vaccinated mothers. It was part of the Mother'sGift project looking at the safety and efficacy of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines in pregnant women in Bangladesh.