Health and Medicine

The hormone leptin, primarily produced in fat cells, helps regulate food intake, metabolism and reproduction. It has also been shown to promote and sustain the bodys immune response by binding to T lymphocytes – the frontline cells that protect against infection.

The disease experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice is currently used by researchers as a model of human multiple sclerosis (MS). The disease is characterized by the production of autoreactive T lymphocytes that tur

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that afflicts 17 million people in the United States and is the fourth leading cause of death. Over 2 million patients suffer from its most severe form – childhood diabetes – also known as Type 1, juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes. We now understand that childhood diabetes is an autoimmune illness, where the body’s own white blood cells, which normally fight infection, turn and act against the body. These white blood cells target a specific group of

Inexpensive and fast route to large-scale production, say scientists at The Scripps Research Institute

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have used algae to express an antibody that targets herpes virus, describing the work in an upcoming issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This antibody could potentially be an ingredient in an anti-herpes topical cream or other anti-herpes treatments, but more importantly the alg

Herpes viruses are notorious for their ability to hide from the immune system and establish lifelong infections. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered how one mouse herpes virus escapes detection. The study appears in the January issue of the journal Immunity.

“These findings not only provide a better understanding of viral infections,” says study leader Ted H. Hansen, Ph.D., professor of genetics, “they also offer novel insights into basic cel

For the first time, engineers have enabled paralysed people to stand up and balance for significant periods without holding an external support. This is an important breakthrough in helping individuals with spinal cord injuries to start standing again for useful lengths of time – up to seven minutes have been achieved in experiments.

The cutting-edge research project that achieved this advance was carried out by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Glasgow with fund

Results from two large European studies suggest that adjuvant chemotherapy immediately after surgery for early-stage ovarian cancer can increase some patients’ chances of both overall and recurrence-free survival. The findings are reported in three articles in the January 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

As many as 50% of patients with early-stage ovarian cancer relapse after surgery, and these subsequent tumor recurrences are often resistant to treatment. Adju