CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 16, 1987
Scientists have found a new clue to how the brain may interact with the immune system, possibly helping explain why bereaved people and others under stress may be more likely to get sick. Researchers at the University of Texas in Galveston showed that a key part of the immune system--white blood cells--have receptors for a hormone produced in response to stress. "Our work kind of shows a mechanism that the immune system and brain can use to communicate.
March 1, 2006 |
Tysabri, the multiple-sclerosis drug withdrawn because of a link to a fatal brain infection, can deplete immune-system cells as much as does HIV, a group of researchers has concluded. Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc., which developed the drug with Elan Corp. of Dublin, Ireland, saw its shares fall nearly 6% on the news Tuesday. Biogen and Elan plan to tell U.S.
April 28, 2003
A University of California anatomy professor researching reproduction in rats discovered vitamin E in 1922. In humans, the powerful antioxidant is essential for healthy eyes and skin, as well as a strong immune system. Vitamin E exists as eight individual compounds abundant in a variety of fruits and green vegetables, including avocados, mangos and turnip greens.
May 9, 1996 |
Revving up the immune system has the paradoxical effect of boosting production of the AIDS virus in people who carry it and may also make the uninfected more susceptible to HIV, new research suggests. A study found a temporary surge in the human immunodeficiency virus in the blood when infected people received a booster shot of the tetanus vaccine. That shows that when the immune system powers up to fight an infection, the AIDS virus gears up as well. The study, led by Dr.
September 15, 1988 |
Two research groups working independently reported Wednesday that they have for the first time created a functioning human immune system in mice by implanting human tissues in a strain of mice that have no immune system. This remarkable feat, the researchers said, should make it possible to study the effects of the AIDS virus on the human immune system without endangering people and thereby develop new clues about how to treat and possibly prevent this modern plague.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 7, 2011 |
Dr. Baruj Benacerraf, who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his pioneering work explaining why some people are able to fight off infections and tumors while others are not, died Tuesday at his Boston home. He was 90. The cause was pneumonia, according to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he spent most of his career. "Dr. Benacerraf's seminal discoveries about genetic control of the immune system made possible much of what we now know about basic disease processes such as infection, autoimmune disorders and cancer," Dr. Edward J. Benz Jr., president of Dana-Farber, said in a statement.
October 14, 2002
This essential mineral is found in oysters, red meat, beans and many other foods. It gained fame as a supplement in the 1990s for its purported ability to shorten the duration of a cold. Uses: Important to growth during pregnancy, childhood and adolescence. Also supports the immune system, promotes wound healing and helps maintain the sense of taste and smell. Zinc deficiencies develop in some people, such as alcoholics. Vegetarians can also become low in zinc.
March 2, 1996 |
Urging worldwide efforts to protect people from pesticides, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental research group Friday warned that agricultural chemicals used around the world are capable of damaging immune systems and increasing rates of infectious disease and cancer. The World Resources Institute said scientific studies by a variety of experts show that many children and adults exposed to pesticides have altered immune systems. The institute called for the U.N.
March 29, 2004 |
The name "cat's claw" refers to about 20 plant species native to the rain forests of Central and South America. The climbing, woody vines, called una de gato in Spanish, are named for their claw-like thorns. Just two cat's claw species -- Uncaria tomentosa and Uncaria guianensis -- have reputed therapeutic value. * Uses: Indigenous people in the Amazon have long used cat's claw to treat arthritis, ulcers, tumors and gastrointestinal conditions.
September 26, 1995 |
Researchers who studied the immune system and bacterial ulcers won Albert Lasker awards on Monday, honors that can presage the Nobel Prize. Dr. Barry J. Marshall of the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville discovered that bacteria cause ulcers, an idea that met with widespread skepticism but eventually changed ulcer treatment. It opened the door to treating peptic ulcer disease effectively with antibiotics. He won the $25,000 clinical medical research award.