Immunity![]() Immunity articles6. Immunity :: M.D. Anderson-led team reports possible key to autoimmune diseaseA human peptide that acts as a natural antibiotic against invading microbes can also bind to the body’s own DNA and trigger an immune response in the absence of an infection, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in an early online publication in Nature. 7. Immunity :: Immune police recognize good and bad guys in the body Immune system police are as good at recognizing bad guys, such as bacteria and viruses, as they are our own tissue, researchers say. 8. Immunity :: Hunger hormone fights aging in the thymus The deterioration in immune function that occurs as an individual ages is thought to occur because the thymus involutes with age, causing a dramatic decrease in T cell output. 9. Immunity :: Flies can turn off their immune response After a role in initiating an NF-?B-mediated innate immune response to microbial challenge, AP-1 and STAT act to form part of a repressosome to down-regulate the transcription of antimicrobial peptides and thus to resolve the immune response. 10. Vaccine :: APhA Publishes New Vaccine Bulletin As summer comes to a close, many parents are preparing their children to return to school. Any back to school plan will probably include a trip to the doctor or the neighborhood pharmacist to receive vaccinations. While children are commonly vaccinated to protect against chicken pox, measles and polio , one health threat often overlooked is pertussis. The spread of pertussis, also known as the ?whooping cough?, declined after widespread use of the vaccine began during the 1940s. However, since 1990 the illness, characterized by severe coughing, has been on the rise, particularly among older adolescents and adults who may have developed immunity to early vaccinations. Many adults do not realize that they are carriers of the disease. The illness spreads quickly when a sick patient sneezes, coughs or even talks and can have serious consequences for infants and toddlers who are exposed. Until recently, there was no pertussis containing vaccine approved in the United States for adolescents and adults. |