Autoimmune

Cedars-Sinai researchers are reporting even mild COVID-19 cases show lingering signs of an overactive immune system months after the acute disease, and experts are concerned the current wave of Omicron infections could lead to huge rates of long COVID.

Spotted salamanders are unique among vertebrates, in that they're the only ones whose embryos have an algae living inside them. Scientists are now hoping that a better understanding of this symbiotic relationship could lead to new drugs for humans.

The immune system is a powerful weapon, but sometimes it can attack things that are trying to help us. A new preclinical treatment could one day help, using a kind of “reverse vaccine” to train the immune system to ignore specific drugs or molecules.

A peptide called MOTS-c shows promise in preventing type 1 diabetes, in new tests in human cells in culture and live mice. The peptide regulates the immune system, potentially leading to treatments for type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, are unpleasant, chronic conditions with few treatment options. Now, researchers may have found a way to potentially “switch on” the body’s natural tissue repair system.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel condition triggered by an overactive immune system. Now researchers have developed a new kind of immunotherapy for Crohn’s that delivers a “triple punch” by tweaking the responses of different immune cells.

A study investigating the relationship between the gut microbiome, genetics, and MS, is suggesting bacteria certainly plays a role in modulating the effects of the disease but whether that role is positive or negative may be determined by genetics.

Scientists have identified a chemical compound that may unlock new treatments for multiple sclerosis. In tests on cell cultures and rats, the team found that anacardic acid from cashew shells seemed to repair nerve damage and other symptoms of MS.

A study has homed in on the sex-specific activity of a gene that both increases risk of developing schizophrenia and decreases the risk of developing lupus, offering novel insights into how some diseases appear in different rates in men and women.

In a new study led by the University of Verona, researchers have used plant viruses to make new nanoparticles that show promise in mice for treating autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

In 2017, scientists found the first direct evidence that autoimmunity may play a role in the onset of Parkinson’s disease, and have now uncovered further evidence of how the immune system contributes to the development of the disease.

Early clinical trial results are suggesting a novel drug designed to inhibit the activity of a key immune signaling molecule could become a promising new treatment for atopic dermatitis, a very common inflammatory skin condition.