Immunology

Sepsis is an inflammatory response to infection that's known to develop in hospital settings and can turn deadly when it's not discovered early on. In a new study, a hospital surveillance program focusing on reducing the risks of sepsis, known as the two-stage Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system, was found to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes, such as death and hospice discharge for sepsis patients, by 30% over the course of one year.  Study authors Dr. Robert C. Amland, Dr. James M. Haley, and Dr. Jason J. Lyons studied data from a hospital that uses the two-stage sepsis CDS…

Vaccines help prevent disease by inducing immunological memory, the ability of immune cells to remember and respond more quickly when re-exposed to the same pathogen. While certain phases of the pathway are well understood, little is known about the role of helper T cells, a "master orchestrator" of the immune response that send signals to activate the immune system. A study has identified molecular mechanisms that control an immune cell's ability to remember. They found that in helper T (CD4+) cells, the proteins Oct1 and OCA-B work together to put immune response genes on standby so that…

Superbugs. MRSA. Hospital ward closures. Ten million people predicted to die. No new antibiotics. If you’ve read headlines such as these, chances are they’ll come to mind when thinking about antibiotic resistance. The problem seems distant and removed from anything happening in everyday life. But antibiotic resistance affects everyday life: any time an antibiotic is used, the risk of developing resistance increases. This resistance can spread to family and other members of the community, creating a pool of resistant bacteria. These resistant bacteria become problematic when an infection…

An international research team has shown that epidemics of dengue, which is caused by a mosquito-borne virus across southeast Asia, appear to be linked to the abnormally high temperatures brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon.  Now, as the most intense El Niño in nearly two decades is emerging in the Pacific, the finding - reported in today's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) - may be a harbinger of a spike in cases of the dangerous hemorrhagic fever throughout southeast Asian countries early next year. "Large dengue epidemics occur unexpectedly,…

Research has found evidence that spending time in nature provides protections against a startling range of diseases, including depression, diabetes, obesity, ADHD, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and many more. How this exposure to green space leads to better health has remained a mystery. After reviewing hundreds of studies examining nature’s effects on health, University of Illinois environment and behavior researcher Ming Kuo believes the answer lies in nature’s ability to enhance the functioning of the body’s immune system. “I pulled every bit of the research in this area together that I…

Over one million people in sub-Saharan Africa will contract malaria this year because they live near a large dam, according to a new study which, for the first time, has correlated the location of large dams with the incidence of malaria and quantified impacts across the region. The study finds that construction of an expected 78 major new dams in sub-Saharan Africa over the next few years will lead to an additional 56,000 malaria cases annually. The research, published in this month's Malaria Journal, has major implications for new dam projects and how health impacts should be assessed prior…

Individuals who received the flu vaccine were protected for up to 6 months post-vaccination, the duration of most flu seasons, according to a study presented at the 2015 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Each flu season, researchers work to find out how effective the flu vaccine was in order to measure its value as a health intervention. Factors such as age and health of an individual, as well the level of similarity between the flu virus and the flu vaccine can play a role in how well an influenza vaccine works. "Few studies have assessed how quickly protection…

We don't actually know whether probiotics have a measurable impact on digestive health - and if it is positive. brownpau/Flickr, CC BY-SA By Paul Bertrand, RMIT University; Andrew Ball, RMIT University, and Kate Polglaze, RMIT University The terms probiotics and prebiotics are appearing on more items in supermarket aisles all the time. Both words, their placement and the products they adorn, imply they’re good for you, that more of these bacteria will help you in some way. But there’s actually scant evidence for such claims. Let’s start at the beginning: a probiotic is something full of…

For students, the start of the school year means new classes, new friends, homework and sports. It also brings the threat of head lice. The itch-inducing pests lead to missed school days and frustrated parents, who could have even more reason to be wary of the bug this year. Scientists report that lice populations in at least 25 states have developed resistance to over-the-counter treatments still widely recommended by doctors and schools. The researchers are presenting their work today at the 250th National Meeting&Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest…

Since the chickenpox vaccine became available in the U.S. in 1995, there has been a large reduction in chickenpox cases. Hospitalizations and outpatient visits for chickenpox have continued their decline after a second dose of the vaccine was recommended to improve protection against the disease, according to a new study. Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious and sometimes serious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. In people who are not vaccinated, it typically causes a blister-like rash, itching, fatigue, and fever. Before the vaccine was available in the U.…