Obesity may reduce the benefits of Vitamin D supplements: Study
A new study has found that people who are overweight or obese may not experience the same benefits from taking vitamin D supplements as those
Autoimmune disease
Drinking baking soda helps to treat autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis
A daily dose of baking soda may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say. They have some of the
Antibiotics may increase juvenile arthritis risk in children
Antibiotic exposure could increase the risk of juvenile arthritis — Findings may offer another reason to judiciously prescribe antibiotics to children
Ruxolitinib and tofacitinib restore hair in patients with alopecia areata
FDA-approved drug restores hair in patients with alopecia areata — Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease that causes disfiguring hair loss – Researchers have identified the immune cells responsible for destroying hair follicles in people with alopecia areata, a common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, and have tested an FDA-approved drug that eliminated these immune cells and restored hair growth in a small number of patients.
Multiple sclerosis – possible trigger for nerve damage
NIH-funded researchers show possible trigger for MS nerve damage — Results of study in mice may lead to new treatments – High-resolution real-time images show in mice how nerves may be damaged during the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis. The results suggest that the critical step happens when fibrinogen, a blood-clotting protein, leaks into the central nervous system and activates immune cells called microglia.
Remicade infliximab approved to treat ulcerative colitis in children
FDA approves Remicade to treat ulcerative colitis in children older than 6 years – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Remicade (infliximab) to treat moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) in children older than 6 years who have had inadequate response to conventional therapy.
29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis research doubles number of genes associated with the disease — Critical insight provided into the disease mechanisms behind multiple sclerosis – Scientists have identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of a very debilitating neurological disease. Many of the genes implicated in the study are relevant to the immune system, shedding light onto the immunological pathways that underlie the development of multiple sclerosis.
GM-CSF required for the immune attack in multiple sclerosis
GM-CSF required for the immune attack in multiple sclerosis – The neutralization of the cytokine GM-CSF could halt the development of multiple sclerosis, demonstrated by the research team of the immunologist Burkhard Becher at the University of Zurich in an animal model.
RA patients and doctors differ on disease severity assessment
Study shows RA patients and doctors differ on disease severity assessment — Depressed patients showed highest level of discord in evaluating their disease – A novel study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that nearly one-third of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients differed from their physicians in assessment of their disease severity.
Curcumin in turmeric may delay liver damage, cirrhosis
Indian spice may delay liver damage and cirrhosis — Curcumin improves sclerosing cholangitis in Mdr2 -/- mice by inhibition of cholangiocyte inflammatory response and portal myofibroblast proliferation – Curcumin, one of the principal components of the Indian spice turmeric, seems to delay the liver damage that eventually causes cirrhosis, suggests preliminary experimental research in the journal Gut.