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New study finds Platelet Activating Factor to be pivotal in anaphylactic shock
A new study published in 2013 has suggested that Platelet Activating Factor (PAF) to have a crucial role in anaphylactic shock, and could be used as a drug target. Anaphylactic shock is an extreme...
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X-linked SCID: What is the best treatment for “Bubble Boy” Disease?
X-linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (X-linked SCID) is the most common form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency; a disorder of the immune system where the body produces very few T cells and...
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A universal flu vaccine – could it be possible one day?
At the moment, influenza, or “flu” is a disease which kills many thousands of people despite the availability of a different vaccine every year. A new flu vaccine has to be manufactured each year to...
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Eosinophils: Key mediators of late phase asthma.
Asthma is often caused by allergens such as pollen, dust or animal hair. When an asthma sufferer is exposed to an allergen they are sensitive to, the early or “immediate” asthmatic response occurs....
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Platelets in Cancer: Friend or Foe?
Platelets are small cell fragments which circulate in our blood. We make a lot of them, with the average human producing 100 billion every day. These plate-shaped fragments are vital for the clotting...
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Immune Evasion: A Key Survival Strategy
Viruses, bacteria and cancer cells all cause disease in humans and animals. What words might you use to describe them? Virulent, invasive, destructive? Maybe. Evasive, smart, clever? Perhaps not. But...
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Natalizumab – a drug for the intestine with unexpected side effects…
Crohn’s Disease is an inflammatory conditions of the GI tract, which usually affects people aged 20-40 years. It can be caused by a number of factors, including dysregulation of immune cells or...
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Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comic Strip.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease which attacks synovial joints all over the body, such as wrists, hips and fingers. The word “arthritis” may conjure up an idea of a disease affecting the...
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The Problem with Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine. The phenomenon occurs when microbes become resistant to antibiotics; the drugs often used to treat bacterial...
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When Death is Good
Death is generally a word with unpleasant or upsetting connotations, but when it comes to your body cells, death can be a very positive thing. Apoptosis is the scientific name for cell death, and it...
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Gene Therapy – so much potential, so many risks…
Why, after decades of clinical trials, is gene therapy still not a widely used or successful treatment? The idea of gene therapy is to treat disease by supplementing or altering genes in an...
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Ebola virus: why is it so deadly?
The current outbreak of Ebola in Central Africa is the largest the world has ever seen. As of mid-August 2014, the death toll is nearing 1000 and the disease has spread more rapidly and widely through...
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