Immunodeficiency News and Research

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Immunodeficiency (or immune deficiency) is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent.

New genetic condition that raises vulnerability to opportunistic infections

An international consortium co-led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center immunogeneticist Rubén Martínez-Barricarte, PhD, has discovered a new genetic disorder that causes immunodeficiency and profound susceptibility to opportunistic infections including life-threatening fungal pneumonia.

24 Jan 2023

HIV’s covert methods of evading treatment and immunity

According to Duke Health researchers, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) appears to be driven into a latent state, lurking in cells only to erupt once more. This immune response likely evolved to help fight infections.

15 Nov 2022

Recognizing how the HIV-1 evades immune system

According to a recent study led by Andrés Finzi, a professor at the Université de Montréal and researcher at the CHUM Research Centre, the type of virus used as a model to study the effectiveness of non-neutralizing antibodies against the virus that causes AIDS, has a crucial role to play.

10 Nov 2022

Researchers analyze eight assemblers on viral sequencing data

On actual viral next-generation sequencing data, a recent study compares and evaluates eight de novo genome assembly software tools.

22 Jul 2022

Scientists restructure the genome of E. coli using fragments extracted from mummy

An international group led by McMaster University researchers, in partnership with the University of Paris Cité, has recognized and reconfigured the first ancient genome of E. coli using fragments derived from a 16th-century mummy’s gallstone.

17 Jun 2022

Genetic testing advances help to uncover primary immune deficiency diseases

Infections caused by primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) can be persistent and life-threatening. More than 450 PIDs have been identified, yet diagnosing them quickly and accurately remains a difficulty.

27 May 2022

New software device makes genetic information analysis simpler

Researchers from Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Tulane University have created a new software device that makes analyzing genetic data about a host and its microbiome at the very same time simpler, quicker, and less expensive.

10 May 2022

Researchers employ CRISPR gene-editing technology in human blood to cure HIV

Northwestern Medicine researchers are employing recent developments in CRISPR gene-editing technology to discover novel biological method that could lead to longer-lasting treatments and new therapeutic tactics for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

5 Apr 2022

Metabolic restoration could provide natural protection against HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) particularly attacks CD4 lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell considered to be the conductor of the immune system.

19 Oct 2021

Pioneering gene therapy has long-lasting effects on children with deadly immune disorder

Over a decade ago, UCLA physician-scientists began using a pioneering gene therapy they developed to treat children born with a rare and deadly immune system disorder. They now report that the effects of the therapy appear to be long-lasting, with 90% of patients who received the treatment eight to 11 years ago still disease-free.

18 Oct 2021

Researchers identify virus-derived variations in human genomes

Three geneticists from RIKEN identified previously undetected snippets of genetic material from viruses that were hidden in human DNA.

12 Aug 2021

Study may help develop multi-pronged HIV eradication strategies

A team of researchers from the University of California - Davis Health (UC Davis) has made a breakthrough discovery of a unique type of stem cell that reduces the amount of the virus that causes AIDS.

From The University of California, Davis 25 Jun 2021

Novel device can help treat type I diabetes mellitus

Type I Diabetes Mellitus, also called T1D, is an autoimmune disorder that results in an irreversible loss of insulin-producing beta-cells found in the pancreas.

2 Apr 2021

Protein kinases may offer a solution to treat HIV patients with immunodeficiency

A new study indicates that protein kinases, which initiate the process that erodes the body’s immunity, significantly contribute to the immunodeficiency in HIV patients. Drugs that block these protein kinases may offer a solution to treating HIV patients whose immunity is not restored by antiretroviral therapy.

2 Mar 2021

New therapeutic approach to restore the effectiveness of immune cells

Prompted by the need to improve conventional treatments for people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), a team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) has identified a therapeutic approach to restore the effectiveness of immune cells.

10 Feb 2021

Severe genetic immunodeficiency reversed by a rare DNA change

Researchers have revealed how a rare DNA change rebalanced the immune system of patients with a life-threatening genetic immunodeficiency.

2 Feb 2021

Scientists discover molecular defects associated with rare genetic disorder in children

Damien D'Amours and his team at the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology needed three years to discover the molecular defects associated with the LIC Syndrome, a serious genetic disorder that affects young children and result in acute respiratory distress, immune deficiency and abnormal chromosomes.

23 Dec 2020