By John von Radowitz Monday, November 19, 2012 Tiny synthetic particles could help scientists to develop vaccines against immune response diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), research has shown. The "nanoparticles" trick the immune system into calming down and behaving normally. In tests on mice, they halted a rodent version of relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of the autoimmune disease. Scientists believe the technology could be applied to a range of immune system disorders, including type-1 diabetes, food allergies, and asthma. MS occurs when the immune system attacks myelin, the fatty insulation that surrounds nerve fibres. Breaks in the myelin coating prevent nerve messages being transmitted properly, leading to symptoms ranging from numbness and tingling to full-blown paralysis. Current treatments for MS rely on suppressing the immune system, which can make patients susceptible to infections and cancer. Instead, the nanoparticle vaccine re-sets the immune system to stop the "friendly fire" attacks. The nanoparticles, made from two biodegradable compounds that naturally occur in the body, are attached to myelin proteins. The rest is here: ‘Nanoparticles’ may help scientists develop MS jab … Continue reading →

Jack Osbourne was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this year after he lost 60 per cent of his vision in his right eye (Reuters) A scientific breakthrough has arrested the development of multiple sclerosis in mice and has implications for a new treatment for the degenerative disease. Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois found a new nanoparticle that tricks and resets the immune systems of mice with MS. MS is a neurological disease that affects around 100,000 people in the UK. It is mostly diagnosed in people who are aged between 20 and 40. A substance called myelin protects nerve fibres in the central nervous system. When people have MS, their immune system, which would normally fight off infections, mistakes myelin for a foreign body and attacks it. These attacks damage the myelin and strips it of nerve fibres. Over time, this nerve damage causes the accumulation of disability. The new nanoparticle works by delivering an antigen that makes the immune system stop its attack on myelin and halt relapsing remitting MS in mice. Around 80 per cent of people with MS are diagnosed with the relapsing remitting form of the disease. People who suffer from relapsing remitting MS have … Continue reading →

By Maggie Fox, NBC News Researchers trying to find a way to treat multiple sclerosis think theyve come up with an approach that could not only help patients with MS, but those with a range of so-called autoimmune diseases, from type-1 diabetes to psoriasis, and perhaps even food allergies. So far its only worked in mice, but it has worked especially well. And while mice are different from humans in many ways, their immune systems are quite similar. If this works, it is going to be absolutely fantastic, said Bill Heetderks, who directs outside research at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health, which helped pay for the research. Even if it doesnt work, its going to be another step down the road. In autoimmune disease, the bodys immune cells mistakenly attack and destroy healthy tissue. In MS, its the fatty protective sheath around the nerves; in type-1 or juvenile diabetes its cells in the pancreas that make insulin; in rheumatoid arthritis its tissue in the joint. Currently, the main treatment is to suppress the immune system, an approach that can leave patients vulnerable to infections and cancer. The new treatment re-educates … Continue reading →

Scientists have developed a way of modifying a microscopic particle which could offer a new approach to tackling major diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, asthma and food allergies. Instead of taking a drug that suppresses the entire immune system, making sufferers more susceptible to infections and cancer, patients may in future be given a nanoparticle treatment which can selectively inhibit the part of the immune system responsible for their disease. When primed, the nanoparticle can trick the immune system into halting its attack on the body which is a characteristic of these diseases. Researchers from Northwestern University in the US, funded by the National Institutes for Health, used the technique to block the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice. In MS, the immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that surrounds the nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord, causing symptoms ranging from numbness to paralysis. They injected nanoparticles attached to myelin antigens - proteins to stop the immune system from recognising the myelin sheath as an alien invader - which reset the immune system to normal and halted the attack. Stephen Miller , a professor of microbiology and one of the authors of the study, … Continue reading →

Your Monday morning health roundup: MS hope: An experimental approach that might retrain the immune system is showing unusual promise in mouse studies and might someday become a treatment for multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. It might even work for food allergies, scientists say. The method involves injections of tiny bits, or nanoparticles, of the same stuff used in dissolving stitches. Scientists attach proteins the body has been attacking to the nanoparticles. The combo goes to the spleen, where it can meet up with key immune cells that might learn to recognize the proteins and stop the attacks. Much additional study will be needed to see if the approach is effective and safe for people. (NBC News) Miss America and mastectomy: Allyn Rose, who will compete as Miss District of Columbia in January's Miss America pageant, has unusual plans after the contest: She's going to have both breasts removed. Rose, 24, whose mother died of breast cancer, has a rare genetic condition that puts her at high risk too. She plans surgery after completing her pageant duties, either as Miss D.C. or Miss America. (ABC News) Caffeine and sports: College students and office drones aren't the … Continue reading →