immune system tagged posts

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed an injectable biomaterial that helps transform the cavity left behind after a stroke caused by a blood clot into an environment more supportive of repair. By recruiting the body’s own immune cells, the treatment promoted the growth of new blood vessels, supported neural remodeling and improved motor performance in mice. The work appears in Cell Biomaterials.

Every year, millions of people experience strokes caused by blood clots, called ischemic strokes. Immediate treatments, including clot-dissolving drugs and mechanical removal of the clot, can restore blood flow and preserve threatened brain tissue. But these treatments cannot replace tissue that has already been lost.

Large strokes can result in substantial tissue loss a...

Unlike accidental cell death, some cells can actively decide to die through a controlled process. This is called programmed cell death and can occur in different forms, including apoptosis and necroptosis. Cells use this process when they are damaged, stressed, becoming cancerous, or infected by harmful microbes. This self-destruction mechanism helps to protect the body, but it is also involved in many diseases, such as infections, inflammatory conditions and cancer.

A major problem in cancer is that some tumors and cancer cells learn how to avoid apoptosis, allowing them to survive when they should die. This resistance can make cancer treatments less effective, especially in advanced or spreading (metastatic) cancers.

A research team led by Prof. Dr...

For most women, the body begins to change dramatically in their 40s or 50s. This transition, known as menopause, is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, marking the end of the reproductive years. While researchers are aware of the functions the ovaries perform during active reproductive years, what happens to the organ after menopause is largely a mystery.

A recent study in Molecular Human Reproduction investigated what happens to the ovary in mice after it stops producing eggs, a period known as the post-reproductive stage, similar to menopause in humans.

Researchers found th...

Amid concerns about the simultaneous spread of multiple respiratory diseases, such as colds and influenza, with the change of seasons in current times, a clinical study has scientifically proven that kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, enhances the function of human immune cells and maintains the balance of the immune system.

The World Institute of Kimchi has reported the results of a single-cell genetic analysis that suggests that kimchi consumption has immunomodulatory effects, which include the suppression of excessive immune responses while simultaneously enhancing defense functions.

The results of the research are published in npj Science of Food.

This is the first study in the world...