Imagine if a common drug could make kidney transplants even safer. Azithromycin, a drug used to fight infections, might just do that. It has a secret power: it can calm down the immune system. This is huge for transplants, as the immune system is the body's defense mechanism that can sometimes attack the new kidney. By giving azithromycin to the donor, the drug build...
Measles is more than just a childhood illness. It’s a sneaky virus that can wipe out your immune system’s memory, making you vulnerable to diseases you thought you had already beaten. For a long time, measles was seen as a normal part of growing up. But it’s far from harmless. About 1 out of 20 kids who get measles end up with pneumonia, and sadly, around 3 out ...
Breast cancer is a worldwide health concern that affects many people. One key player in this fight is something called oxidative stress. This happens when the body produces too many harmful molecules and struggles to combat them. Picture your body as a battlefield, where these harmful molecules are the enemy. Two important signs of this internal conflict are 8-Hydro...
Heart failure is more than just a heart issue. It's a full-body problem that can lead to serious muscle loss. This isn't about appearance; it's about health. When the heart can't pump blood effectively, the whole body feels the strain. Muscles start to waste away, making daily tasks tough. The body's defense system, the immune system, is a key player here. When the ...
In 2020, Barbara Brigham's life took a dramatic turn when a routine scan revealed pancreatic cancer. She was determined to fight it, especially since her husband had recently passed away and she wanted to spend more time with her children and grandchildren. Her journey began at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she had been a patient for years due to a no...
The immune system is like a superhero squad, always on the lookout for invaders like pathogens and cancer cells. It's the adaptive immune system, with its T cells and B cells, that's really good at recognizing and taking out these bad guys. So, knowing exactly how many of these immune cells are around is super important for making sure treatments are spot-on. ...
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a tough bacteria that can lead to severe blood infections, known as SAB. These infections are a real challenge to overcome, even with strong antibiotics. About 30% of people struggle to recover from these infections, a condition doctors call antibiotic-persistent MRSA bacteremia, or APMB. The body's immune sys...
Ever wondered how to keep baby chicks healthy? Well, scientists have been looking into it. They found out that baby chicks are super vulnerable to diseases right after they hatch. This is because their immune system takes a few weeks to fully develop. So, researchers decided to test something new. They wanted to see if giving chicks a substance called carvacrol ...
You know how scientists are always trying to fight cancer? Well, they've been using tiny particles called nanoparticles as a way to deliver medicine or boost the immune system. These nanoparticles can be tricky, though, because they interact with our immune cells in complex ways. To make sure these nanoparticles are safe, scientists need to understand how they affect...
Psoriasis and depression are two conditions that often go hand in hand. This isn't just a coincidence. Scientists have been looking into how these two conditions are connected. They believe that there's a two-way relationship between them. This means that having one condition can increase the chances of developing the other. This connection is thought to be due to a ...