PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Promising new drug target for inflammatory lung diseases

Promising new drug target for inflammatory lung diseases
2012-09-06
(Press-News.org) New Rochelle, NY, September 6, 2012—The naturally occurring cytokine interleukin-18, or IL-18, plays a key role in inflammation and has been implicated in serious inflammatory diseases for which the prognosis is poor and there are currently limited treatment options. Therapies targeting IL-18 could prove effective against inflammatory diseases of the lung including bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as described in a review article published in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir), a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free online at the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research website. (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir)

Tomotaka Kawayama and coauthors from Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan, University of Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan, and Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, review the growing evidence to support the important role IL-18 has in inflammation and how it may help to initiate and worsen inflammatory disorders such as arthritis, dermatitis and inflammatory diseases of the bowel and immune system. In the article "Interleukin-18 in Pulmonary Inflammatory Diseases" (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jir.2012.0029) they describe the potential benefits of therapies aimed at blocking the activity of IL-18 to treat inflammatory lung disease.

"This review provides an interesting and thorough summary of the biology and potential application of IL-18 in the setting of inflammatory pulmonary disease," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

INFORMATION:

About the Journal Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research is the official journal of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research. Complete tables of content and a sample issue (http://online.liebertpub.com/toc/jir/31/6) may be viewed online at the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research website. (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir)

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Viral Immunology, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website. (http://www.liebertpub.com).

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Promising new drug target for inflammatory lung diseases

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Report: Strategies to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus in soldiers

Report: Strategies to prevent noise-induced  hearing loss, tinnitus in soldiers
2012-09-06
DETROIT – Antioxidants, dietary supplements and high-tech brain imaging are among some of the novel strategies that may help detect, treat and even prevent noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus among American troops, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital. A culmination of nearly 25 years of research on noise-induced hearing loss – a growing medical issue that affects more than 12 percent of American troops returning from conflicts around the globe – will be presented Sept. 9 at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery annual meeting in Washington, ...

Transformation of health system needed to improve care and reduce costs

2012-09-06
WASHINGTON — America's health care system has become too complex and costly to continue business as usual, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Inefficiencies, an overwhelming amount of data, and other economic and quality barriers hinder progress in improving health and threaten the nation's economic stability and global competitiveness, the report says. However, the knowledge and tools exist to put the health system on the right course to achieve continuous improvement and better quality care at lower cost, added the committee that wrote the report. The ...

Predicting how patients respond to therapy

2012-09-06
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- A new study led by MIT neuroscientists has found that brain scans of patients with social anxiety disorder can help predict whether they will benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy. Social anxiety is usually treated with either cognitive behavioral therapy or medications. However, it is currently impossible to predict which treatment will work best for a particular patient. The team of researchers from MIT, Boston University (BU) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) found that the effectiveness of therapy could be predicted by measuring patients' ...

'I knew it all along…didn't I?' – Understanding hindsight bias

2012-09-06
The fourth-quarter comeback to win the game. The tumor that appeared on a second scan. The guy in accounting who was secretly embezzling company funds. The situation may be different each time, but we hear ourselves say it over and over again: "I knew it all along." The problem is that too often we actually didn't know it all along, we only feel as though we did. The phenomenon, which researchers refer to as "hindsight bias," is one of the most widely studied decision traps and has been documented in various domains, including medical diagnoses, accounting and auditing ...

NASA satellite captured Hurricane Leslie's picture perfect moment

NASA satellite captured Hurricane Leslies picture perfect moment
2012-09-06
NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Tropical Storm Leslie on Sept. 5 during a picture perfect moment, just as it was being re-classified as a hurricane, and captured two images of the storm. The National Hurricane Center issued the advisory confirming Leslie's hurricane status at 1:45 p.m. EDT after examining visible, infrared, microwave and other data from satellites. Two instruments that fly aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided infrared and visible imagery of Leslie as it was crossing the threshold from tropical storm to hurricane status on Sept. 5. The Moderate Resolution ...

More grandparents fill caregiver role

2012-09-06
Grandparents, an increasingly important source of child care in the United States, vary greatly in the kind of care they provide, depending on their age, resources, and the needs of their children, research at the University of Chicago shows. A new UChicago study, based on a National Institute on Aging survey, shows that 60 percent of grandparents provided some care for their grandchildren during a 10-year period, and 70 percent of those who did provided care for two years or more. The results mirror recent U.S. Census data showing the importance of grandparents in ...

NASA analyzes Isaac's rainfall: Drought relief and flooding

NASA analyzes Isaacs rainfall: Drought relief and flooding
2012-09-06
As it passed through the northern Caribbean, around south Florida, and into Louisiana and the Middle Mississippi Valley, Hurricane Isaac brought lots of rain, some of it beneficial, and some of it not. Using data from the TRMM satellite, NASA created images of rainfall totals generated along Hurricane Isaac's path. In addition to capturing detailed images of tropical storms, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is ideally suited to measure rainfall from space. TRMM is managed by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA. For increased coverage, TRMM ...

Mining the blogosphere

2012-09-06
Montreal, September 6, 2012 – Can a computer "read" an online blog and understand it? Several Concordia computer scientists are helping to get closer to that goal. Leila Kosseim, associate professor in Concordia's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, and a recently-graduated doctoral student, Shamima Mithun, have developed a system called BlogSum that has potentially vast applications. It allows an organization to pose a question and then find out how a large number of people talking online would respond. The system is capable of gauging things like consumer preferences ...

In Rochester, a tale of tainted tattoos

2012-09-06
If you end up with a rash on a new tattoo, you should probably think twice before brushing it off as an allergic reaction or a normal part of the healing process. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine documents 19 cases in the Rochester, N.Y., area – the largest ever reported – of tattoos infected with a type of bacteria often found in tap water. Evidence points to a premixed gray ink, the type used in currently popular portrait or photography tattoos, as the culprit. Mary Gail Mercurio, M.D., a dermatologist at the University of Rochester Medical ...

Deep-sea crabs seek food using ultraviolet vision

Deep-sea crabs seek food using ultraviolet vision
2012-09-06
HOLLYWOOD Fla. — Some deep-sea crabs have eyes sensitive to ultraviolet light, which they may use to snatch glowing plankton and stuff it in their mouths, a new Nova Southeastern University study suggests. Tamara Frank, Ph.D., a marine biologist and associate professor at Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center, who is the principal investigator of the study, said that crabs living the deep-sea zone --- a pitch dark area at the ocean bottom ---- may be using bioluminescence to help sort out their food. Duke University marine biologist Sönke Johnsen. Ph.D., ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Parched soils can spark hot drought a nation away

Uncovering new physics in metals manufacturing

Sped-up evolution may help bacteria take hold in gut microbiome, UCLA-led research team finds

The dose-dependent effects of dissolved biochar on C. elegans: Insights into the physiological and transcriptomic responses

New research reveals genetic link to most common pediatric bone cancer

Research conducted during 2024 eclipse reveals importance of light on bird behavior

Why does female fertility decline so fast? The key is the ovary

Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds

Europe’s largest bats hunt and eat migrating birds on the wing, high in the sky

China’s emerging AI regulation could foster an open and safe future for AI

The secret to naked mole-rat’s longevity: Enhanced DNA repair

Acidic tumor environment promotes survival and growth of cancer cells

New biosensor tracks plants’ immune hormone in real time

New study finds gaps in REDD+ forest carbon offsets with most overstating climate impacts

Mystery solved: How Europe’s largest bat catches and eats passerines mid-air

Pan-disease atlas maps molecular fingerprints of health, disease and aging

New clinical trial to target cancer’s elusive growth switch

Ochsner Health launches Genetic Wellness Assessment to identify cancer risks early

Researchers find potential link between chronic pain, immune condition

A study by UPF reveals discrimination on grounds of ethnic background in Spain’s leading online second-hand marketplace, especially when buying

Research examines the good, bad and ugly of true crime media

Research shows National Living Wage has reduced labor mobility across firms, but at what cost?

New technique detects genetic mutations in brain tumors during surgery within just 25 minutes

UMass Amherst researchers create nanoparticle vaccine that prevents cancer in mice

Animal behavior: Dogs pawsitively hooked on toys

The ISSCR launches roadmap for developing pluripotent stem cell-derived cellular therapies

Parasite paparazzi take millions of photos of secret malaria proteins

Lung cancer incidence after September 11, 2001, among World Trade Center responders

City of Hope Research Spotlight, September 2025

Streamlining the consciousness debate, from trees to hermit crabs

[Press-News.org] Promising new drug target for inflammatory lung diseases