Messengers from gut to brain

Seen for the first time: T cells traveling from the gut and skin to the central nervous system

09-Sep-2021 - Scientists have long been aware of a link between the gut microbiome and the central nervous system (CNS). Until now, however, the immune cells that move from the gut into the CNS and thus the brain had not been identified. A team of researchers in Munich has now succeeded in using violet light ...

Autoimmune disorders and regulatory B cells – marker identified

30-Jan-2018 - Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatism or type 1 diabetes are on the increase world-wide. Regulatory immune cells protect healthy individuals from the disorders and combat disease progression in affected individuals. So far, little is known about the group of regulatory B cells which play a role ...

PET tracer can measure damage from multiple sclerosis in mouse models

15-Jan-2018 - The loss or damage of myelin, a cellular sheath that surrounds and insulates nerves, is the hallmark of the immune-mediated neurological disorder multiple sclerosis (MS). When segments of this protective membrane are damaged, nerve impulses can be disrupted. Symptoms range from tingling and ...

How a few drops of blood led to a breakthrough in immunology

The roles of FOXP3 – a key gene in the regulation of our immune system

07-Jul-2017 - Scientists from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) may have cracked the code to understanding the function of special cells called regulatory T Cells.Treg cells, as they are often known, control and regulate our immune system to prevent excessive reactions. ...

Ongoing inflammation in the human brain made visible

14-Nov-2016 - For the first time, Researchers at the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (CiM) at Münster University have been able to image ongoing inflammation in the brain of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. The ultimate aim in biomedical research is the transfer of results from experiments ...

Merck announces 2016 recipients of € 1 Million grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation

Four research grants awarded out of 260 proposals from 45 countries

19-Sep-2016 - Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced recipients of the fourth annual Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) during a symposium at the 32nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in London. This year, 260 ...

How do immune cells enter the cerebrospinal fluid and what is their function there?

11-Mar-2016 - A research team headed by scientists at the Institute of Neuroimmunology and the Institute for Multiple Sclerosis Research (IMSF), University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), has gained new insights into the immune function of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). They used real-time microscopy to film the ...

Vitamin D status associated with multiple sclerosis activity

22-Jan-2014 - Vitamin D status appears to be associated with reduced disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a slower rate of disease progression, according to a study by Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues. MS is a common cause ...

MRI method for measuring MS progression validated

02-Jan-2014 - New imaging research from Western University has demonstrated that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can be an important tool for diagnosing and tracking the progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases. QSM ...

Blood Test May Predict Course of MS

31-Aug-2009 - Scientists have discovered a blood test that could predict the course of multiple sclerosis (MS), or even indicate who is likely to develop the condition after a first MS-like attack. The results of the study suggest that differing antibody levels produced in response to the common virus Epstein ...