FierceBiotech : reported that Mass General scientists gain insight into how a TB vaccine may reverse diabetes

The phase 2 trial of BCG in diabetes will enroll 150 adult patients and run for 5 years. The approach may prove effective not just in type 1 diabetes, but also in other autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis. The potential to activate these cells is important because type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-secreting islets in the pancreas. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) scientist Denise Faustman has been on a quest since the late 1990s to transform an old tuberculosis vaccine into an entirely new way to treat type 1 diabetes. Faustman's team is now completing enrollment of a phase 2 trial of BCG in patients with type 1 diabetes, she said in an email to FierceBiotechResearch.

New process may lead to vaccine for schistosomiasis

Sm14 holds promise to stimulate an immune response in humans, serving as a potential preventative vaccine for schistosomiasis. If clinical trials succeed, this vaccine may lead to a substantial decrease in the global number of schistosomiasis cases, which rank second only to malaria. The vaccine may have the added benefit of potentially reducing the incidence of bladder cancer. "Ideally your immune system should rebuff these parasites, but they have the ability to suppress the human immune response. Schistosomiasis is not only a chronic disease but infected individuals have an enhanced propensity to get bladder cancer," said Batt.

Cuban vaccine may pack punch in fight against lung cancer

U.S. researchers say a Cuban lung cancer vaccine shows promise in preventing the recurrence of lung cancer — the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. 1 cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States is lung cancer. To be eligible for the clinical trial, patients must have advanced lung cancer that was treated initially with chemotherapy. The first group of qualified patients, all of whom have previously been treated for lung cancer, began receiving the vaccine in January. "Lung cancer doesn't get the attention it deserves," Dy said.


collected by :Lucy William

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