Immune System

University of Pennsylvania researcher Carl H. June has been selected to receive the 2012 Philadelphia Award for "his extraordinary advancements in gene therapy aimed at treating HIV and cancer. " June and his team recentlyreported that of the first 12 patients treated with the experimental therapy, nine - including two children - had complete or partial remissions from advanced, intractable leukemia. Two adults remain cancer-free two and a half years after treatment. The annual award, which carries a $25,000 honorarium, was created by Ladies Home Journal Editor Edward Bok in 1921 to honor a local person whose work advanced "the best and largest interest" of the greater Philadelphia community.

The disease is new and, so far, incurable. It is increasingly common and can occur at any age. It typically involves an allergic reaction to foods - in severe cases, all foods - and can turn the pleasurable act of eating into a torment of swallowing problems, pain, vomiting, and choking. If this is the first time you've heard of eosinophilic esophagitis (ee-oh-sin-oh-FILL-ic es-offa-JI-tis), it won't be the last. Add "EoE" to the growing list of ways in which the immune system can go horribly haywire for no apparent reason.

An existing drug dramatically reduced the most serious complications of bone marrow transplants, University of Pennsylvania researchers are reporting Thursday. The finding could someday point the way toward an entirely new method of preventing the body from "rejecting" transplanted organs of all kinds in the future, experts said. The work demonstrates a possible new approach to transplants of donated bone marrow, said Joseph Antin, a professor of medicine at Harvard, who was not involved with the study.

For years experts have said that regular exercise will help keep you fit, with the side benefit of better health. And many a weekend warrior has set out to shape up and improve resistance to infection, especially the common cold. But now, researchers say that pushing the limit with physical exercise may break down the immune system, making you more vulnerable to infection. Tony Verde, an exercise immunologist at the Graduate Hospital Human Performance and Sports Medicine Center in Wayne, said isolated research indicates that the rigorous training of elite athletes may make them more susceptible to infections and upper respiratory illnesses.

Under the word immune in the dictionary you will most likely find, among several definitions, the phrase "marked by protection. " Although that sounds like a guarantee from a manufacturer, it aptly describes how the body's immune system fends off germs and viruses. Health experts are trying to determine whether factors such as diet, exercise and mental attitude can affect the mighty immune system, the human being's very own department of defense. These are not easy matters to pin down, mainly because the immune system is very complex and, despite a great deal of medical research, is still not completely understood.

In a sign of how far the science of cancer genomics has come, the University of Pennsylvania Health System will do genetic tests later this year on cancer cells of all patients with several types of cancer. Penn will test up to 48 genes in patients with melanoma, acute myelogenous leukemia, and brain and lung cancer, said Chi V. Dang, director of the Abramson Cancer Center. The results will reveal which patients could benefit from new drugs that work only for those with certain mutations.

HEADACHE CAUSE. An overactive immune system is the likely cause of migraines and other types of headaches. So says Lawrence Robbins, a Chicago headache-clinic operator, who reports in the journal Headache that victims of chronic migraines and tension headaches appear to have more infection-fighting "helper cells" than others. That's why steroids, which suppress the immune system, relieve headaches. "If we can find a drug that makes this immune-system difference more normal, we may be able to cure headaches," Robbins says.

One of the hallmarks of the AIDS virus is that it wreaks its havoc in an unusual way: It destroys the very immune-system cells that the body uses to combat infectious disease. But in a path-breaking study released today, scientists at Harvard University report that it may be possible to "educate" the body's immune system to keep the virus under control in the absence of anti-AIDS medicines. The finding, based on a study involving eight patients, has potentially far-reaching implications for the future of AIDS treatment.

Andy James' right forearm bulges as he lifts and carries the ladder at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, his T-shirt and jeans are soaked with sweat, and his skin, polished to a shine, shows off the muscle definition. But when confronted by leaves lying on the ground, he shrinks. He asks Eddie Williams, twice his age and no glistening forearm muscles, to take command and lead the charge. "He's one of the people that just don't get it," said James, 31, shaking his head at Williams' immunity.

NEW YORK - Ralph Steinman, a pioneer in understanding how cells fight disease, tried to help his own immune system thwart his pancreatic cancer. Steinman survived until Friday. Three days later, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine. The Nobel committee, unaware of his death, announced the award Monday in Stockholm. Steinman's employer, Rockefeller University in New York, learned of his death after the Nobel announcement. Steinman's wife, Claudia, said the family had planned to disclose his death Monday - only to discover an e-mail to his cellphone from the Nobel committee.