Science

This blog is geared to anyone and everyone interested in natural health and how immune balance can impact your life.  Sometimes, a few folks need to drill a bit deeper. So this page has links to content and documents that lay out the science under way in the area of immune balance.

If you have more for us to look at and possibly post, send it our way at:

info at balancedimmunehealth dot com

1. EpiCor human trial summary
   PDF of interesting findings from several immune response studies.
2. Signals from nervous system influence immune system, study shows
   …the researchers showed that the strength of the VIP signal received by the T cells regulates the balance between two types of immune T cells, Th1 and Th2. Th1 is normally involved with protection from bacterial invasion and other defenses, but Th1 in excess can lead to autoimmune disorders.
3. Immune Responses in Healthy and Allergic Individuals Are Characterized by a Fine Balance between Allergen-specific T Regulatory 1 and T Helper 2 Cells
   This details findings on immune balance regarding allergy sufferers.
4. Nutrients keep immune system in balance
   A USDA summary on immune balance through a balanced diet.  Don’t go overboard on zinc, it says. Plus much more.

5. Molecule Strikes Balance in Immune System and May Be Key to Autoimmune Attack in MS
   This is leading edge stuff observed in animal studies. Intriguing.

6. Proteins Play Against Each Other, Bringing Balance to Immune System, National Jewish Researchers Find
   A research team at National Jewish Medical and Research Center led by Philippa Marrack, PhD, and John Kappler, PhD, report in the April 28, 2000 issue of Science that they have discovered how certain proteins work together in the immune system to control the T cells that attack viruses such as chicken pox, measles and other diseases.

7. Delicate Protein Balance Behind Immune System Response Uncovered
   “”The deeper we delve into the role of cytokines in the immune system response, the more we realize that they are part of an elaborately balanced system …” — Dr. Chrisopher Hunter, Univ. of Pennsylvania, chair, Dept. of Pathobiology

8. Humor and Laughter May Influence Health IV. Humor and Immune Function
   Western Kentucky University, School of Nursing and University of South Florida. “This final article reviews the evidence for the effect of sense of humor, exposure to a humor stimulus and laughter on various immune system components, with a focus on the effects of laughter on natural killer cell cytotoxicity.^“

9. Stress-Induced Neurogenic Inflammation in Murine Skin Skews Dendritic Cells Towards Maturation and Migration
   Stress may trigger over-reaction of immune cells in skin, leading to irritation and itching.

10. Saving The World One Molecule at a Time
    This is a Newsweek piece on cutting research on synthetic biology.

11. Loss Of Sleep, Even For A Single Night, Increases Inflammation In The Body
    A UCLA study shows sleep loss can lead to immune imbalance and related illness.

12. Immune Balance and Chronic Pain
    Click the links below for summaries on chronic pain and immune response

    http://www.thepainproject.org/cpa/index.php/resources/immune_system_involvement

    http://www.giresearch.org/site/gi-research/iffgd-research-awards/2007/immune-system

    http://www.hss.edu/conditions_14199.asp

13. TLR4 signaling in effector CD4+ T cells regulates TCR activation and experimental colitis in mice
    TLRs sense various microbial products. Their function has been best characterized in DCs and macrophages, where they act as important mediators of innate immunity. TLR4 is also expressed on CD4+ T cells, but its physiological function on these cells remains unknown. Here, we have shown that TLR4 triggering on CD4+ T cells affects their phenotype and their ability to provoke intestinal inflammation.