Smart Nanoparticles: A Gentle Revolution in Autoimmune Care

For many of us living with autoimmune conditions, treatment often feels like a balancing act between relief and risk. Steroids, biologics, and immunosuppressants can help calm the storm — but they also come with side effects that leave us vulnerable, foggy, or just plain exhausted. What if there were a way to quiet the immune system’s overreaction without silencing its wisdom?

Enter: next-generation nanoparticles (NPs) — tiny, adaptable carriers that may reshape how autoimmune diseases are treated.

What Are Nanoparticles, and Why Do They Matter?

Nanoparticles are microscopic delivery vehicles designed to carry medications, immune modulators, or even genetic material directly to the cells that need them. Think of them as precision-guided messengers, able to bypass healthy tissue and focus only on the areas causing trouble.

For autoimmune conditions, this means:

• Targeted relief without widespread immune suppression

• Lower toxicity, especially for those sensitive to medications

• Customizable treatments based on your unique immune profile

Personalized Medicine Meets Autoimmune Complexity

Autoimmune diseases are rarely one-size-fits-all. What works for one person with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis might worsen symptoms for another. Nanoparticles can be engineered to respond to specific markers in your body — allowing for therapies that are as unique as your condition.

This is especially promising for people who:

• Haven’t responded to conventional treatments

• Experience severe side effects from current medications

• Need immune support without compromising safety

Why This Offers Hope — Not Just Hype

While much of the current research focuses on cancer, scientists are increasingly exploring how NPs can help modulate immune responses in autoimmune diseases. Early studies suggest they could:

• Deliver anti-inflammatory agents directly to inflamed tissues

• Reprogram immune cells to stop attacking healthy tissue

• Reduce the need for high-dose systemic drugs

It’s not a cure-all, and it’s not available everywhere yet — but it’s a gentle revolution in how we think about healing.

What This Means for Our Community

As advocates, patients, and caregivers, we deserve treatments that honor our complexity. Nanoparticle therapy represents a shift from blunt-force suppression to intelligent, compassionate intervention. It’s science catching up to what we’ve always known: our bodies are nuanced, and our care should be too.

SOURCE 

Plastic particles, autoimmune conditions and hope for the future.

2024 research conducted at the University of California, San Diego discovered that tiny plastic particles have the ability to penetrate the human body and trigger autoimmune conditions and other health conditions. The study found that these microplastics can trigger inflammation and disrupt the immune system, leading to a higher chance of autoimmune illnesses.

"We're just starting to understand the implications of microplastics. We've only scratched the surface of knowing the environmental and health impacts," said Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Michael Burkart, one of the paper's authors.

What can we do as individuals?

• Do not buy anymore plastic products and try and use reusable ceramic or glass products. 
• Support initiatives that promote plastic reduction like not using lastic bags or lastic straws
• Use cloth bags instead of plastic bags
• Support businesses that promote the reduction of plastic use and advocate for combatting plastic pollution.

What is being done?

Finding eco-friendly alternatives to traditional plastics is crucial.

Exciting findings from UC San Diego and Algenesis reveal that the eco-friendly polymers, they have created, break down naturally, even at the microplastic level, in under seven months.

"When we first created these algae-based polymers about six years ago, our intention was always that it be completely biodegradable," said another of the paper's authors, Robert Pomeroy, who is also a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and an Algenesis co-founder. "We had plenty of data to suggest that our material was disappearing in the compost, but this is the first time we've measured it at the microparticle level."

"When we started this work, we were told it was impossible," stated Burkart. "Now we see a different reality. There's a lot of work to be done, but we want to give people hope. It is possible."

Full article 

Researchers discover technique to alter a patient's DNA that could cut chronic agony for sufferers

Hope for millions as scientists learn how to 'edit out' PAIN

• Studies on mice showed that altering DNA can stop pain signals being sent
• Treatment made by San Diego-based company may be available in five years
• It could help sufferers of chronic pain or with long-term pain problems

Scientists have discovered how to switch off a key ‘pain gene’, dramatically raising hopes of a long-term treatment to relieve the agony of serious illness for millions.

The revolutionary technique alters a patient’s DNA, silencing a gene that transmits pain signals up the spine.

Preliminary studies on mice have already proven successful and US researchers plan to start human trials next year, potentially offering terminally-ill patients and those with chronic conditions the prospect of pain-free care.

• The treatment, devised by start-up firm Navega Therapeutics in San Diego,California, could be approved for use in five years’ time
• their new approach to pain is not addictive
• uses the new high-precision gene-editing technique called CRISPR
• researchers have reversed a patient’s sickle cell anaemia using this method.
• Navega is using a CRISPR technique called ‘epi-genome editing’ which silences rather than replaces the gene. 
• Using CRISPR to edit away pain is discussed in a new documentary about the technique, Human Nature, recently given its UK premiere at the Science Museum.

Read Full article

You may also be interested in other articles on this site:

• Neuropathic Pain Treatment
• Supplements for Pain and Inflammation Relief

FDA approves Fiasp for treatment of children with diabetes type 1

PLAINSBORO, N.J., Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Nordisk today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Fiasp® (insulin aspart injection) 100 u/mL for use as a new mealtime insulin option for children with diabetes.1 Fiasp® is the first and only fast-acting mealtime insulin injection that does not have a pre-meal dosing recommendation. Fiasp® is now available for use in children and adults in three different dosing options: multiple daily injections (MDI), continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pumps and intravenous infusion under supervision by a healthcare professional.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Novel Paradigm Connecting MS to Hygiene Hypothesis, Microbiome

Newsroom – Published on: January 05, 2020 

Researchers investigate Novel Paradigm 

Connecting Multiple Sclerosis to Hygiene Hypothesis, 

Microbiome.

The researchers had hypothesized that the microbiome in 

MS represents a defective environment that does not provide normal levels of toll-like receptor (TLR2)-tolerizing bacterial products to the systemic immune system.

CONCLUSION:  that this may be a new approach to treating MS by inhibiting autoimmune inflammation while facilitating myelin repair.

Multiple Sclerosis attacks the central nervous system - brain and spinal cord -  interfering with the nervous system signals and causing neurological symptoms. 

Symptoms may include numbness, tingling, pain, burning, and visual disturbances, tremor, difficulty walking, lack of coordination and constipation.
READ FULL STORY HERE

In this short 3 minute video Harvard Associate Professor Curtis Huttenhower talks about the Human Microbiome Project and the role that microbes—organisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in the stomach, in the mouth, on the skin, or elsewhere—play in normal bodily functions, like development or immunity, as well as in disease.

ARE GUT BACTERIA BEHIND A DANGEROUS AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE?

JUNE 24TH, 2019 POSTED BY ZIBA KASHEF-YALE

Common bacteria that reside in the human gut may be partly to blame for a serious autoimmune disease called antiphospholipid syndrome that frequently affects young women, report researchers.

For their study, the research team focused on cells from patients with the immune system disorder, which raises the risk of blood clots. This chronic condition can lead to lung clots, strokes, heart attacks, and in pregnant women, miscarriages or stillbirths.

Using patient immune cells and antibodies, as well as animal models of the disease, the investigators did several experiments to explore the phenomenon. They found that a common gut bacterium, Roseburia intestinalis, can trigger antiphospholipid syndrome in individuals who have a genetic predisposition.

In those patients, the immune system’s defender T and B cells react to a blood protein involved in clotting, and also to the bacteria, in certain amino acids found in the bacteria. Over time, this ongoing “cross-reactive” response leads to tissue damage and chronic disease.

By identifying a gut bacterium, instead of the immune system, as the target for treatment, the study could lead to new drugs for these patients, according to the scientists.

The research was also the first to show cross-reactivity of gut bacteria in humans with this disease, says senior author Martin Kriegel, assistant professor of immunobiology and of medicine (rheumatology) at the Yale University School of Medicine—a finding that could impact the understanding and treatment of other autoimmune diseases.

The study appears in Cell Host & Microbe. The National Institutes of Health, Yale Rheumatic Diseases Research Core, Women’s Health Research at Yale, O’Brien Center at Yale, Arthritis National Research Foundation, Arthritis Foundation, and Lupus Research Alliance, as well as the American Heart Association and Lupus Research Institute, supported the research.

Source: Yale University

Could this widely used food additive cause celiac disease?

SCIENCE NEWS

Myths about gluten are hard to bust. Intolerance, allergy, sensitivity, hypersensitivity. What is what? 

Celiac disease is none of these things. It is an autoimmune disorder, where gluten triggers the immune system to attack the gut. It is common, lifelong, and can seriously harm health -- but nobody knows for sure what causes it. Now a review in Frontiers in Pediatrics says a common food additive could both cause and trigger these autoimmune attacks, and calls for warnings on food labels pending further tests. 

Environment causes celiac disease -- but only in susceptible individuals 

Gluten-free diets have become popular despite little or no evidence of benefit for most people. But for the 1 in 100 with celiac disease, even a mouthful of bread can trigger an immune response that damages the small intestine, impairing nutrient absorption. 

Exactly what causes this autoimmune reaction to gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- is uncertain. Specific mutations in an important immunity-related gene called HLA-DQ seem to be necessary for developing celiac disease, with one of two HLA-DQ variants present in virtually every sufferer -- but insufficient, as these variants are also present in about 30% of the general population.

 As a result, myriad environmental factors have proposed to interact with genetic risk to cause celiac disease. These span infections, food and toxins; vaccination, drugs and surgery. Most recently, food additives have been suggested to contribute. Among these, microbial transglutaminase -- a bacterial enzyme heavily used in industrial processing of meat, dairy, baked and other food products -- has emerged as a likely culprit, according to the new review. 

How a food binder could be our undoing 

"Microbial transglutaminase can glue together proteins, so it's used to improve food texture, palatability and shelf-life," says co-author Aaron Lerner, visiting professor at the Aesku.Kipp Institute in Germany. "This enzyme functions like the transglutaminase produced by our body, which is known to be the target of autoimmunity in celiac disease." 

 There is a direct positive correlation between rising use of industrial enzymes in bakery products and rising incidence of celiac disease in the last four decades, according to Lerner and co-author Dr Matthias Torsten of the Aesku KIPP Institute, Germany. But if transglutaminase is produced normally in our tissues -- and by our own gut microbes -- what difference should a little more in our diet make?

What links gluten, transglutaminase, HLA-DQ genes and autoimmunity? 

Gluten is tough to break down completely. This is useful for helping baked goods to rise and keep their shape, but in celiac sufferers presents a problem. 

 "The gluten protein fragments or 'peptides' that remain after digestion are highly susceptible to transglutaminase, which modifies them to make a variety of new peptides" Lerner explains. "These unusual peptides are particularly likely to resist further breakdown, and to be recognized as 'foreign' by HLA-DQ immune receptors inside the gut wall -- but only in those carrying the HLA-DQ variants associated with celiac disease." 

Compounding this, components of gluten also loosen the connections between cells lining the gut, allowing more gluten-derived proteins -- as well as microbial transglutaminase -- to breach this barrier and interact with immune cells. 

 "Microbial transglutaminase itself could also increase intestinal permeability by directly modifying proteins that hold together the intestinal barrier," adds Lerner. 

 Human studies implicate microbial transglutaminase 

 This all begs the question: if it is gluten-derived proteins that stimulate immune cells, why does the immune response target transglutaminase? And are microbial and human transglutaminase recognized interchangeably by the immune system? 

 "In one of our own studies, we tested antibodies from the blood of celiac patients. We found that more antibodies were active against complexes of transglutaminase bound to gluten fragments, than against either component alone. The anti-complex antibody count was also the best predictor of intestinal damage in these patients. This was true of both microbial and human transglutaminase complexes, for which there were similar antibody counts." 

 In other words, microbial transglutaminase (bound to gluten fragments) could in fact be the target of the immune response in celiac disease -- and the attack on our own transglutaminase merely a case of mistaken identity. Microbial transglutaminase present in processed foods is therefore a potential environmental cause of celiac disease. 

Is microbial transglutaminase safe? 

 But according to Lerner, the jury is still out. "Ultimately all we have so far are associations between microbial transglutaminase and celiac disease. To test whether this enzyme causes or triggers immune damage in celiac disease will require experimenting with exposure in animal models, intestinal cell lines or biopsies." 

 Nevertheless, with no known cure for celiac disease, treatment depends on preventive measures -- namely, adhering to a gluten-free diet. 

 "Until there is a clearer answer, we recommend transparency and vigilance with regards to labeling of foods processed using microbial transglutaminase." In Switzerland for example, such products must be labelled as unsuitable for persons with celiac disease.

SOURCE

A constellation of symptoms presages first definitive signs of multiple sclerosis

July 15, 2018 UBC Faculty of Medicine

During the five years before people develop the first clinically recognized signs of multiple sclerosis (MS), they are up to four times more likely to be treated for nervous system disorders such as pain or sleep problems, and are 50 per cent more likely to visit a psychiatrist, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

The study, the largest-ever effort to document symptoms of people before they know they have MS, could enable physicians to diagnose the disease – and thus start treating it – earlier, thus possibly slowing the damage it causes to the brain and spinal cord.

Dr. Tremlett and former postdoctoral fellow José Wijnands found that fibromyalgia, a condition involving widespread musculoskeletal pain, was more than three times as common in people who were later diagnosed with MS, and irritable bowel syndrome was almost twice as common.

Two other conditions with markedly higher rates among people to be diagnosed with MS: migraine headaches and any mood or anxiety disorder, which includes depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

The higher rates of those illnesses also corresponds with higher use of medications for musculoskeletal disorders, nervous system disorders, and disorders of the genito-urinary tract, along with antidepressants and antibiotics.

The study, published in Multiple Sclerosis Journal, provides definitive evidence that MS can be preceded by early symptoms – known as a prodrome – that aren’t considered “classic” manifestations of the disease, like blurred vision or numbness or weakness in the limbs. As recently as 2000, medical textbooks asserted that MS did not have a prodrome.

“The existence of such ‘warning signs’ are well-accepted for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, but there has been little investigation into a similar pattern for MS,” said Dr. Tremlett, a Canada Research Chair in Neuroepidemiology and Multiple Sclerosis and member of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. “We now need to delve deeper into this phenomenon, perhaps using data-mining techniques. We want to see if there are discernible patterns related to sex, age, or the ‘type’ of MS they eventually develop.”

READ FULL ARTICLE

Thymus cells identified which could help retrain the immune system

2018 Diabetes Digital Media Ltd Thu, 19 Jul 2018
Gut cells in the thymus... could help to retrain the immune system not to attack the body’s own tissues and cells. 

Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco believe the findings could help with understanding autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes, which is characterised by the body's immune system mistakenly attacking its insulin-producing cells. 

The thymus is an important part of the immune system. Thymus cells are programmed to train newborn T cells to defend against infection, but if immature T cells respond aggressively then they are either eliminated or retrained as Treg cells, which help suppress inflammation. When a person's thymus control is poor, this increases the risk of autoimmune diseases. 

Understanding the mechanisms within the thymus has long been a research target, and these new thymus cells, known as Hassall's corpuscles or tuft cells, present an exciting research opportunity. 

The identified cells are fully formed gut and skin cells. They sit in front of the heart and train the immune system using the same method our taste buds use to detect sweet and bitter flavours. This method depends on a molecule called TRPM5.

The researchers discovered that the tuft cells also depend on TRPM5, suggesting they too respond to cues through a taste-like pathway.

"Controlling the thymus could be key to reprogramming the immune system in a variety of disorders," said senior author Mark Anderson, MD, PhD.

"Since the skin and the gut are two of the places where your tissues are directly exposed to the outside world, we hypothesize that Hassall's corpuscles and the surrounding tuft cells may be a second level of training that essentially simulates these critical environments for maturing T cells to test how they respond," Anderson said.

Anderson and colleagues believe that the thymus could be stimulated to supply new T cells which suppress undesirable immune activity. 

READ FULL ARTICLE

Clinical trial to assess omega-3 and vitamin D supplementation on type 1 diabetes

Diabetes News 12th July 2018 

A US clinical trial will investigate whether high doses of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D supplementation can inhibit type 1 diabetes progression.

 The effects of supplementation will be tested on children and adults newly diagnosed and those with long-duration type 1 diabetes to assess the effects of early and late interventions.

Scientists from the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine plan to enrol 56 adults and children in the study, named POSEIDON (Pilot study of Omega-3 and Vitamin D High Doses in T1D).

Both newly diagnosed participants and those more than six months post-diagnosis will be eligible. They will take either vitamin D alone or in combination with omega-3 fatty acids for one year, followed by a year's observation period.

All the participants will receive insulin treatment and receive advice on dietary control during the study. During the observation period the researchers will measure long-term effects on blood sugar levels as well as any increases in insulin production, among other outcomes.

Both vitamin D and omega-3 supplementation have been shown to have protective effects on insulin-producing cells. The researchers hope to build upon these findings.

 "The role of omega-3/vitamin D in preserving beta cell function in pediatric subjects with type 1 diabetes warrants further investigation," said study sponsor Camillo Ricordi, M.D, Director of the DRI. "If combination omega-3 and vitamin D therapy is able to delay progression or halt autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes, this is expected to result in retention of insulin secretion, minimal use of exogenous insulin, and improved metabolic control thus minimizing the risks associated with unstable blood glucose levels." 

 Dr Ricordi hopes that if the findings yield positive results, they could be used not just to help people with type 1 diabetes but also other autoimmune diseases.

CONTINUE READING

Raynaud's Awareness in Pregnancy

If you have Raynaud's or know someone who does you are aware of the painful symptoms in fingers and toes caused by poor circulation that can be triggered by cold and other things. 

Raynaud's is quite common - apparently 1 in 5 women suffer from it. Raynaud's affects the arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to different parts of your body.

Raynaud's sometimes is called a disease, syndrome, or phenomenon. The disorder is marked by brief episodes of vasospasm (VA-so-spazm), which is a narrowing of the blood vessels.

Vasospasm of the arteries reduces blood flow to the fingers and toes. In people who have Raynaud's, the disorder usually affects the fingers. In about 40 percent of people who have Raynaud's, it affects the toes. 

Are you aware that Raynaud's can affect other parts of the body too?

Read how this breast feeding doctor found out that Raynaud's can also affect the nipples in a painful way and what drugs she has taken in the past and what she does now to control her symptoms here. 

Thanks Caroline for sharing your helpful story at The Hippocratic Post

Rarely Raynaud's can also affect the nose, ears, and lips.

Important Raynaud's links that can give you more information about this condition which is very common in many autoimmune diseases such as myositis and scleroderma:

• Scleroderma & Raynaud’s UK
• Raynaud's - Living With It.
• The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Raynaud's Phenomenon: A Revised and Updated Directory

RESOURCES: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Fast food makes the immune system more aggressive in the long term

Even after a change to a healthy diet, body defense remains hyperactive, according to a study by the University of Bonn

On a high-fat and high-calorie diet, the immune system reacts similar to a bacterial infection. This is shown by a recent study led by the University of Bonn. 

Particularly disturbing: Unhealthy eating seems to make the body more aggressive in the long term. So long after switching to a healthy diet, inflammation occurs. This directly promotes the development of arteriosclerosis and diabetes. The results appear in the renowned journal "Cell".

The scientists used mice for a month on a so-called "Western diet": high in fat, high in sugar, low in fiber. 

The animals then developed a massive body-wide inflammation - almost like after infection by dangerous bacteria. 

"The unhealthy diet has led to an unexpected increase in some immune cells in the blood. This was an indication of the involvement of progenitor cells in the bone marrow in the inflammatory process, "reports Anette Christ, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Innate Immunity of the University of Bonn. 

To better understand these changes, scientists isolated the progenitor cells of immune cells from the bone marrow of mice fed with "western diet" or normal diet, and performed a systematic analysis of their function and activation status.

"Genomic studies actually showed that a large number of genes were activated in the precursor cells by the Western diet. Hereditary factors included heredity for their reproduction and maturation. So fast food leads to the fact that the body quickly recruits a huge, powerful fighting force, "explains Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Schultze from the Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES) of the University of Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).

When the researchers offered the rodents their typical cereal diet for another four weeks, the acute inflammation disappeared. What did not go away was the genetic reprogramming of the immune cells: even after these four weeks, many of the hereditary factors active in the fast-food phase were still active in them.

"Fastfood sensor" in the immune cells

"We have only recently known that the innate immune system has a memory," explains Prof. Dr. med. Eicke Latz, director of the Institute for Innate Immunity of the University of Bonn and scientist at the DZNE. "After an infection, the body's defenses remain in a kind of alarm state, so that they can respond more quickly to a new attack." Experts call this the "innate immune training". In the mice, this process was not triggered by a bacterium, but by unhealthy diet.

The scientists even identified the "fast food sensor" in the immune cells responsible for it. 

They examined blood cells from 120 subjects. In some of these subjects, the innate immune system showed a particularly strong training effect. In them, the researchers found genetic evidence that it is involved in a so-called inflammasome. Inflammasome are sensors of the innate immune system. They detect harmful substances and subsequently release highly inflammatory messengers.

The inflammasome identified in the study is activated by certain food ingredients. Interestingly, this has long-term consequences in addition to the acute inflammatory response: namely, the activation changes the way in which the genetic information is packaged. The genetic material is stored in the DNA. Each cell contains several DNA strands, which together are about two meters long. However, they are wrapped around proteins and strongly entangled. Many genes on the DNA can therefore not be read - they are simply too poorly accessible.

Unhealthy eating causes some of these normally hidden pieces of DNA to unroll - much as if a loop were hanging out of a ball of wool. This area of ​​the genetic material is easier to read in the long term. Scientists speak of epigenetic changes. "The inflammasome triggers such epigenetic changes," explains Prof. Latz. "The immune system reacts in the sequence to small stimuli with stronger inflammatory responses."

Dramatic consequences for the health

These in turn can drastically accelerate the development of vascular diseases or type 2 diabetes. In arteriosclerosis, for example, the typical vascular deposits, the plaques, consist largely of lipids and immune cells. The inflammatory reaction contributes directly to their growth, because constantly new activated immune cells migrate into the altered vessel walls. When the plaques become too large, they burst, are carried away by the bloodstream and can clog other vessels. Possible consequences: stroke or heart attack.

Malnutrition can have dramatic consequences. In recent centuries, average life expectancy has steadily increased in western countries. This trend is being broken for the first time: Anyone born today will probably live shorter on average than his parents. Bad eating and too little exercise should play a decisive role in this.

"These findings therefore have enormous social relevance," explains Latz. "The foundations of a healthy diet need to become much more important than today. Only in this way can we immunize children at an early stage against the temptations of the food industry - before they develop long-term consequences. Children have a choice of what they eat every day. We should enable them to make a conscious choice in their diet. "

The work involved groups from the Netherlands, the USA, Norway and Germany. Latz and Schultze are members of the Cluster of Excellence "ImmunoSensation", which deals with the achievements of the innate immune system. Latz is considered one of the most internationally renowned researchers in this field. In December he was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize for his work. This is considered one of the most prestigious science awards in Germany.

Publication: Anette Christ, Patrick Günther, Mario AR Lauterbach, Peter Duewell, Debjani Biswas, Karin Pelka, Claus J. Scholz, Marije Oosting, Kristian Haendler, Kevin Baßler, Kathrin Klee, Jonas Schulte-Schrepping, Thomas Ulas, Simone JCFM Moorlag, Vinod Kumar, Min Hi Park, Leo AB Joosten, Laszlo A. Groh, Niels P. Riksen, Terje Espevik, Andreas Schlitzer, Yang Li, Michael L. Fitzgerald, Mihai G. Netea, Joachim L. Schultze and Eicke Latz: Western diet triggers NLRP3-dependent innate immune reprograming; Cell, DOI: 10.1016 / j.cell.2017.12.013

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Eicke Latz 
Institute for Innate Immunity, University of Bonn 
and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) 
Tel .: 0228 / 287-51223 
E-Mail: eicke.latz@uni-bonn.de

University of Bonn. "Fast food makes the immune system more aggressive in the long term: Study shows that even after a change to a healthy diet, the body's defenses remain hyperactive." 

Low-gluten strain of wheat, which could be good news for people with gluten intolerance

A low-gluten strain of wheat has been developed by scientists at the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture in Cordoba, Spain. This is good news for people with gluten intolerance or possibly even celiac disease.

The new cereal has been created using a gene-editing technique called CRISPR/Cas9 tool. 

CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and is a genetic modification technique. This technology has been used to eliminate the majority of the gliadins in wheat. These are the gluten proteins which cause most of the gluten intolerance issues for people triggering celiac disease in genetically predisposed individuals.

We show that CRISPR/Cas9 technology can be used to precisely and efficiently reduce the amount of α-gliadins in the seed kernel, providing bread and durum wheat lines with reduced immunoreactivity for gluten intolerant consumers. ~ Dr. Francisco Barro Losada, geneticist whose team carried out the research.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It's what gives bread it's soft texture and the lack of it is why many gluten free breads are just not soft like wheat bread.

Certain conditions can cause an adverse reaction to gluten. Many people with autoimmune disease report that they feel better when they remove gluten from their diet. 

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that requires celiacs to completely remove gluten from their diets. Their immune systems respond incorrectly to gluten, which damages the gut lining and can lead to bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, malnutrition, anemia, brain damage and even gut cancers.

Let's hope that this low-gluten strain of wheat will soon be used to make low-gluten bread.

Journal Reference: Low-gluten, nontransgenic wheat engineered with CRISPR/Cas9.

You might also be interested in the video below in which Joseph Murray, M.D., a gastroenterologist and celiac disease expert at Mayo Clinic, discusses a journal article published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology about the diagnostic difference between celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

You might also like to read Gluten Intolerance: The Culprit Behind Many Chronic Illnesses

First RNA-Based Blood Test to Identify IBS and IBD

Diagnostic company IQuity has introduced the first RNA-based blood test to identify Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) share similar symptoms but are very different conditions requiring unique treatment. Current criteria for diagnosing gastrointestinal disorders can take more than a year while abdominal pain and discomfort continues. IQuity


This test will give answers earlier than previously possible for people with IBS and IBD. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a molecule essential in various biological roles in coding and expression of genes.


The researchers conducted longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of both autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases. They found that differences detected at the level of RNA can provide an accurate snapshot of a person’s disease. Using RNA, they can tell at a very early stage if a pattern exists that indicates a specific disease. This means treatments can be started earlier.


Nashville-based life science technology company IQuity has announced the release of IsolateIBS-IBD

Autoimmune Research Roundup 2017

Hot Topics from 2017 were:

Vitamin D and Autoimmune diseases

The gut microbiome and responses in the immune system e.g.

• Immunological and clinical effect of diet modulation of the gut microbiome in multiple sclerosis patients: a pilot study 
• International study of the gut microbiome – the population of bacteria in the gut – in MS.  
• Aged Gut Microbiota Contributes to Systemical Inflammaging after Transfer to Germ-Free Mice

Multiple Sclerosis

Systemic lupus erythematous

This is a roundup of recent research that has been done on Autoimmune diseases from around the world - all of them are from 2017. By no means is it a conclusive list. 

• McDonald Criteria Update: Further Distinction Between Relapsing-Remitting, Primary-Progressive MS 
• Anti-inflammatory antibodies may treat autoimmune disease: Enzyme treatment converts autoantibodies into anti-inflammatory antibodies in animal models of two autoimmune diseases 
• Hodgkin Lymphoma GWAS, Meta-Analysis Leads to Immune-Related Loci: overlap between its GWAS signals for classical Hodgkin lymphoma and loci implicated in MS, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease. 
• New study redefines Down syndrome as immune system disorder
• How T-cells navigate the rough-and-tumble environment of the bloodstream
• Technique Converts Harmful Autoantibodies into Anti-Inflammatory Antibodies In Vivo 
• Autoimmune Diseases and Oral Health: 30-Year Follow-Up of a Swedish Cohort 
• Resveratrol Role in Autoimmune Disease—A Mini-Review 
• Anorexia and Autoimmunity: Challenging the Etiologic Constructs of Disordered Eating 
• Scientists identify potential key to therapeutic treatments for autoimmune diseases 
• Autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants—ASIA—related to biomaterials: analysis of 45 cases and comprehensive review of the literature 
• Moving a Step Closer to Solving Problems of Autoimmune Disease and Transplant Rejection. Researchers at the Houston Methodist Research Institute report that they have identified a critical switch that controls T-cell function and dysfunction and have discovered a pathway to target it. 
• Azathioprine monotherapy in autoimmune blistering diseases: An option for mild to moderate cases 
• Research reveals new associations between type 1 diabetes and asthma in children. Finnish scientists have reported findings where a prior diagnosis of asthma was linked with an increased subsequent risk of type 1 diabetes by 41%. 
• Successful treatment of moderate-to-severe alopecia areata improves health-related quality of life. 
• Autoimmune nodo-paranodopathies of peripheral nerve: the concept is gaining ground: These patients have been classified up to now as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy CIDP 
• Cell Recycling Process Helps Trigger Immune Attack on Protective Nerve Cell Protein Myelin, MS, December 2017 
• Chronic fatigue is being addressed as a serious illness stemming from the autoimmune system’s reaction to infection or stress. December 2017 
• Ocular staining worse in dry eye patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, Dec 2017. 
• Diet quality is associated with disability and symptom severity in multiple sclerosis, Dec 2017. 
• Cell Recycling Process Helps Trigger Immune Attack on Protective Nerve Cell Protein Myelin. 
• Blood test for diagnosing multiple sclerosis that avoids the invasive, painful process of collecting fluid from the brain and spine. 
• Taurine, an amino acid, may boost the effectiveness of existing multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies, researchers say. 
• Cellular self-digestion process triggers autoimmune disease "This reactivation process is thought to play a decisive role in the development of autoimmune neuroinflammation." 
• Ultraviolet light offers MS relief
• ACR, EULAR release classification criteria for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, Dec, 2017. 
• Systematic assessment and characterization of chronic pain in multiple sclerosis patients. 
• Autoimmune Neurology: A New, Rapidly Evolving Subspecialty 
• Changing gut bacteria in Crohn’s disease
• Improving walking for people with peripheral artery disease
• Immunotherapy, Gene Editing Advances Extend to Type 1 Diabetes
• Body’s Biological Clock and Time of Day Affects Immune Cells, Mouse Study Shows 
• Cellular self-digestion process triggers autoimmune disease 
• Orally Administered Calcitriol Reduced Inflammation in EB Mice: Lack of vitamin D is a potential key factor in epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) 
• Time of day affects severity of autoimmune disease: Immune responses and the regulation of autoimmunity are affected by the time of day when the response is activated. 
• Caplacizumab induces response in acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. 
• Autoimmune conditions, infections common among diffuse large B-cell lymphoma survivors. 
• New phenome-wide association study offers insight into autoimmune diseases. 
• MAIT cells play a key role in onset of type 1 diabetes. A new study has highlighted the role mucosal-associated invariant T cells play in autoimmune diseases. 
• Autoimmune and infectious diseases among diffuse large b-cell lymphoma survivors.
• Teenage microbiome disruption linked to multiple sclerosis trigger: Mouse data 
• Risk factor for drug-induced skin disease identified - skin disease bullous pemphigoid (BP) in diabetic patients. 
• Throwing tomatoes at autoimmune diseases: William Langridge, PhD, is working on a new way to fight autoimmune diseases (AD) with edible vaccines. 
• Diet and lifestyle factors may trigger psoriasis: Environmental and lifestyle factors, may trigger onset of psoriasis and account for approximately 30% of the risk of the condition in people with a genetic preposition. 
• Newly ID’d Gene Variant Linked to Slower Progression of Systemic Sclerosis in Women in Small study. 
• Research underway for new type 1 diabetes treatment: Researchers at The University of Queensland are hoping a new form of immunotherapy could lead to better treatment. 
• Opdivo May Increase Risk for Autoimmune Disorders in Cancer Patients, Case Report Suggests. 
• First RNA-Based Blood Test to Identify IBS and IBD
• A low-gluten strain of wheat has been developed by scientists at the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture in Cordoba, Spain. December 2017. 
• High-throughput RNA sequencing reveals distinct gene signatures in active IgG4-related disease. December 2017. 
• Newly discovered drug-like compound may revolutionize treatment of autoimmune diseases. November 2017. 
• Researchers Find Gene Mutation That Makes Japanese More Susceptible to AAV a group of autoimmune diseases whose hallmark is inflammation that damages small blood vessels. 
• Arthritis, autoimmune disease discovery could lead to new treatments 
• A Large Order of Gut Microbes, Hold the Salt in autoimmune disease 
• Novel Compound Could Produce New Autoimmune Therapies
• Sodium intake may interact with genetics to increase latent autoimmune diabetes risk September 2017 
• Autoimmune Epilepsy: Current Research In Oxford. September 2017. 
• PTSD linked with increased Lupus risk September 2017. 
• Regular exercise, stress can both make a big difference in lupus, study finds: Daily activity appears to cut kidney damage from inflammation – and stress does opposite. September 2017. 
• Gates Foundation Invests $40 Million in Immunotherapy Collaboration 
• IBM to investigate role of microbiome in autoimmune disorders August 2017 
• Leaky Gut As a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases 23 May 2017 
• HCDR1 Therapy Has Positive Impact on Sjogren Syndrome as Well as Lupus, Its Maker XTL Reports April 2017 
• How Autoantibodies Circumvent the Blood–Brain Barrier in Autoimmune Encephalitis April 2017 
• Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation's 2017 Sjogren's Treatment Guidelines, March 2017 
• Ectopic lymphoid neogenesis in rheumatic autoimmune diseases, Feb. 2017 affecting Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome and Systemic lupus erythematous 

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