Immune Aging and Chronic Infections

News

• 16.12.2016

  Using viruses as vaccines

  

  Though viruses are troublesome and often even hazardous pathogens, many of them remain well-hidden and cause only mild diseases or none at all. After some modification, these viruses can be utilized to protect the body from other pathogens. Researchers make use of their infectious properties by first eliminating the disease-causing components, then loading the harmless viruses with fragments of…

• 09.11.2015

  Herpesviruses do not undermine immune protection in old age

  

  Herpesviruses, such as the cytomegalovirus (CMV), have been associated with changes in the immune system of older people for a long time. However it remained unclear, if this means that immune protection and function are impaired by a herpesvirus infection. A new study by scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig suggests that herpesviruses do not…

• 24.07.2015

  Keeping herpes viruses dormant

  

  The cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpes virus that is present, but undetected, in the majority of the human population. It causes symptoms only once the immune system of the host becomes weakened. But then it can even be fatal. For this reason, researchers are looking for methods to keep the virus in its sleeping phase, also called latency. According to a current study conducted by…

• 19.05.2015

  Working together to understand the tricks of viruses

  

  The strong influenza epidemic in the past winter and the Ebola-Epidemic in West Africa showed that there still is a large need for research in virology. But the focus also needs to be on less well-known viral infections. For example, the interaction between Viruses and the immune system needs to be understood better. This is the focus of the international research partnership "Viral…

• 06.05.2015

  Wanted: New approach in the fight against herpes viruses

  

  Almost every human is a carrier of herpes viruses. Usually, an inactive form of the virus is present in the body. Problems due to the virus usually arise only when the immune system of the host is compromised. Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig now aim to study the underlying mechanism more closely in collaboration with colleagues from four…

• 14.12.2012

  Human against virus – a molecular race

  

  Most people become infected with the human cytomegalovirus (CMV) at some point in life. Over millions of years, our immune system has evolved a trick or two to defend us against this virus, but unfortunately, CMV evolved its own tricks, too. New drugs to target viral genes that counter the immune response might support the immune system in the fight against this widespread virus. The…

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Video

• KrankheitsErregend - Transplantation

  Seitdem im Jahr 1954 das erste Organ – eine Niere – verpflanzt wurde, hat sich die Transplantationsmedizin weiterentwickelt. In vielen Bereichen hat sie sich bewährt und ist heute eine Standardtherapie. Die Transplantation mit ihren Möglichkeiten, Grenzen und Zukunftsperspektiven war das Abschlussthema der Reihe „KrankheitsErregend – Meilensteine der Medizin“ am HZI. In dieser Audioslideshow haben wir Eindrücke von der Veranstaltung für Sie gesammelt. Treten Sie also ein in die Welt der Transplantation…

Audio Podcast

• Immunologischer Altersstarrsinn – Wie unser Immunsystem im Laufe des Lebens seine Anpassungsfähigkeit einbüßt Mit uns wird auch unser Immunsystem immer älter und schwächer. Unsere Lebenserwartung steigt, das Immunsystem altert aber deswegen nicht langsamer. Die Folge: Wir werden häufiger und schwerer krank. Welche Faktoren unser Immunsystem altern lassen, untersucht Luka Cicin-Sain am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI). Folgen Sie dem Forscher ins Zelllabor und hören Sie, wie er einen Weg sucht, um das Altern des Immunsystems aufzuhalten…