{"id":11914,"date":"2024-05-29T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=11914"},"modified":"2024-05-17T06:31:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T06:31:11","slug":"unlocking-the-bodys-defences-understanding-immunotherapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/unlocking-the-bodys-defences-understanding-immunotherapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking the body\u2019s defences: understanding immunotherapy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n \n CI Photos\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Justin Stebbing<\/a>, Anglia Ruskin University<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

In the battle against diseases, the human body boasts an intricate defence network capable of identifying and neutralising threats \u2013 the immune system<\/a>.\nIt serves as a guardian, constantly patrolling the body to keep it safe from invaders like bacteria, viruses, and even cancer cells.<\/p>\n\n

Scientists are harnessing the power of the body\u2019s natural defence mechanism to develop immunotherapy, revolutionising<\/a> the landscape of medical treatment. It enhances, redirects, or restores the body\u2019s immune response to recognise and eliminate abnormal cells, such as cancer cells or those responsible for autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. <\/p>\n\n

Immunotherapy, however, is expensive. So, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are still the primary cancer treatments for most patients. But these conventional methods can damage healthy tissues as well as abnormal cells. They also tend to have debilitating side effects<\/a>, such as nausea, vomiting, tiredness and hair loss. <\/p>\n\n

Immunotherapy uses the body\u2019s immune system to combat diseases with precision and minimal harm by blocking molecules \u2013 called checkpoint inhibitors \u2013 like PD-L1 or CTLA-4<\/a> that cancer cells use to turn off the immune systems. <\/p>\n\n

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