"Immunotherapy offers the promise of treating human diseases by mobilizing or inhibiting multiple arms of the immune system."

A special section of the 9 July 2004 Science explored some immunotherapies already in clinical use, along with others that are being designed on the basis of new principles emerging from experimental immunology. As reported in a News story by J. Couzin, one of the most ambitious clinical projects to date is the U.S. Immune Tolerance Network, which is testing streamlined drug treatments for autoimmune disorders and organ transplantation. A series of Viewpoint and Review articles discussed the challenges of broadening basic research to human subjects; immunotherapy's prospects in treating cancer, chronic infections, and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis; and ways of exploiting immune tolerance to improve the success of organ transplantation. As noted in a related News story by I. Wickelgren, researchers are also investigating the use of parasitic worms to treat asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and other disorders involving hyperactive immune systems. Science's STKE featured three Perspectives on the signaling pathways regulating immune tolerance and the molecular mechanisms of antibody immunotherapy. And two articles in SAGE KE explored the challenges of vaccination in treating Alzheimer's disease, and why vaccines often fail in the elderly. Finally, an Editorial by A. Mahmoud discussed the staggering disparity in vaccination efforts between developing and industrialized nations, and the governmental efforts necessary to help close the global vaccination gap.