Allergy News and Research

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The term allergy encompasses a wide range of conditions; it is not a disease in itself. In 1906 Clemens von Pirquet was the first to describe allergies as a changed or altered reaction of the immune system in response to exposure to foreign proteins. These days the term allergy – medically termed hypersensitivity, signifies an exaggerated reaction to foreign substances.

Discovery of quick method for making human monoclonal antibodies against flu

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) - highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single antibody-producing cell - against influenza can be rapidly produced in the lab, according to a new report from scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

30 Apr 2008

Study explains why steroid therapy for sinusitis and asthma loses its punch over time

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body's earliest immune response in the nose and sinus cavities.

29 Apr 2008

Human protein may offer novel target for blocking HIV infection

A research group supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has uncovered a new route for attacking the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that may offer a way to circumvent problems with drug resistance. In findings published today in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that they have blocked HIV infection in the test tube by inactivating a human protein expressed in key immune cells.

29 Apr 2008

Kids who get down and dirty with the dog have far fewer allergies

The latest research into childhood allergies suggests that having a pet in the home reduces the risk of children being sensitive to allergens.

29 Apr 2008

Biomarkers identified for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The first evidence of a distinctive protein signature that could help to transform the diagnosis and improve the monitoring of the devastating lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is being reported by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in this month's edition of PLoS Medicine, an open-access journal of the Public Library of Science.

28 Apr 2008

U.S., British HIV/AIDS researchers pessimistic about prospects of vaccine, survey finds

Leading HIV/AIDS researchers in Britain and the U.S. are pessimistic about the prospects of developing an HIV vaccine following the recent failure of a Merck vaccine candidate, according to a survey conducted by London's Independent, the Independent reports (Connor/Green, Independent, 4/24).

26 Apr 2008

Doctors should consider alternatives to antibiotics for sinusitis

When suffering through a sinus infection, many people ask for an antibiotic to speed their recovery. However, a recent review of clinical trials found that while antibiotics can provide minor improvements in uncomplicated sinusitis cases, most patients recover without the drugs within two weeks.

24 Apr 2008

Researchers unravel heparin death mystery

An international team of researchers led by MIT has explained how contaminated batches of the blood-thinner heparin were able to slip past traditional safety screens and kill dozens of patients recently in the United States and Germany.

23 Apr 2008

FDA approves guayule latex gloves

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the first device made from a new form of natural rubber latex, guayule latex. The product, the Yulex Patient Examination Glove, is derived from the guayule bush, a desert plant native to the Southwestern United States.

23 Apr 2008

NIAID tackles drug-resistant tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) has long been one of the world’s great killers. Now, forms of drug-resistant TB--multidrug (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)--are occurring at an ominous and accelerating rate. To help in the fight against drug-resistant TB, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has formulated an MDR and XDR TB research agenda.

22 Apr 2008

Monkey malaria - the next bird flu?

An expert at the NIH has highlighted the threat of an emergent highly virulent form of malaria, questioning whether the disease has made the jump from animal to man.

22 Apr 2008

U.S. and China at loggerheads over contaminated Heparin

Health officials in the U.S. appear to be at loggerheads with Chinese officials over the contamination of the blood-thinning drug Heparin.

22 Apr 2008

Commitment to conducting more basic research in search for HIV/AIDS vaccine 'prudent,' editorial says

The cancellation last fall of a Merck HIV/AIDS vaccine trial was "branded as a 'catastrophe' by one scientist and as setting the race for a cure 'back to square one' by others," a Washington Post editorial says, adding, "The hyperbole is understandable, but some perspective is in order."

21 Apr 2008

Immunotherapy could prevent allergic reactions to food

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center are conducting trials to evaluate a method to prevent allergic reactions to food.

17 Apr 2008

Asthma symptoms worse among nation's poor, urban children

American children with asthma living in poor, urban areas are particularly vulnerable to respiratory health problems, a consequence of poor air quality in inner-city neighborhoods.

17 Apr 2008

Alcon's PATANASE nasal spray approved by FDA for treatment of nasal allergy symptoms

Alcon, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PATANASE(R) (olopatadine hydrochloride) nasal spray for the relief of the symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis in patients 12 years of age and older.

16 Apr 2008

Special asthma equipment a waste of money

Researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration research group have reviewed 54 studies in order to assess just how well specialist asthma equipment worked; the studies involved over 3,000 people.

16 Apr 2008

New mucosal vaccine against anthrax effective in early tests

Early studies show that a new mucosal vaccine against anthrax has the potential to provide military personnel with more effective and efficient protection against a "popular" bioweapon, according to a study published in the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology (CVI).

13 Apr 2008

Traffic pollution exposure during first year of life leads to asthma, allergies and impaired respiratory function

Children exposed to high levels of air pollution during their first year of life run a greater risk of developing asthma, pollen allergies, and impaired respiratory function.

10 Apr 2008