Hygiene Hypothesis News and Research

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The hygiene hypothesis is also sometimes referred to as the biome depletion theory, or the “old friends” theory, is a hypothesis that states that the cause of allergic disease may be immune intolerance resulting from inadequate exposure to parasites and microbes in childhood.

Why hay fever persists, despite low pollen counts

A team of researchers are investigating why despite low forecasts of pollen counts, on some days, there is a higher incidence of hay fever.

10 Apr 2019

Scientists identify generation of key immune response in mice on introducing solid food

Microbes colonize all body surfaces and help to balance the immune system. In newborn infants, gut microbiota is first conditioned by breast milk components.

20 Mar 2019

Mechanism underlying impaired allergic inflammation in children may explain hygiene hypothesis

The hygiene hypothesis may explain why asthma and other allergic airway diseases have dramatically increased over the past decades in industrialized countries.

9 Jan 2019

Early gut bacterial colonization may reduce risk of developing eczema

Strains of a bacterium commonly found in skin infections may help to protect against eczema, according to new research in the British Journal of Dermatology.

4 Dec 2018

The Impact of Air Pollution on Childhood Asthma

It is a well-established fact that air pollution in towns and cities affects our health. Dr Haneen Khreis discusses the latest research into the effect of air pollution on childhood asthma, and the steps that transport policy makers can take to reduce the prevalence of the condition.

1 May 2018

Atlas Award-winning study calls for more support to fight allergy epidemic in Africa

Allergies are on the rise in Africa, but with too few specialists to treat them, and a parallel increase in immune deficiency diseases, the situation is worse than we thought.

3 Apr 2018

Early childhood immune signature predicts risk of developing asthma later on

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease driven by the interplay of genetics, environmental factors and a diverse cast of immune cells.

19 Feb 2018

Breastfeeding may increase hay fever and eczema risk, but does not have clear effect on asthma

The effect of breastfeeding on the risk of developing asthma and allergy has been debated for a long time. In a recent study, Uppsala University researchers show that breastfeeding might in fact increase the risk of developing hay fever and eczema, while not having any clear effect on the risk of asthma.

13 Nov 2017

Tackling food allergies: is immunotherapy the answer?

Food allergies affect approximately 8% of school children in the United States and the United Kingdom. The highest prevalence of food allergies is in Australia affecting approximately 10% of young children. It is lower in the developing world.

7 Aug 2017

Clinical study shows new mechanism that BCG vaccine uses to reverse advanced type 1 diabetes

Interim results from a FDA-approved clinical trial testing the generic vaccine bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to reverse advanced type 1 diabetes are being presented at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

12 Jun 2017

New article provides thought-provoking view on the rise of allergy, autoimmune diseases

This new feature article by Megan Scudellari is a well-researched, thought provoking view on the rise of allergy and autoimmune diseases and shows how, if looked at objectively, it’s obviously due to “much more than rampant cleanliness”.

17 Feb 2017

Increased prevalence of food allergy linked to early skin infection and eczema

Early exposure to a food allergen through broken skin might prompt the development of food allergy.

18 Nov 2016

Neonatal vaccination of mice with bacteria prevents cockroach-induced asthma as adults

The hygiene hypothesis proposes that a 20th century surge in allergies and asthma is because people are living in increasingly hygienic environments.

27 Oct 2016

Hygiene hypothesis: a misleading misnomer? An interview with Professor Sally Bloomfield

Professor Strachan first proposed the hygiene hypothesis back in 1989. Reviewing the evidence, he suggested that one of the causes of the recent rapid rise in allergic diseases in children was lack of exposure to childhood infections

11 Aug 2016

Childhood exposure to microbes through thumb-sucking, nail-biting may lower risk of allergies

Children who suck their thumbs or bite their nails may be less likely to develop allergies, according to a new study from New Zealand's University of Otago.

11 Jul 2016

New research highlights need to abandon modern hygiene hypothesis

The July issue of Perspectives in Public Health (published by the Royal Society of Public Health) takes an objective view of ongoing research showing that the hygiene hypothesis – the idea that allergies are the price we are paying for our “modern obsession with cleanliness” – is a misleading misnomer.

6 Jul 2016

Food allergies linked to diet and gut microbiome

The development of food allergies in mice can be linked to what their gut bacteria are being fed, reports a study published June 21 in Cell Reports. Rodents that received a diet with average calories, sugar, and fiber content from birth were shown to have more severe peanut allergies than those that received a high-fiber diet.

21 Jun 2016

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