Pollen News and Research

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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

Fake antimalarial drugs analysis highlights threat to global health

A unique collaboration between scientists, public health workers and police has led to the arrest by the Chinese authorities of alleged traders of fake anti-malarial drugs in southern China and the seizure of a large quantity of drugs.

13 Feb 2008

How asthma and allergy symptoms are triggered

In demonstrating that a group of calcium ion channels play a crucial role in triggering inflammatory responses, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have not only solved a longstanding molecular mystery regarding the onset of asthma and allergy symptoms, but have also provided a fundamental discovery regarding the functioning of mast cells.

15 Jan 2008

Immunotherapy - How does immunotherapy work? When is immunotherapy helpful?

Those who suffer from allergic asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis or stinging insect allergies may be good candidates to receive immunotherapy, also known as "allergy shots," according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

10 Jan 2008

New immune system discovery will help fight hay fever and other allergies

A mechanism which can lead to hay fever and other allergic reactions, by preventing the immune system from regulating itself properly, has been discovered by scientists.

28 Dec 2007

Managing asthma

The great majority of the nearly 23 million people with asthma, including 6.5 million children, can avoid serious symptoms and disability if they follow the latest guidelines to keep their disease under control.

13 Nov 2007

Scientists study the spread of ragweed pollen

To a person with a pollen allergy, an 18-acre ragweed field sounds like a sneezy, red-eyed zone of misery. But to two environmental engineering researchers at Johns Hopkins, the parcel presented a rare and valuable opportunity to learn how the troublesome weeds grow, reproduce and scatter their pollen under varying weather conditions.

24 Sep 2007

Breastfeeding offers no protection against asthma or allergies

New research says breastfeeding does not protect children against developing asthma or allergies.

12 Sep 2007

Giving children a diet rich in fish and

“We believe that this is the first study that has assessed the impact of a child's diet on asthma and allergies and also taken into account the food their mother ate during pregnancy” says lead author Dr Leda Chatzi from the Department of Social Medicine at the University of Crete, Greece.

12 Sep 2007

A little dirt never hurt!

A little dirt never hurt. But in today's super-clean world, vaccinations, anti-bacterial soaps, and airtight doors and windows are keeping dirt and disease-causing germs at bay.

5 Sep 2007

New strategy for treating allergic disorders

Ghent - Oral intake of allergens or auto-antigens via the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis might be a new strategy for treating various kinds of auto-immune and allergic disorders.

2 Aug 2007

Obesity and asthma often go together

Scientists in Britain say they have discovered a link between obesity and asthma and they believe the connection may explain why overweight people are up to twice as likely to develop the respiratory condition.

17 Jul 2007

Rapid evolution of defense genes in plants may produce hybrid incompatibility

One of the basic tenets of evolution is speciation in which populations of the same species become so genetically and morphologically variable that they can be classified as two different species.

10 Jul 2007

Breakthrough new asthma gene found

In a large-scale study conducted with 2,643 children, international researchers with the participation of the Department of Experimental Pneumology of Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Germany (Prof. Dr. Albrecht Bufe), have discovered a gene variant that contributes significantly to the risk of childhood asthma.

5 Jul 2007

Does air pollution have a bigger effect on the immune system of females than males?

Does air pollution have a bigger effect on the immune system of females than males? It did among mice exposed to ozone -- a major component in air pollution that is known to negatively affect lung function -- and then infected with pneumonia, as significantly more females died from the infection than males.

26 Jun 2007