Allergies News and Research

Latest Allergies News and Research

Most soaps and household cleaners will remove enough peanut allergen

Peanut allergy sufferers and their parents take note: a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study finds that most soaps and household cleaners will remove enough peanut allergen from hands and dining surfaces at home and in schools to prevent an attack.

8 May 2004

Discovery of immune system malfunction that plays a profound role in food allergy

A team of scientists, led by the Institute of Food Research (IFR) in the UK, has discovered an immune system malfunction that is likely to play a profound role in food allergy.

8 May 2004

Childhood asthma study reveals parental age anomaly

A study of children with asthma conducted by the University's Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and the Children's Hospital at Westmead has found that the age of the children's parents is a key factor in the early diagnosis of the disease.

8 May 2004

Vitrase has been approved for use as an adjunct to rehydrating agents

The Food and Drug Administration approved Vitrase (hyaluronidase for injection). Vitrase is an injectable drug approved as an adjunct to (in combination with) other injected drugs to increase their absorption and dispersion. Hyaluronidase has been used most commonly in combination with local anesthetics in the setting of ophthalmic (eye) surgery.

6 May 2004

FDA approval of Hylaform and Restylane, both injectable gels, to treat facial wrinkles

The list of cosmetic soft tissue fillers on the market and in the pipeline worldwide is growing rapidly. Many have been introduced with great fanfare; relatively few stand the test of regulatory or peer review - as well as the test of time.

6 May 2004

New Yorkers reminded to practice good asthma management

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) today reminded New Yorkers with asthma - who may be at risk of increased symptoms during allergy season - to practice good asthma management, including identifying and avoiding asthma triggers and taking appropriate medications as directed by a health care provider.

5 May 2004

New license agreement for rotavirus diarrhea vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today a new license agreement aimed at helping to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths annually from rotavirus diarrhea in children living in developing countries.

4 May 2004

Wyeth gets FDA approval for a novel protein device that enhances bone healing

Wyeth have announced that the FDA has approved rhBMP-2/ACS (recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2/Absorbable Collagen Sponge), a novel protein device that enhances bone healing, for use in the treatment of acute, open tibia shaft fractures in adults.

3 May 2004

Sainsbury's potato chips cause allergic reactions

The Food Standards Agency is today warning people with allergies who have bought Sainsbury's potato wedges that some could cause an allergic reaction.

30 Apr 2004

Australian research helps to better understand asthma, hayfever, eczema and associated allergies

May 4, 2004 is World Asthma Day. Asthma, hayfever, eczema and associated allergies are among the most common chronic diseases in the developed world. It has been estimated that up to 50% of people in western societies suffer from these conditions, and in Australia alone, health care costs for asthma alone exceed $700 million each year.

29 Apr 2004

Having pets helps protect infants against allergies

Having siblings, keeping a pet, or living on a farm helps protect infants against the development of atopic (allergic) diseases, but early infections increase the risk, according to new research from Denmark. This study will be available on bmj.com on Friday 30 May 2004.

29 Apr 2004

Millions of poor and minority children in America's cities likely will suffer higher rates of asthma

Millions of poor and minority children in America's cities likely will suffer even higher rates of asthma as the result of a "powerful one-two punch" of higher levels of pollen and changes in the types of molds spurred by global warming, along with unhealthy urban air masses caused by the burning of fossil fuel by cars, trucks and buses, according to a warning issued today by Harvard researchers and the American Public Health Association (APHA).

29 Apr 2004

Scientists looking for 480 people to test experimental anthrax vaccine

Scientists in Rochester and 11 other cities around the nation are beginning tests of an experimental vaccine aimed at protecting people against anthrax, a rare disease that, like smallpox, has become more threatening with the emergence of bioterrorism.

28 Apr 2004

A popular supplement, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), may help prevent migraine

Migraine patients who took 100 mg three times a day of CoQ10—which acts as the body’s energy producer—had fewer attacks in three months than those who took a placebo. The participants taking CoQ10 also had fewer days with a headache and fewer days with nausea.

28 Apr 2004

Serious allergic reactions in cancer patients require expert intervention

Studies show that up to 35 percent of cancer patients are at risk for an allergic reaction to their cancer therapy. Yet, the same drug causing the reaction could be the drug that best helps to control the disease.

28 Apr 2004

Russia's housing conditions linked to high rates of asthma amongst children

Scientists from the University of Birmingham, UK, have worked with the Harvard School of Public Health and universities in Russia to look for the first time at environmental factors causing breathing problems in Russian children.

28 Apr 2004

Quality of dietary fat is associated with allergies

The quality of dietary fat is associated with the risk of hay fever and allergic sensitisation, but not atopic eczema and bronchial hyperreactivity.

27 Apr 2004

Experimental immune-boosting drug interleukin-2 helps HIV Patients

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists report that brief, widely-spaced courses of the experimental immune-boosting drug interleukin-2 (IL-2) allow people with HIV to maintain near normal levels of a key immune system cell for long periods.

26 Apr 2004

SARS antibody sent to China

Responding to a request from a Chinese biotechnology company working closely with officials in China, Medarex, Inc. and the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have shipped to Beijing a sample of the fully human antibody to SARS developed by Medarex and MBL/UMMS.

26 Apr 2004

Learn to control your child's asthma with new book from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

While asthma can’t be cured, it can be treated and controlled so that your child can enjoy a healthier, more active life. In this important guide, Children's Hospital experts clearly explain what asthma is and how parents, caregivers and young patients can manage it successfully.

26 Apr 2004