Allergies News and Research

Latest Allergies News and Research

Significant death risk linked to airborne particles

Experts may be significantly underestimating air pollution's role in causing early death, according to a team of American and Canadian researchers, who studied two decades' worth of data on residents of the Los Angeles metro area.

20 Sep 2005

PUMA protein offers critical insights for developing new anti-cancer drugs

The discovery of how the activities of the protein p53 initiate signals that trigger cell suicide offers critical insights for developing new anti-cancer drugs, according to investigators from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

20 Sep 2005

Spread of bird flu to the United States is a "time bomb waiting to go off"

One of the government's top scientists said Monday that the spread of bird flu to the United States is a "time bomb waiting to go off" but that federal and industry efforts to produce a vaccine are progressing.

12 Sep 2005

Vical and NIH to evaluate enhanced-delivery HIV vaccine

Vical Incorporated today announced plans to develop and evaluate electroporation-enhanced delivery of therapeutic and preventive DNA vaccines against HIV

12 Sep 2005

Cellular mechanism discovery could lead to new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease

A major finding by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) has identified a previously unknown cellular mechanism that acts as an off switch for immune system function.

12 Sep 2005

Scientists characterize the most infectious prion protein particles

A new study of prions - apparently malformed proteins that initiate deadly brain diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans - has yielded surprising information about how the size of prions relates to their infectivity.

10 Sep 2005

Bacteria lurking in household dust produce chemicals that may trigger asthma

These bacterial chemicals, called endotoxins, particularly those found on bedroom floors, were linked with increased respiratory problems in adults.

7 Sep 2005

Parasite could help prevent asthma

Asthma in Britain has reached epidemic proportions and the country now has one of the highest numbers of sufferers of the allergy in the world; in Ireland alone it is reported that as many as 30% of all schoolchildren have symptoms of the disease.

5 Sep 2005

New findings suggest balancing Chk1 activity will produce less toxic cancer drugs

A study published by The Burnham Institute in the September edition of Molecular Cell reports that a cell-cycle checkpoint protein, known to be activated by an important class of anticancer drugs, may play crucial roles in both the hampering of therapeutic actions and aiding cancer cells to "recover" and start dividing again after treatment with these drugs.

5 Sep 2005

Asthmatics don't need to hear the word "wheeze"

According to a new study, as far as asthmatics are concerned, just the mention of words such as "wheeze" can activate an attack.

30 Aug 2005

Leading medical journal says homeopathy no better than dummy drugs

Leading medical journal The Lancet has rubbished homeopathy and says it is no more value than dummy drugs.

29 Aug 2005

Increase in students with food allergies

As U.S. teachers prepare classrooms for the upcoming school year, school nurses and students with food allergies need to do some early homework of their own.

24 Aug 2005

Butterbur extract should be considered as an alternative treatment for hayfever

The largest trial so far conducted using Butterbur extract to treat intermittent allergic rhinitis (hay fever) shows that this plant extract is as effective as a commonly used antihistamine (Telfast 180).

22 Aug 2005

Crystal meth crackdown - families back tougher sentences

Many Canadians families affected by crystal methamphetamine abuse, are in support of longer jail sentences for dealers and users of the drug.

15 Aug 2005

Body's own defense mechanism causes some of the most serious asthma symptoms

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) scientists have discovered that our body's own defense mechanism causes some of the most serious asthma symptoms.

13 Aug 2005

Majority of Americans believe that vaccines are the best hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic

But while most of those surveyed felt it personally important to help support HIV vaccine research, a majority expressed reluctance to support a friend or family member's participation in an HIV vaccine clinical trial.

9 Aug 2005

U.S. ready to make bird flu vaccine

Even though officials in the United States say more testing needs to be done, the U.S. could begin mass production of an experimental avian flu vaccine by September.

9 Aug 2005

Tests of bird flu vaccine on humans show good results

Experts have been concerned that the bird flu strain, currently prevalent in Asia, could engender a worldwide pandemic, but apparently human tests of an experimental vaccine show it is effective at stimulating the immune system to fight the virus.

7 Aug 2005

Progress to develop vaginal microbicides

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced an agreement with the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) to share information and expertise in an effort to develop vaginal microbicides

4 Aug 2005

More than fifty percent of the U.S. population tested positive to one or more allergens

The new findings, based on data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), shows that 54.3% of individuals aged 6-59 years old had a positive skin test response to at least one of the 10 allergens tested.

4 Aug 2005