Allergies News and Research

Latest Allergies News and Research

High-rise homes have the highest levels of cockroach allergens

Roaches like to live high in the sky in places like Chicago, New York City and the Bronx, according to a recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study, conducted by an allergist affiliated with Children's Medical Center Dallas, found high-rise homes in Northeastern cities had the highest levels of cockroach allergens -- leading to a higher incidence of asthmatic episodes.

30 Mar 2005

Cells that might be able to suppres cat allergies

In a paper in this month's premier open-access medical journal PLoS Medicine, Mark Larche and colleagues from Imperial College London describe a subset of cells that might be able to suppress cells that cause cat allergy.

29 Mar 2005

AIDS virus initially more destructive than first thought

The AIDS virus destroys more than half of the immune cells that might recognize and help fight it, within days of infection according to US researchers, and this revelation might necessitate a re-evaluation of how the deadly infection should be tackled.

28 Mar 2005

Vaccine prevents deadly pneumonia in African children

Global health leaders today presented new research showing that vaccinating infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae -- a bacterium that causes deadly pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis -- could substantially reduce death and serious illness among children in the developing world. If used widely, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths each year.

28 Mar 2005

New therapy for treating cat allergies looks promising

Andrew Saxon, M.D., and a team of researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that a molecule designed to block cat allergies can prevent allergic reactions in laboratory mice and was also successful when tested on human cells in a test tube.

28 Mar 2005

NIAID investigates safety of H5N1 avian influenza vaccine

Fast-track recruitment has begun for a trial to investigate the safety of a vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced today.

23 Mar 2005

Specific test key to determine whether or not allergy symptoms are really allergy-related

Many people with allergy-like symptoms could get the test they need, and the right treatments for their symptoms, from their primary care physician if managed care practice guidelines encouraged the use of the test.

23 Mar 2005

Intervention with once-daily budesonide reduces long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events

New data indicated that earlier intervention with once-daily budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid delivered by dry powder inhaler to children with mild persistent asthma, significantly reduced the long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events as well as the need for other inhaled medication.

21 Mar 2005

Tattoo industry needs closer monitoring

The increased popularity of tattoos is causing a noticable rise in the number of complaints of adverse side effects associated with both their application and removal.

14 Mar 2005

Health problems with the unknown compositions of tattoo inks

A new study concludes that the unavailability of health insurance prior to Medicaid enrollment may contribute to poor outcomes in the Medicaid-insured cancer population.

14 Mar 2005

Cigarette smoke worsens respiratory infections in infants

Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children's Hospital found that a child's age at the time of infection and whether that child lives with a smoker could mean the difference between the sniffles and the intensive care unit.

8 Mar 2005

Lack of clear definition for anaphylaxis puts millions at risk

A new report released today in The Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology sets the stage to clearly define a life-threatening medical condition that scientists characterized more than a century ago.

8 Mar 2005

Cockroach allergen is the primary contributor to childhood asthma in inner-city homes

New results from a nationwide study on factors that affect asthma in inner-city children show that cockroach allergen appears to worsen asthma symptoms more than either dust mite or pet allergens.

8 Mar 2005

Asthma relapse in children common

One third of children with asthma who go into remission by the age of 18 will relapse and redevelop asthma by the time they are 26, says a new study published in the March issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

8 Mar 2005

Study indicating that gastric acid inhibitors can provoke food allergies

The research team of Dr. Erika Jensen-Jarolim from the Medizinische Universität Wien (Vienna Medical University) was named winner this past weekend of the ADF/ECARF Award for European Allergy Research for a study indicating that gastric acid inhibitors can provoke food allergies.

8 Mar 2005

Two chemicals boost immune cells' ability to fight HIV without gene therapy

A UCLA AIDS Institute study has discovered that two chemical compounds may help the immune systems of HIV-infected persons fight the disease without invasive gene therapy.

7 Mar 2005

Study looks at the ability of some monkey species to resist developing AIDS

The Tulane National Primate Research Center received a five-year grant of more than $2 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the ability of some monkey species to resist developing AIDS.

7 Mar 2005

Liquorice - the black stuff we love to eat, may help prevent cancer

Liquorice - the black stuff we love to eat, contains a compound - glycyrrhizic acid which may stop people with a herpes virus from developing cancer.A research team at New York University found the compound - glycyrrhizic acid - possibly has the ability to stop the virus triggering a form of cancer called Kaposi sarcoma.

2 Mar 2005

Genome clues to amoebic dysentery

Each year, there are an estimated 50 million cases of amoebic dysentery, causing up to 100,000 deaths, mostly in developing countries. On Thursday 24 February 2005, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their colleagues reported in Nature magazine the genome sequence of the parasite that causes the disease, Entamoeba histolytica.

1 Mar 2005

Fear of botulism as a bioterrorist weapon is to be reduced by British vaccine technology

Fear of botulism as a bioterrorist weapon is to be reduced, as the US government announces its support for a new British vaccine technology, which promises for the first time to provide an effective defence against botulism – the most deadly naturally occurring substance.

28 Feb 2005