Allergies News and Research

Latest Allergies News and Research

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

PREVAIL IV trial opens in Liberia for EVD survivors with persistent traces of Ebola virus RNA

The Partnership for Research on Ebola Virus in Liberia, a U.S.-Liberia joint Clinical Research Partnership, today announced the opening of PREVAIL IV, a treatment trial for men who have survived Ebola virus disease (EVD) but continue to have evidence of Ebola virus genetic material, RNA, in their semen.

6 Jul 2016

New lung-targeted gene therapy shows promise in improving treatment for emphysema

Researchers have developed a new strategy using lung-targeted gene therapy that may lead to improved treatments for inherited diseases including emphysema.

6 Jul 2016

FDA approves Absorb GT1 BVS to treat coronary artery disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first fully absorbable stent to treat coronary artery disease.

5 Jul 2016

Researchers discover human factor that drives maturation of helper T cells

A powerful arm of the immune system is production of antibodies that circulate through the blood and neutralize invading pathogens. Although B cells actually manufacture antibody proteins, the process is aided by neighboring T cells, which shower B cells with cytokines to make them churn out high-quality antibody proteins--and remember how to do so.

4 Jul 2016

New test strip can rapidly, cost-effectively detect disease pathogens

At present, bacteria, fungi or viruses can generally only be detected with certainty by way of elaborate laboratory tests or animal experiments. The food and pharmaceutical industries would like to have faster tests to check their products.

4 Jul 2016

Implementation science may help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmissions

An emerging field, known as implementation science, may help reduce the nearly 150,000 instances of mother-to-child HIV transmissions that occur annually around the world, mostly in developing countries. c

1 Jul 2016

SLU researchers receive federal grant to study Zika virus

Saint Louis University vaccine researchers have received $1.3 million in federal funding to study Zika, as part of a multi-site study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

1 Jul 2016

New IDSA guidelines focus on diagnosis, treatment of deadly aspergillosis

New therapies are improving care, but early diagnosis remains critical in the effective treatment of invasive, a potentially deadly fungal infection, according to new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Jun 2016

UTHealth researchers receive $11 million grant to study prion diseases

Led by Claudio Soto, Ph.D., researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have been awarded $11 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the pathogenesis, transmission and detection of prion diseases - such as chronic wasting disease in deer - that can potentially spread to humans.

30 Jun 2016

Allergy-causing immune cells play life-saving role in deadly C. difficile infection

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified immune cells vital for protecting us from potentially fatal C. difficile infection. Surprisingly, those cells are often vilified for their role in causing asthma and allergies. But when it comes to C. difficile, they could be the difference in life and death.

29 Jun 2016

Deficiency in NMD could cause inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) — masses of immune cells— are benign, but poorly understood. Current IMT treatments often have side effects and surgery is sometimes not an option due to the tumor's proximity to vital organs.

28 Jun 2016

Scientists explain how engineered anthrax toxin proteins could help eliminate cancerous tumors

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute all parts of the National Institutes of Health, describe how combining engineered anthrax toxin proteins and existing chemotherapy drugs could potentially yield a therapy to reduce or eliminate cancerous tumors.

28 Jun 2016

Researchers test new drug with potential to reverse or slow progression of asthma

A new drug with the potential to reverse or slow the development of asthma is being tested by researchers at The University of Queensland.

28 Jun 2016

HMC signal could be used to detect diseases and to personalize medication

Common diseases like allergy, diabetes and other immune diseases have increased dramatically in recent decades. This indicates that the environment may have a more important role than genes in explaining this increase.

24 Jun 2016

Study to evaluate magnitude of health risks caused by Zika virus in pregnant women, infants

The National Institutes of Health and Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, a national scientific research organization linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, have begun a multi-country study to evaluate the magnitude of health risks that Zika virus infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants.

22 Jun 2016

VUMC researchers aim to decode genetic underpinnings of human immune system

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center this month began recruiting volunteers to participate in a clinical trial aimed at decoding the human "immunome," the genetic underpinnings of the immune system.

22 Jun 2016

High fibre diet can help reduce food allergies

Eating a diet rich in fibre can actually shape the immune system to reduce allergies to substances such as peanuts, new research shows.

21 Jun 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

Study finds increase in pollen allergies among Swedish adults

The prevalence of pollen allergies among adults in Sweden has increased. However, the prevalence of allergies to furred animals, mites or mold has not. These were the results of a new study at Sahlgrenska Academy.

21 Jun 2016