Allergies Treatment News
Nanotechnology research ‘could offer nickel allergy treatment option’
Scientists in the US have devised a potential new method of treating nickel allergies using a special type of nanoparticle.
The team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have created a cream containing calcium-based particles measuring billionths of a metre in diameter, which can be applied to the skin of those affected by the common dermatological condition.
These particles will capture the nickel contained in everyday objects such as coins and mobile phones, preventing the material from coming into contact with the skin and causing an itchy rash.
According to researchers, the nanoparticles are unable to penetrate the skin, thus making them safer than other treatment options, while the cream itself can be easily washed off with water.
R Rox Anderson, a dermatologist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, said: “Nanoparticles that bind to allergens but do not penetrate the skin offer a new strategy. Big hope in a small package!”
According to Allergy UK, sensitivity to nickel mean that reactions are triggered by items such as wristwatches, zippers and scissors, as well as foods including cabbage, rhubarb, oysters and peanuts.
Vaccine in Development Could Cure Cat Allergies
Sniffly-nosed kitten-lovers rejoice: A new vaccine could soon banish allergies to cats.
The vaccine isn’t ready for prime time yet, but a new study finds that the shots are safe, researchers reported March 31 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. They’re also effective at reducing allergic reactions, the researchers reported.
About 10 percent of peopleare allergic to cats. Currently, the only solutions are to stay far away from felines or to get multiple injections of kitty allergens to help the body build up a tolerance. But that process can take years, wrote McMaster University immunologist and study researcher Mark Larche.
Larche and his colleagues developed the vaccine by isolating the protein shed by cats that causes the most allergic reactions. They then used blood samples from people with cat allergies to determine which segment of the cat protein binds to and activates immune cells. (An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system interprets benign substances, such as cat dander, as invaders and launches an attack.)
Next, the researchers made synthetic versions of these segments, called peptides. A mix of seven synthetic peptides makes up the vaccine. The idea, the researchers wrote, is that the immune system will encounter these peptide strands, which fit into the immune cells like a key to a lock, and recognize them as harmless. That action stops the sniffling, sneezing inflammatory response in its tracks, even when the peptides are attached to real cat proteins.
An early clinical trial on 88 patients resulted in no serious side effects, the researchers reported. A single injection reduced the skin’s inflammatory reaction to cat allergens by 40 percent, the researchers wrote. To get an equivalent response with current anti-pollen allergy treatments, they wrote, patients would have to get 12 weeks of treatment with pollen extract.
The vaccine is being developed by Adiga Life Sciences, a company established at McMaster University, and British biotech firm Circassia Ltd. The companies are continuing with clinical trials with a larger group of patients to determine the optimal dose for the vaccine.
Local alternative treatment for allergies
Do you suffer from allergies? Do the budding trees make you cry? Do you reach for drugs or head to the doctor for shots as soon as the grass needs mowing? There is an alternative being offered by a Pittsford chiropractor.
Dr. Ted McArthur has a computer system that can track which allergens you react to (no scratch tests or needle pricks). Then, using specific meridians of the body, he points a low-intensity laser at designated spots for just a few seconds. This is believed to interrupt the biorhythms that set off your allergies. Typically, after eight to 12 laser treatments, he says the majority of his patients report no more symptoms.
Dawn Parkison of Penfield says that she couldn’t even think of mowing her grass without doping up on over-the-counter allergy medicines. But after going through the laser treatment, she realized the stuffy nose and watery eyes she always put up with were gone. “I am symptom-free now and I can even go visit my friend who has a cat! I never could spend much time in her house because of her pets.”
Mexican pharmacy online
Dr. McArthur says he has been using the BAX 3000 system for two years now. He was skeptical at first, but since so many of his patients were suffering from allergies, he decided to test it. “There is maybe one out of 10 patients that doesn’t respond to the laser treatment. But for those who do, they tell me, they’ve stopped using inhalers, some no longer need shots and most of them need much less medication.”
Allergy clinic can help you breathe easier
Springtime is here! The birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, your eyes are itching and it’s hard to breathe. If this scenario sounds familiar, the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic can help.
Dr. Stan Fineman, allergist and president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, says it is high time for allergy sufferers due to the pollen count this time of year.
He said problems from respiratory allergies are prevalent. Symptoms include nasal congestion, sneezing, itching of the nose and eyes and sometimes a cough, usually triggered by pollen.
The doctor said in Marietta tree pollen is prevalent in March and grass pollen in April. “Usually, March, April and May are the bad spring season time for pollen allergy sufferers here in Marietta,” Dr. Fineman said.
He said the high pollen count in mid-February was unusual. He says as it gets warmer, pollen counts will continue to increase. “People are going to have a greater problem with their symptoms because of a phenomenon called the priming effect,” he said.
He says when people are re-exposed to an allergen a few weeks after the first occurrence, they have a more violent allergic reaction. “This is a concern with people with seasonal tree pollen allergies,” he said.
The clinic conducts a special allergy skin test using extracts in order to find out what triggers the allergic reaction. Dr. Fineman said, “If somebody is very allergic and their positive to the skin test, and they’re having significant symptoms and trouble, then we can start a medication and use the allergy shot.”
He said allergy injections are a very effective procedure to help patients build up a tolerance toward the allergen. “When they are re-exposed, they won’t have the same symptoms,” he said.
Nancy Wilkins of Dallas said the injections have helped her to get her life back. She said she is allergic to “every tree, every grass, three different types of mold, cats, dogs and dust.”
At this time of year, “Normally I have watery itchy eyes. I can’t breathe,” she said. Wilkins also has allergy-induced asthma. “My nose is stuffed up and I can’t laugh. I can’t talk without coughing,” she said.
Wilkins said at one time she was on two inhalers and taking medications and still had severe symptoms. She was referred to the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic from a friend whose son’s allergies cleared up after treatment.
“I thought I may as well try this,” Wilkins recalled. “I’ve tried everything else.”
She said her lifelong battle with allergies caused her to develop world allergy syndrome. She was unable to eat food such as watermelon, cantaloupe, nuts, and raw cucumbers.
Wilkins began treatment in 2010. She said when the skin test was conducted on her back, welts rose, indicating certain allergens. Three shots were designed specifically for her.
When she started treatment, Wilkins took two shots per week for five months. It gradually was reduced to one weekly shot, and now she goes in every other week for one shot. She is expected to finish the shots completely within six to eight months.
Wilkins said treatment has helped to her breathe and her symptoms had drastically declined. “Basically, I got my life back,” she said. She is also able to eat foods that were once restricted because of her world allergy syndrome.
Wilkins emphasizes the importance of following treatment all the way through. “Don’t skip any appointments,” she said. “It’s important to keep up with the shots or it won’t work.”
The Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic has been certified by the National Allergy Bureau and is the official pollen reporting station for metro Atlanta.