Allergy News

LONDON (AFX) - Evolutec Group plc, a biopharmaceutical company developing products for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, said its hay fever drug candidate rEV131 has demonstrated an additional mechanism that may give it anti-inflammatory properties.

It said rEV131, currently in Phase IIb trial, has an equivalent impact to an experimental small molecule H4 receptor blocker which may explain its anti-inflammatory effects, such as the significant reduction in nasal congestion observed, in previous clinical trials in asthma.

'We believe that rEV131 has the potential to fill the unmet need in allergic rhinitis for a new product which has a fast onset and reduces all symptoms,' it said.

Evolutec also said it is on schedule to deliver the results of its North American 300-patient Phase IIb hay fever trial by the year-end.

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RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A U.S. research team says it has identified an enzyme involved in allergic reactions, possibly providing a new target for the treatment of such maladies.

The scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University, the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York note allergic diseases such as asthma and hay fever afflict about 30 percent of people in the developed world -- and allergic reactions are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States.

A research team has identified a key enzyme responsible for triggering a chain of events that results in allergic reaction, according to new study findings published online this week in Nature Immunology.

The work by researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University, the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York sets the stage for development of new strategies and target therapies that control allergic disease – the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States.

Allergic diseases such as asthma and hay fever are problematic for about 30 percent of the population in the developed world. Researchers have developed various treatments to control allergy, but no cure has been found.

RATIONALE: In an observational cohort study, women who self-selected for frequent aspirin use developed less newly diagnosed asthma than women who did not take aspirin.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether low-dose aspirin decreased the risk of newly diagnosed asthma in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

METHODS: The Physicians' Health Study randomized 22,071 apparently healthy male physicians, age 40-84 years at baseline and tolerant of aspirin over an 18-week run-in period, to 325mg aspirin or placebo on alternate days. The aspirin component was terminated after 4.9 years due principally to the emergence of a statistically extreme 44% reduction in risk of first myocardial infarction among those randomly assigned to aspirin.

AUSTRALIA - Taped to the wall of a child-care centre in inner-city Sydney is a four-page spreadsheet of children's allergies.

One little girl brings her own water and one little boy can drink only soy milk. There are three vegetarians and a handful of gluten-frees. One poor soul can't eat honey, strawberries, peanuts, eggs or sesame products.

It's a compelling snapshot of our itchy, scratchy nation, in which about 40 per cent of Australians have an allergic disease, including asthma, eczema, food allergies, and hay fever.

Tanox has begun dosing a phase I clinical trial of TNX-650, an antibody being evaluated as a potential treatment for moderate to severe asthma.

TNX-650 has a mechanism of action unique from currently available asthma treatments and has the potential to be a therapeutic option for patients whose disease is not currently well controlled and for non-allergic asthmatics.

TNX-650 targets Interleukin 13 (IL-13). Preclinical studies indicate that IL-13 is a key mediator of asthma responses, including airway inflammation, obstruction and hyper-reactivity.

The survey was conducted by Chang-Gung Memorial Children's Hospital on children up to five years of age who made recent outpatient visits to the hospital for allergies or asthma.

The survey found 30 percent of these patients had persistent asthma, while another 50 percent had preliminary symptoms of the respiratory condition -- such as frequent coughing and wheezing.

It's rare that you hear of someone dying from food allergies, but when it happens, it usually reaches national news. Why? Because food is something we eat every day - several times a day - and everyone should be aware of the dangers of food allergies. Some foods such as peanuts contain very strong allergens that are in the food and released into the air as well. That's why someone with severe food allergies must be extremely careful where and how they dine out.

Food Allergy Deaths

There are approximately 150 deaths related to food allergies in the United States each year. Food allergies are responsible for more deaths than insect bites as well as reactions to medicines.

If you are allergic to shellfish, you can end up in the hospital if you eat something with a protein found in shellfish.

So be sure to check the ingredient label of anything you eat. Here is a list of ingredients to avoid, courtesy of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital:

• Crab, crawfish, crayfish, ecrevisse.
• Any type of clam, including cherrystone, littleneck, pismo and quahog.
• Abalone.
• Lobster, langouste or langoustine, scampi, coral or tomalley.
• Mussels, oyster, scallops or any kind of mollusk.
• Shrimp, prawns or crevette.
• Cockle, periwinkle or sea urchin.

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An intervention program of telephone follow-up of asthma patients seen at an inner-city hospital reduces frequency of emergency department (ED) use and results in better healthcare management and ultimately better asthma control.

The findings were presented here yesterday at CHEST 2006, the 72nd annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

The hospital in question was the Truman Medical Center–Hospital Hill in Kansas City, Missouri. Principal investigator Rita A. Mangold, RN, Asthma Program Coordinator at the hospital, went to some pains to convince session attendees that her Midwest institution is truly situated in an inner-city environment. "Eleven percent of this inner-city population is living below the poverty line," she pointed out. "The population is also woefully devoid of payer sources. About 39% are fee-for-service patients."

Altana's nasal steroid spray Omnaris has been approved in the US for allergic rhinitis.

Altana's Omnaris, an intranasal corticosteroid based on ciclesonide, has been approved in the US for the treatment of seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis in patients 12 years of age and older. However, given the major products already on the market and the recent patent expiry of Flonase, Omnaris is likely to have a limited impact on the field of allergic rhinitis treatment.

'Content Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa causing sneezing, itching, nasal congestion, and discharge. Seasonal allergic rhinitis is better known as hay fever, while perennial allergic rhinitis is a chronic condition caused by triggers such as pet dander and dust. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, more than 40 million Americans are currently estimated to suffer with allergic diseases.

by Vincent A. DeLeo, Medscape, 24 Oct 2006

p-Phenylenediamine, the allergen of the year? Why now?

Granted, p-phenylenediamine (PPD) has been the leading permanent hair coloring agent or oxidative hair dye in most of the Western world since its introduction in the 1880s,[1] and it has been a problematic agent almost since its debut. Because of its allergic potential, it was banned in France and Germany from 1906 until the 1980s to 1990s, when it was again allowed for use in member states of the European Union.

So why now?

MILWAUKEE - When Colleen Pfaff was a toddler, her father forgot to wash his hands after handling blue cheese for a salad, and lifted Colleen into the tub to give her a bath.

Hand-shaped welts immediately appeared on Colleen’s body. Her immune system had reacted to milk protein still on his hands.

The welts subsided after washing with soap and water. But it was a painful lesson in how little it can take to trigger an allergic reaction to food.

by Ed Susman, UPI

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Inner-city asthma patients whose medicine doesn't help because they live in rundown housing may be better offer getting referred to a lawyer rather than a specialist.

In New York City, when doctors asked a lawyer to confront recalcitrant landlords, the patients got their homes repaired -- and used less medicine, required fewer trips to the emergency room or treatment, and in general, improved their overall condition.

Asthma symptoms can be controlled by using heat to destroy smooth muscle tissue in the large airways, a researcher reported here.

The experimental technique, dubbed bronchial thermoplasty, is also safe and well-tolerated, although the treatment caused transient worsening of asthma symptoms, according to Michel Laviolette, M.D., of Laval University in Québec City, Quebec.

The technique uses a bronchoscopic catheter with an expandable, computer-controlled heating element on the end. The catheter is inserted into airways greater than three mm in diameter that branch off the mainstem bronchi, with the exception of the right middle lobe, Dr. Laviolette said at CHEST 2006, the meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

TUESDAY, Oct. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Devices called home nebulizers have been a boon to asthma care. But a new study shows that, if used improperly, they can also lead to serious asthma complications, even death.

These machines turn medications into fine, inhaled droplets. But researchers at Michigan State University concluded that when home nebulizers aren't used according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines, they may actually contribute to some people's deaths.

"Widespread prescription and use of home nebulizers in asthma may have the unintended consequence of contributing to over-reliance on bronchodilators and inadequate use of inhaled steroids," the authors concluded.

Interesting article in Australian press.

Preliminary results show that if the animals had a 15-30 minute dose of light before being exposed to a common allergen their chance of developing symptoms was "significantly reduced".

It has been already found that sun light is a vital contributor to healthy immune system. Time will show when light and therapy will get proper attention from scientists and consumers.

CHICAGO, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A "Multi-Lingual Phrase Passport" is part of the U.S. "Let's Eat Out! Your Passport to Living Gluten and Allergy Free" guide for those with food allergies.

The pocket-sized guide empowers travelers with food allergies, such as celiac -- an auto-immune disorder reflected in a permanent intolerance to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- and those following specialized diets to safely eat outside the home.

Emerald Coast consumers are cautioned to a product recall due to undeclared dairy ingredients in certain rice and pasta side-dish mixes.

Unilever of Englewood Cliffs, the New Jersey producer of Knorr®-Lipton® "Sides", has issued a voluntary recall on several of its paste and rice products because of an allergy alert on undeclared milk in certain mixes after two reports of consumers experiencing adverse reactions.

The products, all of which were manufactured in one facility, are listed below:

LONDON (Reuters) - The General Medical Council (GMC) launched a national poster campaign on Monday to alert the public about new guidelines for doctors that encourage them to work more closely with patients.

After a two-year consultation with doctors, patients and the public the medical watchdog has updated its "Good Medical Practice" guide on professional standards with a major focus on doctors' duty to work in partnership with patients.

The GMC said this included their responsibility to advise patients about the link between health and lifestyle choices.

Once again I came across the opinion that germs-free environment is actually bad for children.

The original article is below

It was a very promising article, until I read till the end and saw

Save $84.50 a year off our newsstand price: Subscribe today for only 38 cents a day!

This has almost put me off a little, and I had to re-read the article. What's wrong with people who are actually writing something worth reading? Why there always has to be something distracting and repulsing?

Anyways, I invite you to read the article about the herbal treatment which can help you to fight your allergy.

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (Sparc), the recently demerged research entity of domestic pharma major Sun Pharmaceutical, is all set to take its lead molecule for anti-allergic treatment to the phase-II trials (trials on patient) in the US.

The investigational new drug (IND) of Sparc has already received permission from the US Food and Drug Administration to enter the phase-II trials.

The phase-II trials will be conducted in the US directly by the company, using a leading local CRO (clinical research organisation). This will mark the first IND filing and phase-II studies in the US by an Indian company working independently, that’s without a partner.

LIFE saving allergy training would be mandatory for teachers and childcare workers if Labor wins next month's Victorian election.

Premier Steve Bracks today announced the Government would spend $2.1 million over five years to train childcare workers and teachers how to treat children with life-threatening anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction.

The package would include training to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic triggers - such as peanuts and shellfish - and how to administer a life-saving shot of adrenaline through an Epi-pen.

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified how a bioactive molecule involved with allergy, inflammation and cancer is transported out of mast cells, according to findings published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mast cells are specialized cells that react to allergy-causing agents by releasing substances that trigger the body's allergic response, leading to conditions like asthma and hives. Among the molecules released by mast cells that participate in the allergic response is sphingosine-1-phosphate. This molecule is also implicated in cancer.

by Jon Brodkin, Daily News, 22 Oct 2006

It's no surprise a severe asthma attack can force someone to go to the hospital. It might surprise some to learn chemicals and substances commonly found inside hospitals can cause asthma or trigger asthma attacks.

Cleaning products, latex gloves, pesticides, dust, mold and even some medications can cause or exacerbate asthma, according to a report issued Wednesday by Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition of 450 groups trying to make the health care industry safer.

"Ironically, many products that are used in hospitals to keep patients, visitors and personnel safe from pathogens represent some of the very same products that have some potential to cause or exacerbate asthma in susceptible individuals," the report states.

SATURDAY, Oct. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Raking and burning autumn leaves is a rite of the season for many, but those with allergies may want to avoid it, experts say.

Here are some other tips from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) on avoiding allergy triggers this fall:

by Megan Rauscher, Reuters, 20 Oct 2006

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Depressive symptoms are common among inner-city adults hospitalized for asthma flare-ups, according to a new study in the medical journal Chest.

Furthermore, such symptoms identify individuals who are unlikely to stick to their asthma medication regimen when they go home.

"Typically, when someone comes into the hospital and we treat their asthma, we don't necessarily look at whether they are depressed," Dr. Susan J. Bartlett commented. "But maybe we need to, because these individuals are really at very high risk of being poorly adherent to their asthma therapy once they get out of the hospital."