General Allergy News: October 2006 Archives

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.

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.

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?

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.