Medical Health Blog

Late introduction of solid foods may increase the risk of allergic sensitization to food and inhalant allergens. In the study, “Age at the Introduction of Solid Foods During the First Year and Allergic Sensitization at Age 5 Years,” published in the January issue of Pediatrics, researchers examined the diets and allergic sensitivities of 994 children with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes…

Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced initial positive data from a Phase 1 clinical study of AM461, the Company’s second oral selective antagonist of the DP2 (also known as CRTH2) receptor. The interim results demonstrate that a dose proportional pharmacodynamic (PD) effect can be achieved with AM461. Additionally, AM461 Phase 1 data to date demonstrates a good safety profile…

The first genetic historical map of the Han Chinese, the largest ethnic population in the world, as they migrated from south to north over evolutionary time was published online by the American Journal of Human Genetics by scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS).

On the skin’s surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury. “These germs are actually good for us,” said Richard L.

The estimated 4.6 million Americans involved in the equine industry may be at risk of developing respiratory symptoms due to poor air quality in horse barns, according to a questionnaire study undertaken earlier this year by investigators at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

Circassia Ltd, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy, announced positive results from a recently completed phase II clinical study of its ToleroMune(R) cat allergy therapy, which successfully identified the optimal dosing regimens to progress into late-stage development.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and their colleagues have developed sugar-coated polymer strands that selectively kill off cells involved in triggering aggressive allergy and asthma attacks. Their advance is a significant step toward crafting pharmaceuticals to fight these often life-endangering conditions in a new way. For more than a decade, a team led by Bruce S. Bochner, M.D.

As flu season got underway this fall, Dr. Catherine Monteleone, an allergist, noticed that her office started to receive an unusually high number of calls from people with egg allergy. They previously had avoided flu vaccines because of their sensitivity to eggs. This year, with all the attention being paid to the novel H1N1 influenza, those patients want to be protected against flu, and they contacted her to find out if they are candidates for inoculation.

UC Irvine pharmacology researchers have discovered a way to boost levels of a natural body fat that helps decrease inflammation, pointing to possible new treatments for allergies, illnesses and injuries related to the immune system. For decades, it has been known that this fat, called palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), is a potent anti-inflammatory substance that reduces both allergic symptoms and occurrences of rheumatic fever, but researchers understood little about how PEA works.

Food allergy is a serious and sometimes life-threatening health issue that is increasing among children of all ages, races and ethnicities. Reports indicate that food allergies, especially peanut allergies, are growing, but there is limited knowledge about diagnosis and treatment on a national basis. “Food Allergy Among Children in the United States,” published in the December issue of Pediatrics (appearing online Nov.