Allergy season: Cigarettes to the rescue?

May 14, 2009

Everyone knows that smoking can kill you, but did you know that it may help with your allergies? A new study shows that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens.

Smoking can cause , , and can even affect how the body fights infections. Along with many harmful effects, smoking cigarettes has a surprising benefit: cigarettes can protect from certain types of allergies. Now, a study recommended by Neil Thomson, a member of Faculty of 1000 Biology and leading expert in the field of respiratory medicine, demonstrates that cigarette smoke decreases the allergic response by inhibiting the activity of mast cells, the major players in the immune system's response to allergens.

Researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands found that treatment of mast cells with a cigarette smoke-infused solution prevented the release of inflammation-inducing proteins in response to , without affecting other mast cell immune functions.

The mast cells used in the study were derived from mice, but it is likely that the same anti-allergy effect will hold true in humans. While taking up smoking to cure allergies is unwise, Thomson concludes that the findings presented in this study are "consistent with a dampening of allergic responses in smokers."

The full text of this article is available at http://www.f1000bi … e/id/1160325

Source: Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

frajo
May 14, 2009

Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
Everyone knows that living will kill you, but did you know that it may help you with having fun?
vlam67
May 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
It may not be cigarette smoke, but (wood) smoke in general. In the old days - and in many places today still- people cooked their food with open fires, and consequently frequently exposed to smoke. This may tie in with the explosion with allergies in modern societies. Anybody cares to put this hypothesis in their researches?
Diwali
May 15, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
This study does not and I repeatdoes not demonstrate that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies in humans.
Great caution is required in the interpretation of in vitro cultured cells experiment. Sensational conclusion of this kind, send an extremely wrong message especially to those who are ther real sufferers of allergic problems.
Rank 5 /5 (3 votes)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Is Everyday Technology Killing Us?
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • Exercise and weight loss
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • Why do we have head aches? Our brains can't feel anything.
    createdFeb 07, 2012
  • "The end of diseases" by David Agus, interview from Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    createdFeb 04, 2012
  • Oncolytic adenovirus
    createdFeb 04, 2012
  • Nutrition label stuffs and diets
    createdFeb 02, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences

More news stories

Scientists identify most lethal known species of prion protein

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in "mad cow" disease, but is at least 10 times more ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created 46 minutes ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers weigh in on ethics of H5N1 research

(Medical Xpress) -- In a commentary on the biosecurity controversy surrounding publication of bird flu research details, a bioethicist and a vaccine expert at Johns Hopkins reaffirm that "all scientists have an affirmativ ...

Medicine & Health / Other

created 13 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

To perform with less effort, practice beyond perfection

Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created 52 minutes ago | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New prenatal genetic test is much more powerful at detecting fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray (CMA) provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created 53 minutes ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

First prospective clinical trial of adaptive radiotherapy for head and neck cancer patients

Researchers led by a senior investigator at Hofstra-North Shore LIJ School of Medicine and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have released initial findings from a first-of-a-kind clinical trial in adaptive radiotherapy ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created just added | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Hydrogen from acidic water: Researchers develop potential low cost alternative to platinum for splitting water

A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley ...

Ultraviolet protection molecule in plants yields its secrets

Lying around in the sun all day is hazardous not just for humans but also for plants, which have no means of escape. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can damage proteins and DNA inside cells, leading ...

US workers are 'giving away the store,' costing firms billions

Nearly 70 percent of the nation's service employees give away free goods and services – from hamburgers to cable TV – costing companies billions of dollars a year, according to a groundbreaking study.

Barriers fall between TV, Internet

You say TV, I say Internet. Toe-mate-o, toe-mah-to.

Pa. symphony seeks soloist via YouTube contest

(AP) -- Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra officials insist it's not "American Idol" meets Mozart.

Thomson Reuters posts loss on $3 bn writedown

Thomson Reuters posted a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as the financial news and information provider took a $3 billion writedown on its financial services business.