Allergy
hideAllergy is a disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy. Allergic reactions occur to normally harmless environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid. Strictly, allergy is one of four forms of hypersensitivity and is called type I (or immediate) hypersensitivity. It is characterized by excessive activation of certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophils by a type of antibody known as IgE, resulting in an extreme inflammatory response. Common allergic reactions include eczema, hives, hay fever, asthma, food allergies, and reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees.
Mild allergies like hay fever are highly prevalent in the human population and cause symptoms such as allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness, and runny nose. Allergies can play a major role in conditions such as asthma. In some people, severe allergies to environmental or dietary allergens or to medication may result in life-threatening anaphylactic reactions and potentially death.
A variety of tests now exist to diagnose allergic conditions; these include testing the skin for responses to known allergens or analyzing the blood for the presence and levels of allergen-specific IgE. Treatments for allergies include allergen avoidance, use of anti-histamines, steroids or other oral medications, immunotherapy to desensitize the response to allergen, and targeted therapy.
For more information about Allergy, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with allergy
Microbes help mothers protect kids from allergies
Dec 07, 2009 |
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A pregnant woman's exposure to microbes may protect her child from developing allergies later in life. Researchers in Marburg, Germany find that exposure to environmental bacteria triggers a mild inflammatory response in ...
Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another
Nov 08, 2009 |
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Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate. Their ...
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Dutch PhD develops fast method for preparing flu vaccine
Dec 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A shortage of flu vaccines may soon become a thing of the past. Researcher Manon Cox has designed an alternative process for producing large quantities of safe and effective vaccines at twice to four times ...
New York autopsies show 2009 H1N1 influenza virus damages entire airway
Dec 07, 2009 |
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In fatal cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, the virus can damage cells throughout the respiratory airway, much like the viruses that caused the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics, report researchers from the National Institutes ...
Quitting smoking can reverse asthma-inducing changes in lungs
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Asthmatic smokers may be able to reverse some of the damage to their lungs that exacerbates asthmatic symptoms just by putting down their cigarettes, according to research out of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Grooving down the helix: Researchers show how proteins slide along DNA to carry out vital biological processes
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists has made a major step in understanding how molecules locate the genetic information in DNA that is necessary to carry out important biological processes.
New study measures HIV anti-retroviral regimens' safety and efficacy
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 01, 2009 |
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A study in the New England Journal of Medicine released on World AIDS Day reports that viral failure, the point at which medication can no longer suppress the HIV infection, was twice as likely and happen ...
Cells defend themselves from viruses, bacteria with armor of protein errors
Nov 25, 2009 |
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When cells are confronted with an invading virus or bacteria or exposed to an irritating chemical, they protect themselves by going off their DNA recipe and inserting the wrong amino acid into new proteins to defend them ...
Exposures to metals and diesel emissions in air linked to respiratory symptoms in children
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children, according to a new study by ...
Researchers track down protein responsible for chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps
Nov 23, 2009 |
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A protein known to stimulate blood vessel growth has now been found to be responsible for the cell overgrowth in the development of polyps that characterize one of the most severe forms of sinusitis, a study by Johns Hopkins ...
Researchers discover antibody receptor identity, propose renaming immune-system gene
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on ...
Sweet -- sugared polymer a new weapon against allergies and asthma
Nov 19, 2009 |
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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 ...
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