Many doctors suggest that whole cow’s milk be avoided in the early months of an infant’s feeding. Lactation specialists go even further, counseling “mother’s milk only” until baby starts eating solid food. But new research from Tel Aviv University says that mothers who feed their babies cow’s milk in the first 15 days of life…
Archive for July, 2010
Early Exposure To Milk Protein From Cows Increases Allergy Resistance Later In Life
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Interferon might help asthma patients breathe easier, study suggests
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
An immune-system protein already used to treat diseases like multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C and a variety of cancers might also aid asthma patients, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
The investigators determined that the protein interferon blocks the development of a population of immune cells known to cause asthma. These cells are members of a…
Food Allergy: An Increasing Problem for the Elderly
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Mohrenschlager M et al. – As populations become older all over the world, allergic reactions in elderly persons will be encountered more often in the future. Up to now, there has been much more literature on allergy prevalence in childhood than on allergy diseases in adults. As a challenge to epidemiology, allergic disorders in elderly…
Moldy Homes a Serious Risk for Severe Asthma Attacks in Some
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Exposure to high levels of fungus may increase the risk of severe asthma attacks among people with certain chitinase gene variants, according to a study from Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The protein, known as Siglec-8, has been studied for more than a decade by a team led…
Don’t Let Food Allergies Spoil the Picnic
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Summer is the best time for eating outdoors, so why let food allergies spoil the party?
In some people, that innocent-looking picnic spread could provoke symptoms ranging from hives and stomachache to life-threatening difficulty breathing. But by working with an allergist, you can head off a potential emergency.
“Food allergies are serious, but with a little preparation,…
Asthma Prevention – Avoiding Certain Foods And Dust Mites During Infancy Might Help
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
British researchers have found that avoiding certain foods and dust mites during our first months of life may help prevent asthma. Professor Syed Hasan Arshad and colleages from the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Centre, Isle of Wight, England have been tracking 120 children since 1990 in the Isle of Wight Primary Prevention Study. The…
A Roadmap To Prevent Milk Allergy
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breast-feeding up to 6 months of age. In a large (>13,000 newborns) prospective study on the incidence and risk factors for IgE-mediated cow’s milk allergy (IgE-CMA), Katz and colleagues (p 77) from Tel Aviv University in Israel report several novel findings. They note that the incidence of IgE-CMA is less…
Rate of Childhood Peanut Allergies More Than Triples
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
A new survey suggests that the percentage of children with peanut allergies has more than tripled in just over a decade, although the actual number of kids thought to have the allergy is still small.
“These results show that there is an alarming increase in peanut allergies, consistent with a general, although less dramatic, rise in…
Low Vitamin D Levels Associated With More Asthma Symptoms, Medication Use
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Low levels of vitamin D are associated with lower lung function and greater medication use in children with asthma, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
The researchers also reported that vitamin D enhances the activity of corticosteroids, the most effective controller medication for asthma.
“Asthmatic children in…
Better Way to Detect Food Allergies
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
About 30 percent of Americans believe they have food allergies. However, the actual number is far smaller, closer to 5 percent, according to a recent study commissioned by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). That’s due in large part to the unreliability of the skin test that doctors commonly use to test…
