The term allergy encompasses a wide range of conditions; it is not a disease in itself. In 1906 Clemens von Pirquet was the first to describe allergies as a changed or altered reaction of the immune system in response to exposure to foreign proteins. These days the term allergy – medically termed hypersensitivity, signifies an exaggerated reaction to foreign substances.
A recent case study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice highlights the challenges faced by families seeking venom immunotherapy for fire ant allergies.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists, in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) Limited, found that immune cells present in people months before influenza (flu) infection could more accurately predict if an individual would develop symptoms than current methods which primarily rely on antibody levels.
Children raised in rural environments who spend a lot of time outdoors with some exposure to animals grow to have better regulated immune systems than children living in urban environments, a new study has found.
Mast cells, which are part of the immune system, are still a puzzle. Mast cells function as a sensor that signifies the animals to avert antigens, including harmful allergens, and thus safeguard themselves from health-threatening inflammatory reactions, according to researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The research was published in the journal Nature.
The protein composition of the five types of wheat—einkorn, emmer, spelt, durum, and common wheat—and their varieties differ widely.
New research is expanding the scientific understanding of why some people are more allergic than others. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine discovered how genetic changes that modify a specific protein called ETS1 can affect our body’s response to allergens.
Throughout the world, IgA deficiency is considered to be the most common primary immune deficiency, but its presentation has continued to confuse researchers and physicians.
Researchers have developed a chicken egg that may be safe for people with egg white allergies. Chicken egg allergies are one of the most common allergies in children.
Results could speed development of new antivirals or vaccines that could counter many different coronavirus variants.
According to a recent study headed by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), a regulatory class of human T cells is descended from two distinct origins, one related to autoimmunity and one related to protective immunity.
The saliva of mosquitoes infected with dengue viruses contains a substance that thwarts the human immune system and makes it easier for people to become infected with these potentially deadly viruses, new research reveals.
Therapeutics that use mRNA-;like some of the COVID-19 vaccines-;have enormous potential for the prevention and treatment of many diseases.
A subset of white blood cells, known as myeloid cells, can harbor HIV in people who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral therapy, according to findings from a small study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
In 1868, French physician Jean-Martin Charcot, known as the founder of modern neurology, defined a disease entity in which multiple plaques formed in the brain and spinal cord, with varying physical symptoms, called Sclérose en plaques, or in English as multiple sclerosis (MS).
A study discovered that the magnitude and quality of a key immune cell’s response to two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were significantly lower in individuals with earlier SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to individuals without previous infection.
A textbook chapter on the immune system may need to be revised as a result of a new study from Aarhus University.
A California policy restricting antibiotic use in animals raised for food is associated with a reduction in one type of antibiotic-resistant infection in people in the state, according to a new study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York have identified which parts of the immune system go awry and contribute to autoimmune diseases in individuals with Down syndrome.
A new grant of over $17 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has established La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) as the leading institute for human immunology data curation, analysis, and dissemination. With this funding, LJI has taken the helm of the Human Immunology Project Consortium Data Coordinating Center, a critical tool in the effort to fuel scientific collaboration in immunoprofiling and highlight findings from the overall Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC).
Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have removed a major roadblock to better understanding of mpox (formerly, monkeypox).