Allergies

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Allergies

Risk Factors

NEWS:

A Real Head Scratcher "Although you can develop an allergy to many ingredients in hair coloring, the most likely culprit is a chemical called para-phenylenediamine (PPD). It has been a major component of most hair-coloring products used in the western world since the 1880s and has caused problems almost since it was first developed, according to the American Contact Dermatitis Society--which named PPD its "allergen of the year" in 2006. Because of its potential to cause an allergic reaction, PPD was banned in Sweden, France and Germany for most of the last century (it re-entered the market after the formation of the European Union). PPD remains popular as a permanent dye because it produces a natural color that doesn’t fade with shampooing."

Chlorination products: emerging links with allergic diseases. (Curr Med Chem. 2007)

Color to Dye for

Experts warn over cat 'allergies' "More people develop allergic reactions to cats than thought, research suggests - even those not specifically allergic to the animals. The Imperial College London study of 2,000 people found 25% got breathing problems due to cat allergens. About 15% of the population is allergic to cats. But breathlessness was even reported in those without a specific cat allergy, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reported. "

Exposure to cats in infancy may boost allergy risk "Children exposed to higher levels of cat allergen in their first 2 years of life may be at greater risk of becoming allergic to the animals, a new study from Germany shows. However, the risk of sensitization at 6 years old seems to disappear. The findings show that avoiding exposure to cats at home might not be enough to protect some children from becoming allergic, Dr. Joachim Heinrich of the GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health in Nuremberg and colleagues conclude. Some studies have shown that having pet cats in early life increases the risk of developing a cat allergy, while others have found owning cats actually protects against cat allergy, the researchers note. Because most studies have looked at only one point in time, Heinrich and his team followed a group of 2,166 children from birth to age 6. When the children were 3 months old, the researchers collected samples of dust from their homes. At 2 and 6 years of age, children had blood tests and house dust was sampled again. The higher the levels of cat allergen in house dust when the children were 3 months old, the more likely they were to have developed sensitization to the allergen by 2 years of age, the researchers found. Sensitization to an allergen does not mean a child will go on to become allergic to it, they note, although it does indicate a child is at increased risk. But by age 6, the researchers found no correlation between cat allergen exposure in infancy and sensitization to the allergen or the presence of any type of allergic symptoms or disease."

ARTICLES:

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Asthma/Allergic airways disease: does postnatal exposure to environmental toxicants promote airway pathobiology? (Toxicol Pathol. 2007) "Conclusions: cyclic challenge of infants to toxic stress during postnatal lung development modifies the EMTU. This exacerbates the allergen response to favor development of intermittent airway obstruction associated with wheeze. And, exposure of infants during early postnatal lung development initiates compromises in airway growth and development that persist or worsen as growth continues, even with cessation of exposure."

Atopic disease and body mass index. (Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 2007) "DISCUSSION: There is some evidence of an association between excess body weight or obesity and atopy - particularly asthma."

Bacteria and mould components in house dust and children's allergic sensitization. (Eur Respir J. 2007)

Chlorination products: emerging links with allergic diseases. (Curr Med Chem. 2007) "Experimental evidence suggests that chlorination products promote allergic sensitization by compromising the permeability or the immunoregulatory function of epithelial barriers. These findings led to the chlorine hypothesis proposing that the rise of allergic diseases could result less from the declining exposure to microbial agents (the hygiene hypothesis) than from the increasing and largely uncontrolled exposure to products of chlorination, the most widely used method to achieve hygiene in the developed world. Giving the increasing popularity of water recreational areas, there is an obvious need to assess the effects of chlorine-based oxidants on human health and their possible implication in the epidemic of allergic diseases."

Do indoor chemicals promote development of airway allergy? (Indoor Air. 2007)

Early exposure to pets: good or bad? (Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2007)

Maternal diet during pregnancy in relation to eczema and allergic sensitization in the offspring at 2 y of age. (Am J Clin Nutr. 2007) "CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the intake of allergenic foods and foods rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids during pregnancy may increase and foods rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may decrease the risk of allergic diseases in the offspring."

Risk factors for the development of food allergy. (Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2007)

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