allergy – BioQuakes

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I am someone who is allergic to penicillin, amoxicillin, and a bunch of other “cillins”. So, when being prescribed with antibiotics, penicillin is always ruled out as an option for treatment. However, new findings at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) show that people, like me, who were told after a single allergic reaction to penicillin that they were penicillin-allergic, may not be penicillin-allergic after all!

At the Annual Scientific Meeting at the ACAAI, a study was presented where 15 students who were supposedly penicillin-allergic tested negative for a penicillin allergy and were in fact treated with intravenous penicillin medication multiple times. Dr. David Khan and Dr. Roland Solensky, both allergists, are both majorly involved in this research. They each stated that people who are found allergic to a medication such as penicillin are then prescribed with more expensive and dangerous medications to take the place of the medication they are allergic to. In fact, almost 10% of Americans are labeled penicillin-allergic and have no choice but to use more complex medications, when they might not even be allergic to a simpler medication, such as penicillin, in the first place!

To attempt to resolve this problem, Dr. Solensky is going to present “Drug allergy: options beyond avoidance” at the next Annual Meeting at the ACAAI. This presentation is designed to discuss different treatment options for patients suffering from allergies to certain medications, as well as patients who were told they are allergic to medications that they are in fact not allergic to. Dr. Khan encourages everyone who is penicillin-allergic to get tested and see if penicillin is a medication they should actually avoid or if the allergic reaction they once had to penicillin was a fluke. This study can help people avoid medications that are overly expensive or that can be dangerous, and just in general help people find more appropriate medications. I sure know that I’m interested to see if I’m actually penicillin-allergic, or if that allergic reaction I had in second grade was a one time thing!

Main article:

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2015/11/05/consider_penicillin_even_if_you_have_had_a_prior_reaction.html

Epigenetics for Asthmatics

By Lord of the blood cells

On March 10, 2015

In Student Post

In a recent study, a group of scientists obtained findings that could lead to a new approach to treating allergies. Instead of looking at the genes of their test subjects, they looked at something “above” the genome. Here we reach the field of Epigenetics.
Let us first define “Epigenetics” as the study on the activity and regulation of genes. In the world of Epigenetics, one can think of the epigenome as the on-off switch for the expression of genes. In terms of the study lead by Professors William Cookson and Miriam Moffatt, they focus on genes that trigger Asthma in patients. As Asthma cannot be ‘cured’, is there a way to shut down the genes that cause it?

The research team searched for a correlation between Asthma-causing antibodies and low methylation levels. Methylation is the process by which a methyl group attaches to certain genes in order to regulate their activity. Scientists already know that people with asthma have higher levels of an antibody called “Immunoglobin E” (IgE). This antibody is involved in triggering the symptoms of asthma. It is already known that genes responsible for producing IgE are hyperactive in asthma patients. The question became whether methylation had something to do with it. So to answer this question, the researchers obtained volunteers with asthma, but with varying IgE levels. The group found significant results surrounding lower levels of methylation with the patients that had higher levels of IgE than those with lower levels of IgE in their blood. This suggests that the lower methyl levels on certain genes evokes an overactivity of IgE producing genes.

After reading the article myself, I wonder if asthma patients could find ways to have higher methyl levels in their body to shut down the overactive IgE-producing genes. Perhaps they could consume a methyl rich diet? I guess it’s not that simple. Further research should obviously go into epigenetics, since I feel it is a newly discovered field. Anyways, here are the head scientists reactions to the experiments:

Professor Moffatt: “The genes we identified represent new potential drug targets for allergic diseases as well as biomarkers that may predict which patients will respond to existing expensive therapies.”

Professor Cookson: “Our pioneering approach, using epigenetics, allowed us to obtain insights that we weren’t able to get from traditional genetics. It isn’t just the genetic code that can influence disease and DNA sequencing can only take you so far. Our study shows that modifications on top of the DNA that control how genes are read may be even more important.”

This article (and the entire study of Epigenetics) shows how scientific knowledge and thought is always changing. Before recent research showing a link between one’s living environment and their genetic activity came along, scientists widely believed that one only passes down inherited genes to their offspring. This potentially makes scientists now look twice at Lamarck and Darwin’s theories of evolution. Due to the new research conducted on Epigenetics, Lamarck’s (originally rejected) theory of how an animal’s environment will affect that animal’s offspring can now be regarded in a whole new light.

Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150218073057.htm

Further Reading: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/180963-lamarcks-revenge-the-epigenetics-revolution-may-redeem-one-of-darwins-oldest-rivals

Chemical Changes Triggering Allergic Reactions

By nicheloss

On October 4, 2014

In Student Post

A research team at Oxford University recently conducted a study to determine what conditions are more likely to trigger an allergic reaction to nuts in mice. The team used roasted peanuts and raw (regular) peanuts, purifying the proteins from both and then introducing the 2 types of peanut proteins multiple ways.

The response was shocking: the mice who were exposed to dry roasted peanut proteins had many more immune responses than the mice exposed to raw peanut proteins. This “immune response” closely resembles a human allergic reaction.

The actual act of roasting peanuts seems like it wouldn’t change much other than taste, but the science of the act shows that with heat, the proteins are chemically modified. The common concept of enzyme performance being altered by changing the temperature or pH applied in this experience. Peanuts contain the enzyme Cyp11a1, a recurring link in allergic reactions. When heat was applied to the protein of a peanut, the enzyme’s shape changed and therefore the active site was altered and the enzyme was unable to perform its function. Therefore, an allergic reaction to the heat-modified (roasted) nuts was more easily triggered.

Being someone who suffers from a nut allergy (I know, I’m missing out on Nutella), I found this article very interesting because I’ve experienced certain situation with inconsistent reaction triggers, and I’m curious as to what they might be. I also found the geographical link regarding the allergy outstanding – the Western population of nut allergies is reportedly much higher than that of the Eastern population, but in the article, the distinction is made that as Westerners, we tend to eat our peanuts roasted/dry-roasted, whereas the Eastern population is likely to eat their food raw.

Photo by: Daniella Segura ; Some Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140921223617.htm

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: allergy

Attention all penicillin-allergy victims, you might not actually be penicillin-allergic!

Epigenetics for Asthmatics

Chemical Changes Triggering Allergic Reactions

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