New Hope for curing food allergies article

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socks on a rooster:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44858044/ns/local_news-chicago_il/#.TpRVMXJgjCM

rebekahc:
It's worth keeping this on the radar, but this statement makes me wonder.

--- Quote ---Previously, the approach was used to target autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
--- End quote ---

AFAIK, those diseases haven't been cured. If they've tried this technique on those and it works, why aren't they treating with it? If it didn't work on those, I wonder what the chances are of it working with allergies?

CMdeux:
The original citation is:

http://www.jimmunol.org/content/early/2011/10/04/jimmunol.1100608.abstract

I (personally) find this interesting:

Interestingly, Ag-SP induced Th2 tolerance was found to be partially dependent on the function of CD25+ regulatory T cells in the food allergy model, but was regulatory T cell independent in the model of allergic airway inflammation.

In other words, something that wasn't supposed to be a variable turned out to be highly correlated to the success of the response. Meh. I'm skeptical, because that often means that the underlying (supposed) mechanism isn't correct-- or at the very least, is incompletely understood.

In some conditions, in some animal models, this works. As long as nothing interferes.

Susan:
What about this?

--- Quote ---Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have announced a breakthrough approach to allergy treatment that inhibits food allergies, drug allergies and asthmatic reactions without suppressing a sufferer’s entire immunological system.

The therapy centers on a special molecule the researchers designed, a heterobivalent ligand (HBL), which when introduced into a person’s bloodstream can, in essence, out-compete allergens like egg or peanut proteins in their race to attach to mast cells, a type of white blood cell that is the source of type-I hypersensitivity (that is, allergy).

--- End quote ---

http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/26774-researchers-engineer-new-way-to-inhibit-allergic-reactions-without-side-effects/