Q:Hello, I was wondering if you know anything about anaphylaxis. Are there any candidates for a viable "cure", or at least a treatment? Is there any good research being done out there? Sometimes, amid the HIV and cancer and other (worthy) causes, anaphylaxis seems to go a bit unnoticed. Thanks! (Great blog, I'm learning plenty. Keep up the good work, sir. :D )
Anaphylaxis is essentially an immune reaction to an allergen by a particular type of cell (called a mast cell) that leads to a release of inflammatory stimulation. In extreme cases this can cause respiratory failure and blood pressure crashes.
The antigens can be anything really, but are commonly seen in foods like shellfish and peanuts. You’re right that it isn’t quite as sexy as HIV or cancer, but it does lead to over a hundred deaths a year and many more moderate health incidents.
A cure? Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be on the books yet. Most therapies still focus on controlling the reaction, usually by gradually stimulating the immune system with low concentrations of the antigen (like the food extract or allergen) until the immune system becomes desensitized to it. Some new therapies focus on using immune proteins themselves, but these are new and unproven.
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