True food allergy or not, baby tummies still hurt

True food allergy or not, baby tummies still hurt

　Uppercase terms for longer names of ailments are very common. The ones mentioned here are the two most common mimics of true food allergy in infants. Symptoms of FPIES (food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome) are vomiting/reflux with diarrhea, and of FPIAP (food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis), colic and diarrhea. Blood (either visible or microscopic) in the stool is common with both. FPIAP tends to occur at younger ages, often in the first two weeks of life, and occurs in infants who are…

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Possible swelling misery relief from hereditary angioedema

Possible swelling misery relief from hereditary angioedema

Many people among us contend with unknown-to-us dreadful conditions. Periodically in this newsletter, we highlight new research that could lead to a truly better life for some of our neighbors. One such challenge is hereditary angioedema (HAE) – a genetically inherited disorder that leads to severe, and sometimes life-threatening, swelling throughout the body. Often-affected areas are the extremities, gut, face and airway. A deficiency of the protein C-1-esterase inhibitor is the culprit. Lack of this protein allows a build-up of…

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This genetic deficiency often brings long-term threat of lung damage

This genetic deficiency often brings long-term threat of lung damage

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) is an uncommon – but not rare – genetic disease that seriously affects the lungs, occurring in about one of every 3,000 people. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) is an enzyme that protects our lungs from protein damage and neutrophil elastase. Neutrophils are one of the white blood cells in our blood stream that migrate into our lungs to help kill microbial viruses and bacteria. In the normal state of affairs the neutrophils release elastase and other chemicals…

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Hand sanitizer: Easy, but too much of a good thing?

Hand sanitizer: Easy, but too much of a good thing?

Dear Dr. K: I have red, itchy, peeling eyelids and my dermatologist said it’s most likely due to using hand sanitizers. But I don’t use the sanitizers on my face, so how can that be true? Your dermatologist is probably right. The hand/face connection is an interesting dichotomy. The skin on our hands is some of the thickest and toughest on our bodies; while the skin on our faces – especially on the eyelids – is among the thinnest and…

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Q – Tips: fish oil during pregnancy

Q – Tips: fish oil during pregnancy

·　Having pregnant women take cold-water fish oil during pregnancy reduced the risk for asthma in their children by 30%. So showed research at the University of Copenhagen. In general, modern diets tend to run low in the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish. These oils are known to reduce inflammation.  

Q – Tips: Peanuts

Q – Tips: Peanuts

·　 The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease recommends the introduction of peanut to infants of allergic parents between the ages of 4 and 11 months, as a proven strategy to avoid the development of severe peanut allergy later in childhood.  

Our intestinal microbiodome — so crowded; so constantly busy

Our intestinal microbiodome — so crowded; so constantly busy

A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine points out that the human GI tract contains up to 10-million different microbial species. This review of the human intestinal microbiome found bacteria, fungi (yeast), viruses, archaea (specialized bacteria with a resistant cell wall) and algae. More than a billion years of co-evolution of mammals and their gut flora has led to a complex interdependency of the mammal and the microbes, and the microbes with one another.  Humans today are…

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Heavy metals in blood increase asthma

Heavy metals in blood increase asthma

Having elevated levels of the heavy metals lead and cadmium does result in an increased incidence of asthma, as demonstrated in recently published research from Brown University. Elevated lead levels can be seen in children living in homes with old-fashioned lead paint, and in adults with workplace-exposure to lead fumes. Elevated cadmium levels are typically only seen due to industrial workplace exposure. The heavy metals cause a shift in TH1/TH1 response, thus leading to much greater production of IgE, the…

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