Even in food families: we get along with some relatives better than others

Even in food families: we get along with some relatives better than others

Food families have similar proteins and this can lead to cross-reactive allergy. That having been said, not all families have the same degree of cross-reactivity. Peanut allergy is often severe but, luckily, has one of the lowest levels of cross-reactivity with other legumes. There is only a 5 percent risk of cross-reactivity for peanut with beans, peas and soybeans. Cow-milk allergy is the highest (at 90 percent), with other mammals and milks from sheep and goat. Yet, people with cow-milk…

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Add one to the OK list for coffee and tea drinkers

Add one to the OK list for coffee and tea drinkers

 Coffee and tea have long been known to have antimicrobial benefit. Because of this knowledge, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina decided to study whether drinking these beverages impacted the carrier rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the multi-drug-resistant staph infection known as MRSA. An estimated 3-million Americans are carriers of MRSA. This represents almost two percent of the population. By monitoring nasal swab cultures, the university scientists were able to demonstrate a 50 percent reduction in carrier state…

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For millions of asthmatics, hopeful gene therapy studies

For millions of asthmatics, hopeful gene therapy studies

The lead article in The New England Journal of Medicine in September discussed novel research on genetic variation in asthma. More than 300-million people worldwide have asthma, and up to 20 percent of these show poor or no response to corticosteroid medication, which is usually their main controller medicine. Researchers at Harvard speculated this lack of response to corticosteroid medicines might be genetically linked and they sought to find the gene. By screening 530,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs – pronounced snips)…

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Instrument allergies can sour the sound

Instrument allergies can sour the sound

 Musicians can present a unique group of skin rashes related to their profession or avocation. Some of these rashes are so common they have characteristic names such as fiddler’s neck, flautist’s chin, guitarist’s nipple and harpist’s finger. In a recent survey, 21 percent of musicians reported some type of instrument-related rash. Some of these rashes are mechanical in nature, such as chaffing, erosions or blistering and callusing due to repeated trauma. Many of the rashes are allergic in origin and…

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Kiwi fruit a mix of tasty, pesky and protective

Kiwi fruit a mix of tasty, pesky and protective

 Kiwi fruit is a source of increasing allergic problems. The kiwi first became commercially available in the U.S. in 1970 and has led to a variety of allergic problems. The most common issue is oral allergy syndrome which consists of itching, burning and swelling of the lips, mouth, tongue and throat. Although not of life-threatening consequences, the symptoms are quite disturbing. Much less frequent is anaphylactic allergy which is truly serious in nature. Of curious interest, most people with kiwi…

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Vaccines after 65 — who and what for?

Vaccines after 65 — who and what for?

Dear Dr. K: I recently heard that there are certain vaccines that are recommended for adults. I thought I got all my necessary vaccines as a kid. Not to pick on you, but I can tell by your question you didn’t read last month’s newsletter. In that issue I discussed influenzal vaccine (flu shot) which is recommended on a yearly basis. The vaccine is given yearly because it is a different shot each year, in order to address the new…

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New asthma medicine: A hopeful mouthful

New asthma medicine: A hopeful mouthful

The September issue of the New England Journal of Medicine discussed research on the newest medicine for asthma, Lebrikizumab. This drug is an IgG4 humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to interleukin-13 (I-13). I-13 is a cytokine (cell communicator) that plays a big role in causing the inflammation of asthma. It does this in part by causing airway cells to produce periostin, which causes narrowing and thickening of the airways. Inhaled steroids are supposed to inhibit I-13, but they don’t always…

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Quick Tips – Dental work

Quick Tips – Dental work

•               In 2007, the widespread policy of antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures was challenged by an international group of academic cardiologists. The UK instituted this new approach in 2007 and just completed a four-year outcome study. They have found no increase in infective endocarditis despite cessation of pre-dental antibiotics. They do, however, still recommend antibiotics for people with congenital heart disease and artificial heart valves.