Posted on 06/22/2010 1:00:46 AM PDT by LibWhacker
A jab that could provide a "one size fits all" approach to tackling hay fever, asthma and eczema could be available within a few years, a conference heard.
Swiss researchers claimed allergies that blight the lives of 10 million British sufferers could be largely eradicated with a single vaccine.
An allergy conference in London heard the “one size fits all” injection that wards off asthma, eczema, hay fever and even peanut allergies could be on the shelves within four to five years.
Experts say if the jab, known only as CYT003-Qbg10 which has been tested on humans, is properly developed it become the “hail grail” of vaccines due to it helping ward off multiple allergies.
It would be welcome news to the estimated one in five Britons, or 10 million people, who suffer from hay fever.
A trial, conducted by scientists from Cytos Biotechnology, a firm based in Zurich, concluded that a course of the vaccine was almost as good as steroids at keeping asthma under control.
At the jab’s heart are pieces of synthetic DNA similar to those found in the bug that causes tuberculosis or TB.
The DNA fools the body into thinking it is under attack from a dangerous bug, kick-starting a multi-pronged immune response.
A total of 63 asthmatic patients were given the course of the jab or a series of injections of a dummy drug over two or three months.
Researchers found it cut asthma attacks or symptoms by a third.
In another trial, an injection every week over a month and half, cut the amount of runny noses and weepy eyes by almost 39 per cent.
Quality of life was boosted by 42 per cent, they added.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Would be great to have sooner than 5 years from now.
Sounds like the open scenes to that Will Smith move “I am Legend”
There’s a lot of “if,” “might,” “could,” and “maybe” in this article. It sounds like they’re wishing very hard.
Awesome! I was plagued with allergies when I was a kid. Think it held me back athletically. And I hear that eczema is a horrible condition.
A total of 63 asthmatic patients were given the course of the jab or a series of injections of a dummy drug over two or three months.
Researchers found it cut asthma attacks or symptoms by a third.
In another trial, an injection every week over a month and half, cut the amount of runny noses and weepy eyes by almost 39 per cent.
Quality of life was boosted by 42 per cent, they added.
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So there is a basis for it (even though it sounds more like the old allergy treatments of weekly shots than a vaccine).
Bookmark
Yes, clearly there’s something to it, but the article is still full of “maybe” and “could.” And it does sound like an update of the old allergy shots, which have been around for a couple of generations.
The DNA fools the body into thinking it is under attack from a dangerous bug, kick-starting a multi-pronged immune response.
Might this also suppress a useful immune response in, oh, let's say TB, or other dangerous bugs? Guess that's what's taking it another 5 years.
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