Asthma, nasal symptoms and eczema is a major public health problem in Sweden, not least among young people. Half of all teenagers are affected in Västra Götaland County in West Sweden. This is shown in a study conducted in 2008 by the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, on the request of the Public Health Committee, Region Västra Götaland. The study also shows that the prevalence of allergies among young people has increased by ten percentage points since the year 2000.

Asthma and allergic diseases are associated with a number of biological reactions. One of these reactions is an elevated blood count of eosinophils, multifunctional leukocytes that release highly active proteins primarily to combat parasites.

A new article in the December issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology provides strong evidence that allergies are much more than just an annoying immune malfunction. They may protect against certain types of cancer.

When it comes to allergies, both the problem and the solution are found within us. Our immune systems respond to foreign substances with an arsenal of cells. Some are programmed to "remember" invaders they've encountered in the past.

Allergic diseases appear more often in children who grow up near busy roads. This is the result of a study of several thousand children, now published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine*.

For the first time, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified genetic components of dendritic cells that are key to asthma and allergy-related immune response malfunction. Targeting these elements could result in more effective drugs to treat allergic disorders and asthma, according to a study reported in the May edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

Specialised bath products to relieve the symptoms of allergic (atopic) eczema are of “questionable” value, says the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).

Children with allergic sensitizations in economically developed countries are much more likely to develop asthma than similarly sensitized children in poorer countries, according to a team of international researchers.

Ghent − Oral intake of allergens or auto-antigens via the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis might be a new strategy for treating various kinds of auto-immune and allergic diseases.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that increased exposure to cat allergen is associated with greater bronchial responsiveness (BR) in people with certain common allergies, even if they are not specifically allergic to cats. This suggests that reduced exposure to cats may be beneficial for allergic individuals, regardless of their specific allergies.

Allergies, like the common cold and asthma, have basically defied the best efforts of modern medicine to cure them. Now, a doctoral candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy has come up with a new approach that offers hope for getting rid of them.

A new study by researchers at Children's and the University of Washington (UW) identifies a connection between allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, and autoimmune diseases. The study was published in the April 1 edition of Nature Immunology.