27 January 2007, 12:47

Guide To Allergy Immunology.

Allergy immunology is the study of the biomedical aspects of allergies and what causes them, what types of things people are allergic to, and what cures there are for those allergies. Many people benefit from allergy immunology because many people suffer from allergies or allergy symptoms, so we have a lot to be thankful for in terms of scientific discoveries when we are able to take a pill that stops hay fever or when we take a shot that lets us enjoy milk again. All of those cures are courtesy of the study of allergy immunology.

There are limited mainstream medical treatments for allergies. Probably the most important factor in rehabilitation is the removal of sources of allergens from the home environment, and avoiding environments in which contact with allergens is likely.

There are a variety of tests that scientists do to discover what people are allergic to and then a variety more that they perform to discover how to create an immunotherapeutic system to help cure us. In short, scientists find out what causes allergies and then, sometimes, flood our immune systems with exactly the thing we are allergic to in order to drive our immune system into resistance mode which naturally fights the cause of the allergy symptoms. This, of course, is only one part of the science behind finding the cures for various allergies but it is a popular method.

Hyposensitization is a form of immunotherapy where the patient is gradually vaccinated against progressively larger doses of the allergen in question. This can either reduce the severity or eliminate hypersensitivity altogether. It relies on the progressive skewing of IgG ("the blocking antibody") production, as opposed to the excessive IgE production seen in hypersensitivity type I cases. Delivery can occur via allergy injection, or sublingual immunotherapy - allergy drops taken under the tongue. Though not commonly offered in the U.S., sublingual immunotherapy is gaining attention internationally and is very common in Europe.

Immunotherapy is designed for those allergy sufferers that are not reacting to conventional medical cures. If the natural medications for symptoms do not work, many people turn to immunotherapy instead. This is a type of therapy that actually moderates and fixes the cause and direction of the allergic reaction and fixes the allergy itself, not just the symptoms. Immunotherapy does not work in everyone, however, and it generally recommended as a “last resort” by most medical professionals because of the expense and complication.

Immunotherapy

Basically, immunotherapy requires taking injections for three to five years that may or may not result in long term benefits for the allergy sufferer. This therapy is only recommended for those that have no choice but to be near their allergens or for those that are experiencing “extreme” allergic reactions. This therapy is commonly used on people with asthma as well and those that suffer from hay fever allergies as the allergens in that type of allergy are hard to avoid.

A second form of immunotherapy involves the intravenous injection of monoclonal anti-IgE antibodies. These bind to free and B-cell IgE, signalling such sources for destruction. They do not bind to IgE already bound to the Fc receptor on basophils and mast cells as this would stimulate the allergic inflammatory response. The first agent in this class is omalizumab.

Allergy immunology makes it possible for those types of allergies to be cured because of the way science has dedicated itself to finding a cure for common allergies. To date, there are many cures for allergies and many more on the way.

Masni Rizal Mansor provide tips and review on allergy symptom, allergy test and allergy testing (http://www.allergy-guide.org/).

Autor: Mrizalm
Source: www.article.usgab.com