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Allergy and immunology news

Why the body's inflammatory alarm misfires in familial Mediterranean fever

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease in which the body's own immune system overreacts to minimal or inappropriate stimuli, producing recurrent attacks of fever and painful inflammation. ...

Early respiratory infections linked to atopic dermatitis diagnosis

Early respiratory infection burden is associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) diagnosis in childhood, according to a study published online July 29 in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers discover immune 'off switch' used by cancer cells

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a protein that cancer cells use to shut down the body's immune response, a discovery that could help scientists develop new treatments that make cancer immunotherapies more effective.

A high-sugar diet may worsen asthma, even in the short term

Sugar consumption has been linked to an increased risk of cavities and weight gain. In the long term, it may also contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes. For people living with asthma, however, the impact can be even ...

Leaky gut might make food allergies worse

A "leaky gut" might increase the severity of food allergies, according to new research conducted in mice and published in The Journal of Immunology. The researchers found that changes to the gut microbiome in mice were linked ...

Building a blueprint to manipulate the immune system

Why do some vaccines protect for a lifetime, while threats like tumors and viruses present such an ongoing challenge? The answer lies in the immune system's memory and how invading pathogens hack the system.

Long non-coding RNA emerges as a 'kill switch' for macrophages

Macrophages are considered the "scavenger cells" of the immune system, but some pathogens exploit these very cells as hiding places. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg ...

Blood vessels guide immune cells to metastases

It has long been suspected that endothelial cells, the specialized cells lining the inner walls of blood vessels, play a key role in determining how the body's immune system responds to tumors. Researchers at the German Cancer ...