Allergy Research: An Overview
Allergy research is focused on understanding what happens to the human body during the allergic process -- the sequence of events leading to the allergic response and the factors responsible for allergic diseases.
Allergy Research and Pets
Allergy research scientists have found that, during the first years of their lives, children raised in a house with two or more dogs or cats may be less likely to develop
allergies as compared with children raised without pets. The striking finding here is that high pet exposure early in life appears to protect some children not only from pet allergies, but also from other types of common allergies such as allergy to house dust mites, ragweed, and grass. This new finding is changing the way scientists think about pet exposure. Scientists must now figure out how pet exposure causes a general shift of the immune system away from an allergic response.
The results of this and a number of other allergy research studies suggest that bacteria carried by pets may be responsible for holding back the immune system's allergic response. These bacteria release molecules called endotoxins. Some researchers think endotoxins are the molecule responsible for shifting the developing immune system away from responding to allergens through a class of lymphocytes (white blood cells) called Th-2 cells (these cells are associated with allergic reactions). Instead, endotoxins may stimulate the immune system to block allergic reactions.
If allergy research scientists can find out exactly what it is about pets or the bacteria they carry that prevents the allergic response, they might be able to develop a new
allergy treatment.
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