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Allergy and Immunology

Allergy and Immunology News Editors

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Allergy and Immunology News

News on Allergy and Immunology continually updated from thousands of sources around the net.

21 hrs ago | Los Angeles Times

Eli Sercarz dies at 75; UCLA scientist made key discoveries in immunology

Eli E. Sercarz, who explored the mechanisms of autoimmunity and developed key concepts about how the body's immune system attacks its own tissues, died of renal cell cancer Nov.

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Related Topix: Immunology, Biology, Science, Topanga, CA, Medicine, Tecate, CA, San Diego County, CA

Fri Nov 20, 2009

Messenger

Eli Sercarz: 1933 - 2009

The following was excerpted from an obituary submitted by Rabyn Blake and written by his UCLAcolleagues Kamal Moudgil, M.D. and Emanual Maverakis, M.D. Eli Sercarz, Professor Emeritus of Immunology at the University of California, Los Angeles, the current Head of the Division of Immune Regulation at the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, ...

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Related Topix: Immunology, Biology, Science, Los Angeles Metro, UC Los Angeles, San Diego, CA, Medicine

Newswise

Immunologist at Children's Hospital Receives Daland Prize for Patient-Oriented Research

A pediatric immunologist at The Childrena s Hospital of Philadelphia has received a prestigious annual award from the American Philosophical Society, an organization founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin.

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Related Topix: Brown University

Thu Nov 19, 2009

The Day

USDA panel recommends OK for Pfizer kids' vaccine

Pfizer Inc.'s new childhood vaccine Prevnar 13 won approval from a panel of experts Wednesday as an immunologist reported its potential benefits down the road in preventing deaths from the H1N1 virus.

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Related Topix: Family, US News, Kids, United States Department of Agriculture, Medicine, H1N1 Influenza / Swine Flu, Health, Food and Drug Administration

Wed Nov 18, 2009

MediLexicon

Annals Of Allergy, Asthma And Immunology To Be Published By Elsevier

Elsevier is pleased to announce that beginning with Volume 104 it will assume publication of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology , the official journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology .

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Related Topix: Immunology, Biology, Science, Medicine, Health

Mon Nov 16, 2009

HealthDay

Immunity to Swine Flu May Be Broader Than Thought

The swine flu virus that's sweeping across the United States isn't a total stranger to your immune system, a new study shows -- a finding that should ease the most drastic worries about the lethality of the pandemic.

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Related Topix: H1N1 Influenza / Swine Flu, Health, Medicine, Influenza, Epidemic, Natural Disasters, Immunology, Biology, Science

Fri Nov 13, 2009

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

LA Sen. David Vitter (R-Formaldehyde)

In May, President Obama nominated a renowned scientist known as the "father of green chemistry" to head the EPA's Office of Research and Development. For an administration that supports ambitious climate change legislation and stresses the importance of sustainability, the nomination of Paul Anastas, director of Yale's Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and a former White House environment director, was very much in keeping with its broader agenda. Anastas' nomination was unanimously approved in committee in July, and his confirmation seemed all but assured. Yet six months later Anastas still isn't confirmed. Standing in his way is Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), whose block on Anastas' nomination raises questions about Vitter's close ties to the formaldehyde industry.

So why is Vitter so sympathetic to the formaldehyde industry? Campaign finance records show that many of Louisiana's big formaldehyde polluters happen to be—you guessed it—Vitter campaign donors. He's received $9,000 from Dow Chemical's PAC, $5,000 from Monsanto's, $5,000 from ExxonMobil's, and $2,500 from the American Forest and Paper Association's. The American Forest and Paper Association is also a member of the Formaldehyde Council, an industry group whose views align with Vitter's (it's lobbied for an NAS review, too).

1 comment

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

Formaldehyde Exposure and Asthma in Children: A Systematic Review

Conclusions: The results indicate that there is a significant positive association between formaldehyde exposure and childhood asthma. Given the largely cross-sectional nature of the studies underlying this meta-analysis, there remains a need for well-designed prospective epidemiologic studies.

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Thu Nov 12, 2009

CNN

H1N1 vaccine safe with egg allergy?

As a feature of CNNhealth.com, our team of expert doctors will answer readers' questions.

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Related Topix: H1N1 Influenza / Swine Flu, Health, Medicine, Influenza

Wed Nov 11, 2009

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

Damp environments, poorly maintained HVAC systems & carpeting may contribute to poor IAQ

American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) - Damp environments, poorly maintained heating & air-conditioning systems & carpeting may contribute to poor indoor air quality

"If there was just one thing I could do to fix buildings, it would be to change the relative humidity," said Doug Garrett, CEM, CDSM, building scientist and president of Building Performance and Comfort, Leander, Texas.

"Moisture leads to conditions that are conducive to dust mites and mold, as well as bacteria, yeast and other living organisms."

Garrett pointed to dust mites and mold as particularly worrisome.

A damp building with high humidity may lead to increased levels of dust mites and mold, leading to increased allergic respiratory symptoms, as well as the worsening of asthma. And even if someone is not allergic, molds may produce mycotoxins and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) that smell bad and may cause respiratory irritation, he said.

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Tue Nov 10, 2009

MediLexicon

Phadia Introduces New Food Allergy Diagnostic Tools To Meet The Needs Of Allergists

Today at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Phadia US introduced two new products designed specifically to meet the unique needs of the nation's 6,000 allergists.

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Related Topix: Medicine, Allergy, Health, Immunology, Biology, Science

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

Review of Documentary Movie - Black Mold Exposure

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One thing is for sure: if you live in a humid climate, or if you have ever had water damage to your home, you’re going to want to watch this film.

After all, this black mold is a living organism, and might just as easily eat away at a human’s health as it eats away at concrete and thrives within old carpeting. Common sense dictates that this nasty, stinky, vile, living thing just couldn’t possibly be anything other than harmful if it should find its way to the interior of a human being.

Unfortunately, several groups of people who have a vested financial interest in proving otherwise - insurance companies, politicians, construction contractors, and even some doctors - have done their very best to claim that people whose lives have been devastated by the black mold are unworthy of compensation or treatment. Even worse, some of these same powerful forces won’t even acknowledge that black mold is a serious problem. It seems obvious that breathing in black mold spores can have negative health effects, and it seems absurd that even the CDC (Center for Disease Control) denies the existence of some fairly blatant symptoms of mold exposure.

Once again, greed trumps humanity, dollars trump suffering, the guy with the worst lawyer is wrong, and the little guy loses. This is the thesis of “Black Mold Exposure,” a documentary by Michael Williams.

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Mon Nov 09, 2009

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

Two women in same OSU office ill with a fungal disease that attacks the lungs

The university is relocating College of Engineering employees who work in a suite on the first floor of Hitchcock Hall, said Amy Murray, an OSU spokeswoman. And the university is bringing in a contractor that specializes in testing for the disease, called histoplasmosis.

Olga Stavridis, 42, the college's associate director for career services, said she recently paid to have a ceiling tile from her office tested for the fungus that causes histoplasmosis. "It was detected," she said

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She said she gave Ohio State the results on Oct. 13.

Stavridis said she contracted the disease after her office and adjacent offices flooded on March 13. University maintenance workers and a cleaning contractor opened up the ceiling tiles and ran box fans for the next several weeks to make sure everything dried.

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Sun Nov 08, 2009

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

Pathogen Protection And Virulence: Dark Side Of Fungal Membrane Protein Revealed

The scientists looked at two different fungal pathogens: Alternaria brassicicola, which causes widespread damage in crops like canola, cabbage and broccoli, and Aspergillus fumigatus, a human pathogen that often leads to fatal disease in immunocompromised patients. Infection with A. fumigatus can lead to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, the leading cause of death due to invasive fungal infections in humans.

The current study shows that TmpL is essential for both types of fungi to cause disease in their host cells.

Lawrence said: "In this study, we provide the first evidence that a certain type of disease-related protein from both a plant and animal fungal pathogen is critical for protecting the pathogen and for causing infection of healthy host tissue. As such, this protein represents a good starting point as a potential target for the development of efficient and novel therapeutics for both plant and animal fungal diseases."

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www.schoolmoldhelp.org | MyRights

WI passes IAQ law for public and private schools – School Mold Help.org

We hope that this is an inspiration to parents and activists throughout the 50 states and beyond, that we need not tolerate a system that produces ill health – through education, there is power. With persistence, there are results. Share this law with your state legislators to see if they, too, can craft legislation to protect children in school environments. (SMH)

katy's exposure

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The News

Specialists dissect National HIV Testing Policy

Saturday, November 07, 2009 Shahina Maqbool Islamabad Leading pathologists, microbiologists, haematologists, blood bank experts, clinicians, immunologists and other specialists converged here on Friday to share their views, reservations and expert comments on the proposed National HIV Testing Policy.

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Related Topix: World News, Pakistan, Pathology, Medicine, Epidemic, Natural Disasters

Fri Nov 06, 2009

Forum News Portal

Government will create special immunization agency

The Cabinet of Ministers will create a special body that will make decisions regarding immunizations, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced during a meeting with immunologists, according to the Premier's official web-site. According to her, this will be either a scientific, scientific-organizational council or expert group.

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Related Topix: Medicine

Thu Nov 05, 2009

9NEWS

Egg-allergic patients seeking safe H1N1 shots

H1N1 SPECIAL SECTION FIND A FLU CLINIC AURORA - As the H1N1 vaccine is slowly becoming more available, it appears one group who needs it most is still unable to get it in many cases.

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Related Topix: H1N1 Influenza / Swine Flu, Health, Medicine, Pediatrics

Medical News

Dietary options and better detection improve food allergy management procedures

Less restrictive dietary options, better detection, targeted avoidance measures, educational directives and potential new therapies are improving food allergy management and giving hope to the more than 12 million Americans affected according to experts at the thirteenth international food allergy conference held during the annual meeting of the ...

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Related Topix: Immunology, Biology, Science, Italy, World News, Medicine, LSU Health Sciences Center, Life, Food, Nutrition, Health

Wed Nov 04, 2009

katysexposure.wordpress.com | MyRights

Plaintiff’s exposure to mold caused his illness – disability approved by NC Court of Appeals

STEVE R. JONES, Employee, Plaintiff, v. STEVE JONES AUTO GROUP, Employer, and UNIVERSAL UNDERWRITERS GROUP, Carrier, Defendants. Court of Appeals of North Carolina. Filed November 3, 2009

Dr. Thornton opined that Plaintiff’s prolonged exposure to the combination of stachybotrys, aspergillus, and penicillium “perpetuated and established in [Plaintiff] an immunologic state that perpetuated a very serious illness” and that Plaintiff’s symptoms and problems “were significantly aggravated if not caused completely” by his exposure to mold in the workplace. Dr. Thornton explained that while “there is not a specific medical test that would clearly demonstrate definitively” that Plaintiff’s exposure to mold caused his illness, based on “the constellation of . . . [Plaintiff's] symptoms, the time course of their onset, [and Plaintiff's] response to therapy[,]” he felt strongly that Plaintiff’s illness was caused by his exposure to mold in his workplace. Thus, contrary to Defendants’ contention, Dr. Thornton’s opinion is not based solely “on the temporal relationship between discovery of mold [in] [P]laintiff’s office and the onset of [P]laintiff’s symptoms.”

We conclude that the testimony of Dr. Thornton and Dr. Kussin is competent evidence to support the Commission’s findings of fact that Plaintiff’s exposure to mold at his place of work caused his illness. This Court is thus bound by these findings. Gilberto, 152 N.C. App. at 118, 566 S.E.2d at 792.

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