Food Allergies May Be Linked to Obesity
May 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Researchers studying more than 4,000 children ages 2 to 19 enrolled in a larger survey of childhood health found a significant association of overweight and obesity with allergic reactions to eggs, peanuts and other common allergens. For example, overweight and obese children were over 50 percent more likely than those of normal weight to be allergic to milk. Over all, the obese and overweight children were about 25 percent more likely to have one or more food allergies.
“While there’s nothing conclusive about our findings,” said Cindy M. Visness, the lead author, “this is one more motivation to try to prevent obesity in children.” Dr. Visness is an epidemiologist with Rho Inc., a company that provides research and statistical services for clinical trials.
The scientists also found an association between being overweight and levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, which suggests that systemic inflammation may also play a role in the development of allergies. The authors acknowledge that their study, published in the May issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, does not prove that obesity causes allergies, and that other explanations for the association are possible.
Source: The New York Times
Gluten link with schizophrenia and diabetes
May 5, 2009 · 2 Comments
Gluten-rich foodstuffs such as bread could help to trigger schizophrenia in people with a genetic predisposition to the mental disease, scientists believe.
Researchers at UHI, the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands, are looking at the links between schizophrenia and diabetes. Two studies are being undertaken by geneticist Dr Jun Wei and his team at the UHI Department of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Science in Inverness, after winning £300,000 of grant funding from the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain (SAGB).
One project is exploring the links between schizophrenia and diabetes, while the other focuses on the role of gluten – the protein commonly found in rye, wheat and barley – in schizophrenia and diabetes.
Gluten has long been recognised as a trigger for serious diseases related to the gut, most notably coeliac disease. However, it is now emerging that this dietary component might also be associated with the incidence of other auto-immune diseases, including schizophrenia and type 1 diabetes.
Professor Ian Megson, head of the UHI Department of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Science, explained: “The reason that gluten might provide a link between these apparently quite different diseases is that, in people with a particular genetic make-up that results in their bodies’ inability to handle gluten in the normal way, the immune system becomes unusually active. In this way, cells in the blood that are designed to combat infections begin to target healthy tissue, which can lead to impaired function of affected organs (gut, brain or pancreas) and disease.
“This research is at an early stage, but if the theory is correct and those at risk are identified very early in life, a simple change in diet might prevent these diseases developing in some individuals.”
Dr Wei, senior researcher and reader in genetics, added: “An individual’s inherited genes, together with factors from the environment in which they have lived, are now considered to be central to development of both schizophrenia and diabetes.
“Gluten is one such environmental factor. More than 30 per cent of schizophrenia sufferers have high levels of antibodies against wheat gluten in their body so a gluten-free diet might help to reduce the symptoms of this mental condition. We are also investigating if gluten acts as a trigger for schizophrenia in people who have a genetic predisposition to it.” Gwynneth Hemmings, honorary executive director of the SAGB, commented: “We are pleased to be supporting this very important research which we hope will benefit the many people suffering, or likely to suffer, from the illness.”
Dr Wei is being assisted in the gluten work by postdoctoral researcher Dr Matthew Law and PhD student Matilda Bradford, and in the other project by PhD colleague Aditi Mathur. They are working at the UHI department’s new base at the Centre for Health Science in Inverness. “Our unit is just over two years old and we are making fantastic progress, with funding come in from bodies such as the SAGB, the Chief Scientist Office, Medical Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council,” Professor Megson said. “We have a wonderful facility here in Inverness to rival any in the country, and we are punching above our weight in terms of our ability to attract funding for research which will deliver significant benefits to people’s health, especially those with diabetes and cardiovascular conditions.”
Source: UHI MIllenium Institute
Vaccine trial flags challenge to coeliac disease
May 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment
An effective clinical treatment for coeliac disease (or gluten intolerance) is the ultimate objective of WEHI clinician scientist, Dr Bob Anderson. This month will see the beginning of a Phase 1 clinical trial for an experimental vaccine in Melbourne.
If the vaccine development and public awareness endeavours of Dr Anderson and his scientific team prove successful, a strict gluten free diet for coeliacs could become a thing of the past, while previously undiagnosed coeliacs could be detected and spared from premature deaths.
Using forty volunteers who suffer from coeliac disease, the early trial will test for drug safety – in particular, an appropriate drug dose range will be ascertained and any adverse effects will be noted. If within the course of a year the Phase 1 trial is deemed successful, a Phase 2 trial will beckon to determine the clinical effectiveness of the vaccine.
Coeliac disease is a chronic, autoimmune digestive disorder. It is characterised by the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacking the lining of the small intestine. The attack is caused by the body’s reaction to gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. The immediate physiological result is that the small intestine’s villi – the small, upright folds and nodules that absorb nutrients – are flattened and incapacitated by errant inflammatory action.
Globally, the disease is estimated to affect the lives of more than 6 million people in Europe, North America and Australia – but at least 5 million may be unaware that they are suffering from the disease. While people in this latter group are likely to feel the direct effects and sometimes life-threatening complications of coeliac disease, the root cause of their debilitation nevertheless remains undiagnosed.
Long-term risks for untreated coeliac disease include malnutrition, male and female infertility, osteoporotic fractures, liver failure and cancer. Presently, the only effective treatment for coeliac disease is a life-long avoidance of any food or drink that contains the slightest trace of gluten.
Dr Anderson said, “As both a coeliac disease researcher and treating gastroenterologist, I am in an interesting position. I have overseen my basic scientific discovery about the troublesome elements in gluten being translated into an experimental vaccine that may eventually help my patients.
“There is actually a third aspect to my involvement in this project. While WEHI has provided the essential infrastructure for my scientific research, I have gone a step further and created a company, Nexpep, to lead development of the vaccine and to work closely with other Melbourne based, early stage pharmaceutical development specialists, Medicines Development Ltd and Nucleus Network.
“The vaccine itself is intended to gradually desensitize the coeliac sufferer, so that gluten is tolerated. Consequently, the villi in the small intestine [see picture of intestinal villi damages - picture from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research] should revive and absorb nutrients in the normal way. Ideally, that would mean the end of gluten-free diets for people with coeliac disease.”
Source: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
