Meat allergy 'common'
Source: Agencies |
March 1, 2010, Monday
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Meat may be a much more common trigger for anaphylaxis - a severe and potentially deadly allergic reaction - than previously thought, US researchers said yesterday.
A study of 60 patients with unexplained severe allergic reactions suggests that a compound in meat known as alpha-galactose may be the culprit, according to research presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
They found immune system proteins called IgE antibodies in 25 out of the 60 patients.
"We believe that the presence of IgE antibody to this sugar is wider spread in the human population as a whole than we had initially expected," said Dr Scott Commins of the University of Virginia, who led the research.
"What we're finding is that this traditional notion of allergy to meat being very rare may, in fact, not be true," Commins added.
Alpha-galactose is produced in most mammals but humans and apes make an antibody to the sugar, he said.
"When people make the IgE antibody to this sugar and then they eat meat or dairy products that contain the sugar, then they get a delayed reaction," Commins said.
The anaphylaxis seems to appear out of the blue because the trigger food may have been eaten four to six hours earlier, Commins said.
"The typical scenario has been if you don't react to food within two hours, then it's not the food. In this case that doesn't seem to be true," Commins said.
A study of 60 patients with unexplained severe allergic reactions suggests that a compound in meat known as alpha-galactose may be the culprit, according to research presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
They found immune system proteins called IgE antibodies in 25 out of the 60 patients.
"We believe that the presence of IgE antibody to this sugar is wider spread in the human population as a whole than we had initially expected," said Dr Scott Commins of the University of Virginia, who led the research.
"What we're finding is that this traditional notion of allergy to meat being very rare may, in fact, not be true," Commins added.
Alpha-galactose is produced in most mammals but humans and apes make an antibody to the sugar, he said.
"When people make the IgE antibody to this sugar and then they eat meat or dairy products that contain the sugar, then they get a delayed reaction," Commins said.
The anaphylaxis seems to appear out of the blue because the trigger food may have been eaten four to six hours earlier, Commins said.
"The typical scenario has been if you don't react to food within two hours, then it's not the food. In this case that doesn't seem to be true," Commins said.
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