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Two Peanut Allergy Treatments for Children Found to Be Highly Effective at Inducing Remission

AHA Publisher — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:00:08 +0000

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute via News-Medical – Researchers have discovered two peanut allergy treatments for children that are both highly effective at inducing remission. The research, led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), found the treatments – a combination of a probiotic together with oral immunotherapy (the gradual introduction of the allergenic food) and oral immunotherapy alone – significantly induced remission and desensitization. About half of the children achieved remission, allowing them to stop treatment and safely eat peanut freely. Both treatments also provided substantial improvement in quality of life compared with current standard care. The randomized controlled trial conducted at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Perth Children’s Hospital, and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide involved 201 children aged between 1-10 years. The trial was staged over four years, with participants followed up to 12-months post-treatment. The team led by MCRI Professor Mimi Tang had previously shown that the combination treatment resulted in 74 per cent achieving remission after 18 months of treatment, and 70 per cent of those initial responders remained in remission and were eating peanut safely four years later. The next step was to test whether adding a probiotic gave a benefit over and above oral immunotherapy on its own and to compare long-term outcomes following treatment. The new research, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, found after 18 months of treatment, 46 per cent and 51 per cent of children who received the combination treatment or the oral immunotherapy alone, respectively, were in clinical remission compared to 5 per cent in the placebo group. The children who reached clinical remission were able to stop treatment and eat around a standard serve of peanut freely. Both treatments also led to a significant improvement in quality of life, with those children who achieved clinical remission experiencing the biggest improvement, greater than those who only achieved desensitization. “The results show that high dose peanut oral immunotherapy provides meaningful benefit to treated children. After 18 months of treatment, 74 per cent of children who received the oral immunotherapy tolerated roughly a standard serve of peanut, equal to a snack pack of peanut M&Ms, 51 per cent achieved clinical remission and were able to stop treatment altogether, while the remaining 24 per cent were desensitized to this amount of peanut. “Addition of a probiotic did not significantly improve effectiveness compared to oral immunotherapy, however it appeared to enhance tolerability of the treatment, with fewer gastrointestinal symptoms, especially in children between one and five years of age.” (Mimi Tang, MCRI Professor) The results also showed that treatment with oral immunotherapy, with or without a probiotic for childhood peanut allergy, provides a significant and substantial improvement in quality of life compared with current standard care, which is peanut avoidance. MCRI Dr Paxton Loke said remarkably 99 per cent of children who achieved remission and ceased treatment were eating peanut as frequently as they liked in the 12 months after stopping treatment. “Children who were in clinical remission had fewer reactions to peanut compared with those who were just desensitized,” he said. “Being desensitized still requires continued daily treatment and allergen avoidance so remission appears to be a better outcome for children. Importantly, children in remission had a significantly improved quality of life compared with allergic children, suggesting that no longer having to avoid peanut provides greater benefit than continued allergen avoidance despite the risk of a possible reaction.” The peanut oral immunotherapy approach used in the trial applies a proprietary high dose, rapid escalation regimen that is being developed by Prota Therapeutics as a lead candidate for the treatment of peanut allergy, PRT120. Prota Therapeutics is an Australian biotech company, focused on bringing its allergy immunotherapy treatment for children with life-threatening peanut allergies to market. Melbourne’s Kate Lawlor’s son Declan, 9, who took part in the trial, is now in clinical remission and eats peanuts weekly. Declan was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at age four after having a reaction to peanut butter. Kate said it was a huge relief that her son could now eat peanut freely without fear of a reaction or having to avoid the nut for the rest of his life. “Having a child with a food allergy is quite stressful,” she said. In the home you can control the environment around food but school, play dates and birthday parties are largely out of your hands.” “With Declan now in remission a lot of anxiety has been lifted and he is enjoying eating peanut chocolate M&Ms. He sees this as a real treat and looks forward to eating them every week.” Peanut allergies are the most common cause of severe allergic reactions, called anaphylaxis, and one of the most frequent causes of death from food allergy. About 3 per cent of babies have a peanut allergy. “As there is currently no cure, patients must adhere to strict allergen avoidance, which leads to psychological distress and reduced quality of life,” Professor Tang said. “There is a need for disease modifying therapies that improve health and well-being and both the combination and standalone immunotherapy treatments provided a meaningful benefit. The combination therapy in particular could offer a safe and well tolerated approach to inducing clinical remission in young pre-school children with peanut allergies. Starting treatment early seems to increase the chances of achieving remission and pre-school children are especially vulnerable, so a treatment that causes fewer side effects brings an important advantage.” Researchers from The Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, University of Adelaide, Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, Perth Children’s Hospital, The University of Western Australia, Telethon Kids Institute, Monash University and University College Cork in Ireland also contributed to the study. To read the original article click here.

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How to Detox Your Body from Mold Without Stressing Out Your Kidneys & Liver

AHA Publisher — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 07:00:04 +0000

Isaac Eliaz, MD, MS, LAc via Dr. Axe – You may not be aware of it, but mold is probably affecting your health. So even if it’s not on your mind, “how to detox your body from mold” should be something we all need to be asking. Even if mold is making you sick, you might not know it’s the source of your symptoms. That’s because mold toxicity can act like many other conditions, so it often goes misdiagnosed and untreated. Exposure can cause many different symptoms, including: Fatigue Cough Shortness of breath Fever Headache Joint pain Memory problems Dizziness Sinus infections Wheezing Trouble concentrating Sensitivity to light Skin rash Digestive problems One of the main reasons mold toxins can cause so many different symptoms is this: These toxins can suppress or damage your immune system. Not only can they bring on symptoms themselves, they can make you more vulnerable to other illnesses. Surrounded by Mold Mold exposure is shockingly common. It’s found in the air, damp or water-damaged buildings, even the food you’re eating. Foods that commonly contain mold include cereal grains, nuts, spices, coffee, bulk foods (like the kind you buy from bins to save money) and dairy products. You come across mold inside and outside, and it can travel around with you. Mold spores can attach to things like: Clothing Shoes Pets Reusable grocery bags That means it can come home with you from just about anywhere. And if it ends up somewhere even slightly damp, it will grow and multiply. Mold Produces Toxins In nature, mold speeds up the break down (decomposition) of things like dead trees and fallen leaves. Some molds are used to make cheese or create antibiotics. But many types of mold can be hazardous to your health. These molds produce mycotoxins, poisons that can cause severe health problems and a wide variety of symptoms. The two most common harmful mycotoxins are aflatoxin and ochratoxin, and exposure to either (or both) of these can trigger substantial health issues — from chronic allergies to cancer. What’s more, if your body can’t remove these toxins on its own, they can slip into long-term storage to cause lasting or recurring damage. Mycotoxins Damage Your Health (and Your Immune System) Mycotoxins are sneaky. While mold itself can’t enter your bloodstream — though it can hang around and colonize in spots like your nostrils and lungs — mycotoxins can get into your bloodstream and circulate throughout your body. These opportunistic toxins can hijack your immune system, making you more vulnerable to infections. If your immune system is already compromised (such as people with autoimmune conditions or undergoing cancer treatment), mycotoxins take advantage. If you’re healthy, they can make you very sick. Studies show that mycotoxins can: Cause lung inflammation that can make it harder to breathe Disrupt your gut health by reducing beneficial bacteria and encouraging pathogens Trigger chronic fatigue syndrome Affect brain function and cognition Cause liver damage, including cancer Worsen allergy and asthma symptoms Unfortunately, mold toxicity is frequently misdiagnosed. Because of its wide-ranging effects, it’s typically mistaken for other conditions including depression, multiple sclerosis, or autoimmune conditions. Plus, because mycotoxins are opportunistic, they’re often connected with debilitating diseases such as Lyme disease, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and fibromyalgia. Your Genes Can Make You More Vulnerable Around 25% of people are genetically predisposed to get sick from mold exposure. A simple test, called the HLA-DR, can tell you if you’re in that more susceptible population. If you are, it means your immune system can’t easily identify and get rid of mycotoxins. That can allow them to build up in the body, causing harm wherever they end up. On top of that, because of that genetic twist, even relatively small exposures to mycotoxins can affect you. And even if you’re not genetically susceptible to mold sickness, it can still impact your health. Healthy people can get sick from chronic or intense mold exposure. People with already compromised immune systems — even if their bodies can identify mold — are also extra vulnerable to mold toxicity. If that’s you, be sure should to double down on how to detox your body from mold. How to Detox Your Body from Mold Even if you’re not especially sensitive to mold, your body still needs help safely clearing out mycotoxins. When these aren’t removed properly and completely, they can cycle back around, and cause ongoing damage and symptoms. The best way to clear out these toxins is with proven toxin-binders. It’s important to make sure you’re working with safe, gentle detoxing agents so they don’t overtax your body’s clearance system (mainly your liver and kidneys). At the same time, you must use proven binders that don’t allow toxins to be reabsorbed in the intestines rather than excreted from the body. One prescription cholesterol-lowering medication called Cholestyramine binds strongly to some mycotoxins — especially ochratoxin — and keeps them getting reabsorbed. On the natural front, modified citrus pectin (MCP) has been extensively researched as an effective detoxifying agent. Because MCP works so gently, it’s safe for long-term use, which is often necessary for completely removing mycotoxins from your system. MCP works especially well when paired with another natural detoxifier: seaweed-derived alginates, natural gel-like substances that bind tightly to toxins. The combination of MCP and alginate prevents toxins — including mycotoxins and heavy metals — from being reabsorbed in the intestines. And although they make a strong detoxifying team, MCP and alginate are easily tolerated and their gentle action won’t strip essential minerals from your body. Equally important, MCP offers additional benefits that are essential when combating mold: Breaking the biofilm — By blocking galectin-3 and disrupting the biofilm backbone structure, it makes it easier for the body to identify the mold hiding in these areas and clear it, along with fungal infections that produce mycotoxins. Removing heavy metals — Fungus thrives on mercury. MCP as well as alginate are superior binders that safely remove mercury as well as lead, cadmium, uranium, arsenic and other heavy metals from the body. Calming inflammation — MCP reduces the excessive inflammatory response that is responsible for many of the mold-driven symptoms. Other mycotoxin detoxifiers include: Activated charcoal Bentonite clay Glutathione Chlorella In addition to utilizing detoxifiers when answering the “how do I detox my body from mold” question, it’s also important to strengthen your gut microbiome (the trillions of bacteria that live in your gut) with a high-quality probiotic and prebiotic combination. And, whenever possible, avoid mold exposure. This can be tricky, as mold can be tough to detect (if it’s inside walls, for example) and remove. Most important, if you’re concerned about mold toxicity, it’s critical to work with an experienced health practitioner who knows what to test for and which therapies are most appropriate for your situation. With the right support, you can identify—and resolve—any long-standing mold issues, and experience greater long-term health and vitality. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

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Fight Coronavirus With Fasting?

AHA Publisher — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 07:00:32 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – Doctors tell us older people carry a greater risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 largely because as we age our body’s natural ability to fight disease weakens. Similarly, even younger people with compromised immune systems are at greater risk of complications from coronavirus. Neurologist and best-selling author Dr. David Perlmutter says since it looks like COVID-19 is going continue to threaten our health in the months, perhaps even years ahead, we should take steps now to boost our immune system and therefore improve our chance of survival if we become infected. In his book Brain Maker, Perlmutter describes the benefits of eating a probiotic-rich diet to strengthen the gut microbiome because most of the immune system resides in the intestinal tract. In addition to improving our gut health, he also recommends the immune-boosting practice of fasting. That’s because going without food altogether for certain periods of time triggers autophagy, which is the body’s way of repairing damaged cells that can cause sickness, making way for newer, healthier ones. This cellular rejuvenation aids in fighting infections like COVID-19 as well as preventing other life-threatening illnesses including Alzheimer’s Disease and cancer. Dr. Perlmutter recognizes many people are intimidated by the idea of fasting because they are afraid of being hungry or confused about how to go about fasting. That’s why he’s kicking off a week-long Summer Fasting Challenge beginning Sunday, July 5th. “Enjoy that summer barbeque to celebrate July 4th, then the next day join us to celebrate the miracle that is your body,” he said. The Sumer Fasting Challenge is a free, 7-day group fast that will begin with a 24-hour fast, followed by five days of time-restricted eating. Each day Dr. Perlmutter will join participants online with daily check-ins and support to include photos and stories of those taking part in the challenge. Perlmutter believes the psychological benefit of fasting alongside others, even virtually, improves the chances of success and the likelihood people will continue fasting on their own even after the challenge is over. Dr. Perlmutter will discuss the health benefits of fasting with Pat Robertson on The 700 Club, Wednesday, July 8th. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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