A study just published on bmj.com concludes that the defects in a particular gene known as the filaggrin gene are linked to a considerably amplified risk of developing allergic disorders such as eczema, rhinitis, and asthma. Over the past years, allergic diseases have increased. In economically developed countries, those diseases now affect up to one in three children. For a long time researchers have looked for genes that might contribute to allergic diseases.

Title: Scientists Zero in on Elusive 'Allergy Gene'
Category: Health News
Created: 7/10/2009 7:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/10/2009

The British Association of Dermatology annual meeting sees the launch of the first topical calcineurin inhibitor to be approved for the maintenance treatment of moderate to severe atopic eczema to prevent flares and prolong flare-free intervals. PROTOPIC ointment (tacrolimus monohydrate) is already licensed to treat moderate and severe eczema (atopic dermatitis), often involving the treatment of flares as and when they occur.

HEPATOLOGY: Immune cells linked to severe infant liver disease Very little is known about the cause of biliary atresia, a progressive liver disease in newborns. However, Jorge Bezerra and colleagues, at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, have now linked immune cells known as NK cells to the initiation of biliary atresia in mice.