The study found new types of anti-allergic cells

australian National University have discovered a new class of cells in the immune system that block allergic reactions. The findings shed new pathways to treating allergic diseases such as asthma and eczema.
The new study, published in the American Journal of Experimental Medicine, showed that researchers analyzed more than 200 tonsil tissue samples and 50 blood samples from those tonsils to identify a new type of cell in the immune system that can help prevent allergies.
when an allergy sufferer's immune system overreacts to an allergen, it produces an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE), which triggers a series of allergic reactions.
, Ph.D., Australian National University and co-author of the study, said: "Our study shows that this previously undiscovered cell can block the formation of IgE, a key cause of allergic diseases. Mr Carnett said the findings provided a new pathway to treating allergies, with significant effects in the first stage of an allergic reaction.
Australia has one of the highest allergy rates in the world. About one in five Australians has some type of allergy, Mr. Carnett said.
, co-director of the Australian National University's Centre for Individual Immunization, said the findings would help develop more targeted therapies. In addition to the antihistamines currently in use to relieve allergic reactions, researchers may be able to adjust the immune system in the future to stop allergic reactions before they begin. (Source: Xinhua News Agency, Bai Xu, Jiang Chenyi