Edinburgh – If you happen to have a certain “mutant gene”, you could have double the risk of allergies. However, the good news is that the discovery of this gene could actually result in better therapies that could prevent severe allergic asthma according to Scottish scientists.

Research at the University of Edinburgh shows that mutations in the filaggrin gene indicate a significant increase in the individual’s asthma risk - as well as a dramatic increase in hay fever, dermatitis and eczema risk.

Aziz Sheikh, a scientist at the university, was quoted in the British Medical Journal as saying that the filaggrin gene is a “robust biomarker for allergic conditions”. In other words, the presence of the gene is a very good indicator of your tendency to allergies and conditions related to allergies.

Now that the gene has been identified and tied strongly to allergies, the next steps are research into therapies that can use this information says Sheikh. Drug manipulations of the gene could lead to treatments that prevent the immune system from the allergic process, which results in over-reaction to common substances.

When allergies strike, the immune system has wrongly identified a common substance - such as pollen - as a dangerous invader of the body. As this reaction proceeds, the immune system causes histamine to be released in order to trap those substances through inflammation. It is the histamine’s action in the body which results in the allergic symptoms, which can be as mild as itching or sneezing or as serious as anaphylactic shock, which can kill.

How important is the filaggrin gene? Sheihk and his team have found that more than 10 per cent of individuals carry the mutant version of the gene.

Source: Upi.com