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Article: World Allergy Congress: Superantigens Escalate Asthma.
- Article from:
- PR Newswire Europe
- Article date:
- June 29, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 PR Newswire Association LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MUNICH, Germany, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- "We've found evidence that superantigens are the cause of very severe allergies", reported Professor Claus Bachert from Ghent, Belgium at the World Allergy Congress in Munich.
Approximately one-third of the population is colonized with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, harmlessly in most cases. In people with severe respiratory tract disease such as sinusitis or asthma, however, these bacteria may do very great harm by releasing enterotoxins which act as superantigens and activate a huge number of T-cells in the immune system. A massive inflammatory response is the result. In people with asthma, the disease may get ...