Countdown to a universal allergy treatment

摘要

The first "universal" allergy therapy is a step closer following successful trials in people allergic to house dust mites and cat dander.rnThe series of shots has the potential to treat a host of different allergies because it doesn't rely on giving people tiny doses of the specific substance that they are allergic to, unlike most existing therapies. Instead, it works by distracting the overactive immune system, which is thought to be the cause of most allergic reactions. Patients receive a molecular "decoy" which makes their body behave as if it is under attack by a bacterium. Distracted, it stops reacting to otherwise harmless allergens.