Nuts, peanuts, eggs, milk, wheat … The list of foods that cause us allergies grows, but we do not know why. Now, a team of scientists from the Parkville Medical Research Institute (Australia) has discovered that many of the children who develop food allergies in their first years of life have an altered immune system at the time of birth, with cells that predispose to trouble.
Researchers analyzed blood collected from the umbilical cord of 697 Australian children who underwent allergy testing at the age of one year. The tests showed that children with food intolerances tended to have monocytes in their umbilical cord blood – a type of cell of the immune system – more sensitive to bacteria and viruses than those of children who did not develop allergies. Hyperactive monocytes trigger the mechanisms responsible for allergic reactions.
This strong response is usually a sign of good health, but in newborns and babies it could indicate that their immune systems are more likely to react against harmless proteins in food.
The results do not indicate how this excessive sensitization occurs, or if it arises during childbirth or pregnancy, but they could lead to a better understanding of the causes of these intolerances, and the development of preventive treatments against these immune system reactions. that can endanger the lives of those who suffer them.
Image: Corbis
