Welcome to Eczema Matters the Eczema Voice Newsletter - August 2007
National Eczema Week 15-23 September 2007
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Peanut study could help thousands
(Sunday Herald - Judith Duffy) CAMERON Brydon is at risk of becoming one of the thousands of children in the UK who have a potentially life-threatening food allergy. As a sufferer of eczema, he has a one-in-five chance of developing a reaction to peanuts. But the eight-month-old, from Livingston, is taking part in a ground-breaking study which could shed new light on why such allergies develop and how they could be prevented. The current advice in the UK - as with many other Western countries - is that peanuts should not to be introduced into the diet of babies with a history of allergies in the family for the first three years of life. This recommendation, however, which was introduced two decades ago, has failed to halt a relentless rise in the number of children developing allergies. It is estimated that child food allergies have more than doubled in the past decade, to affect almost one in 50 in the UK. With the reasons unknown, one leading expert in paediatric allergies has gone back to the drawing board. Professor Gideon Lack, of Evelina Children's Hospital at St Thomas' Hospital, London, is leading ground-breaking research which will test whether current prevention theory actually works, or whether it would be better for children to be exposed to foods which might cause allergies from an early age. Around 160 babies have been recruited for the research so far, including Cameron, who developed eczema at the age of three months. His mother Karlyn said that she was keen to enrol him in a study which could benefit future generations. "He was allocated to the group which eats peanuts, so I give him a peanut snack such as smooth peanut butter at least three times a week. So far he has been fine and they are tested regularly up until the age of five years old. "You have your own opinions about allergies and I wanted him to be part of it to see whether it is going to be the case that direct exposure is the best strategy," she said. Professor Lack said that children in other countries which appeared to have a lower incidence of peanut allergy, such as Africa and Asia, often eat the food in the first year of life. "But we don't know why that is," he said. "There may be genetic differences or there may be other environmental differences, for example sunlight exposure. It is very hard to compare results from different countries to choose the best strategy." The Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (Leap) study will recruit 480 babies between the ages of four and 10 months from across the UK who have a high risk of developing a peanut allergy because they have eczema or an egg allergy. Half will follow a diet which excludes peanut-containing foods until the age of three, with the other group eating peanut snacks three times a week under close dietary supervision. The findings will be assessed once the children reach the age of five. Lack said that although the study would only provide evidence on the best strategy for dealing with peanut allergy, it could pave the way for studies on other foods. "We won't necessarily be able to say that the findings apply to egg and fish and other foods, but it will give us a good indication and it will mean that we will need to do those sorts of studies for other foods," he said. Lindsey McManus, deputy information manager with the charity Allergy UK, said many children suffered isolation because of their condition. "Children do get excluded because of their allergies," she said. "If they have got a peanut allergy, parents are frightened to invite them to their children's birthday parties or if they have got severe eczema, children don't want to play with them. "We want to stop that by educating healthcare professionals and carers across the board as to how they can help manage a child's allergy." l Parents of children under 11 months old with eczema and/or egg allergies and interested in taking part in the study can get information on 0800 234 6522 or at www.leapstudy.co.uk.
QUEEN'S NURSE 'THRILLS' SANDRA
A Nhs employee has been given the prestigious title of Queen's Nurse. Sandra, who has worked at the Queen's Medical Centre for 20 years, was the only hospital nurse of just 13 staff across the UK to receive the award. It is the first time the life-long title has been given out in 40 years. It has been re-launched to recognise the hard work of midwives, health visitors and nurses working in the community. She said: "I am thrilled to receive the title of Queen's Nurse as it is recognition not only of my work over the past 17 years, but also for my team who have all worked so hard to make our dream of providing high quality patient care a reality." Sandra has worked tirelessly to transform care for skin cancer patients through her role in the QMC's dermatology department. She became the UK's second nurse consultant in dermatology in 2002 and created the contact system between hospitals and GPs now in place across much of the NHS. In 1995, she set up a support group for parents of children who have eczema, and the group is still going strong. Sandra has also contributed to the medical community outside nursing, and was awarded the Public Servant of the Year award in 2003.
Itching Gene Found
New treatments for chronic and severe itching could be developed after scientists discovered the gene for the itch sensation in the central nervous system. Chronic itching is a widespread problem and can be caused by skin disorders like eczema or from a deeper problem such as kidney failure. As well as causing pain and scarring, itching can be disruptive by disturbing sleep patterns. Scientists from Washington University school of medicine believe this problem could soon be targeted to provide relief to sufferers following their discovery of the 'itch' gene. "Many genes have been identified in the pain pathway," said Dr Zhou-Feng Chen, associate professor of anaesthesiology, psychiatry and molecular biology and pharmacology. "But itch research has lived in the shadow of pain research, and no-one knew which gene was responsible for itching in the brain or in the spinal cord until now." They found that the itch gene, known as GRPR (gastrin-releasing peptide receptor), works with a receptor found in a small bundle of spinal cord nerve cells which transmit pain and itch signals from the skin to the brain. Tests on mice which lacked this gene showed that they scratched much less than the normal mice when given an itching stimulus. The scientists also suggest that pain and itch are controlled by separate sets of genes in the spinal cord. This is an important discovery as it implies drugs can be used to suppress the itch sensation without affecting the pain sensation, which is a vital cue that something is wrong. The findings are published in the Nature journal through advance online publication.