Guest guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 , I have been wondering about something, and I'm hoping you, with your fine research skills, can find some information on it. A recent allergy attack peaked my curiosity. Since allergies are disorders of the immune system, what effect would RA meds such as Enbrel (which I'm on) have on allergies? Would the meds, since they suppress the immune system, make us more susceptible to allergy attacks, just as they make us more susceptible to infections such as colds and pneumonia? Or would the meds help our allergies, too, just as they help the RA? Or, the third choice, would they have no effect on allergies at all? Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Hello, Sue! You've asked a good question, but I don't think there are any simple answers to it. There are many types of allergies, but generally: " TNF-alpha is an important mediator in allergy also for its effects on eosinophils. " http://www.clinicalmolecularallergy.com/content/3/1/5 It would be a reasonable guess to think that anti-TNF agents could help in certain allergy situations, but there are enough cases of allergies (e.g., urticaria, asthma) arising after the use of the biologics to cause one to reconsider. Or are those cases of hypersensitivity to the agent itself? Could be. I don't know. The immune system is highly complex and not completely understood. In RA, we know that the disease is much more than simply TNF excess. I'll post some articles related to this discussion separately. Not an MD > [ ] ? for > > , > > I have been wondering about something, and I'm hoping you, with your > fine research skills, can find some information on it. > > A recent allergy attack peaked my curiosity. Since allergies are > disorders of the immune system, what effect would RA meds such as > Enbrel (which I'm on) have on allergies? > > Would the meds, since they suppress the immune system, make us more > susceptible to allergy attacks, just as they make us more susceptible > to infections such as colds and pneumonia? > > Or would the meds help our allergies, too, just as they help the RA? > > Or, the third choice, would they have no effect on allergies at all? > > Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Thanks for the articles, . You're right, there are no simple answers. I think that it's a good question to ask my rheumatologist and see what he has to say about it. Sue On Friday, January 11, 2008, at 09:30 AM, wrote: > Hello, Sue! > > You've asked a good question, but I don't think there are any simple > answers > to it. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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