![]() “These were adults coming in with an allergy to beef, pork or lamb with symptoms that took hours to manifest, but they had previously eaten it safely their entire lives,” Dr. Within two years, the team followed the study with another that had over 200 patients. They had no idea that it was just the tip of the iceberg. Commins and his team thought the condition of a delayed food allergy was a fascinating anomaly in a small group of people. The study had a sample size of two dozen people, and Dr. He is now one of the leading experts worldwide on the subject. Antihistamines may help manage allergic reactions after onset, but they are not effective as a preventative measure.įrom ‘Strange Observation’ To Life’s WorkĮarly in his training, Commins was the first author on one of the seminal scientific papers studying alpha-gal. There is currently no approved treatment or cure. “It’s easy for reactions to be disguised as an environmental trigger.” ![]() “People naturally associate their reactions with their surroundings at the time of onset,” Dr. Combined with a lack of public awareness, it can be a challenging condition to diagnose. Given this delay, it can often be difficult for patients with undiagnosed alpha-gal allergies to make the association between their symptoms and what they have eaten. “We hear a lot of interesting stories because this is not an allergy where you eat a hamburger and have hives within minutes – it frequently takes three to six hours for patients to develop symptoms,” Dr. Compounding the issue is alpha-gal’s delayed onset of symptoms. The allergy is most commonly triggered by red meat consumption, but in some cases can be caused by other animal-derived food products such as dairy, gelatin and even non-food animal products such as valves for heart patients and anticoagulant medications. These patients suffer various symptoms of anaphylaxis such as hives, respiratory distress and gastrointestinal trouble. Patients develop an allergic antibody to alpha-gal after suffering a bite from the lone star tick, a common breed in North Carolina and the Southeast that is also spreading nationwide. The lone star tick, the species that causes alpha-gal syndrome. At the forefront of research into this development is UNC Health’s Scott Commins, MD, PhD. Most humans are able to consume red meat from these animals without issue, but over the last decade researchers have documented an exponential increase in new allergies to red meat, specifically to the alpha-gal sugar in the products. In the Southeast in particular, one species of tick is contributing to a steady rise in cases of a bizarre allergy.Īlpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in non-human mammals such as cows, pigs and sheep. However, increased time spent outdoors means potential exposure to bites from harmful insects such as ticks. For millions across the nation, summer means sunshine, cookouts and outdoor activities (from a safe distance, of course).
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