New Treatment for Allergies Proposed

Belgian scientists have devised a new strategy for treating various kinds of auto-immune and allergic disorders.

The researchers at the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology in Ghent said their study focused on the oral intake of allergens or auto-antigens via the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis.

The scientists associated with Ghent University, in collaboration with the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, said theirr patented strategy is already being used to develop a variety of biopharmaceutical medicines for a range of clinical indications.

In its natural form, L. lactis is a well-known food bacterium that has long been used to convert milk into cheese and yogurt. In the battle against chronic intestinal diseases, researchers have been using L. lactis as a producer of a drug against gastroenteritis. The initial results of the clinical trials are promising.

Now, the bacterium is also being used to fight other disorders by introducing DNA with the code for a therapeutic protein into the bacterium’s DNA.

The complex research is reported in the journal Gastroenterology.