Dust mites, which are present in every home across the country, cause more breathing difficulties than any other allergens. This makes it extremely difficult for asthmatics to preserve their wellness during everyday life. Now, a new vaccine looks to address those health concerns by curing asthmatics once and for all.
This new vaccine fires an electrical pulse through the skin, where it is received by the cells of the immune system. This exposure then prompts your body to produce ‘helper cells’ which protect your body against dust mites. Being immunised against dust mites in this way could dramatically reduce the number of asthma attacks suffered every year.
The treatment which could revolutionise the wellbeing of asthmatics across the country, works by helping to block the entire process which leads to breathing difficulties in sufferers. In those with a dust mite allergy, the body’s immune system produces an out of proportion response to the droppings of dust mites, and produces a chemical called histamine to help fight against the perceived threat. This rush of histamine then causes swelling and irritation, which affects the airways and makes it difficult for the sufferer to breathe.
Currently, the only treatment available for this condition is immunotherapy, where the body is injected with small amounts of the dust mite droppings to gradually get the immune system used to the protein. This is a lengthy treatment, however, requiring around 80 injections and taking up to five years to become fully effective.
The new vaccine, which is being developed by scientists, would see a small amount of the protein’s DNA, which allows the body to then build the harmful protein for themselves, and then the ‘helper cells’ to help fight against it. The electricity allows the vaccine to permeate the tough the membrane of the cells.