Posted by Larry Hoover on March 25, 2007, at 10:38:14
In reply to Xolair - New Anti IgE Treatment, posted by Lonely on March 25, 2007, at 0:31:34
> I just got started on Xolair shots - a humanized monoclonal anitbody that's designed for people with moderate to severe asthma. It prevents IgE, which is found in high levels in very allergic people, from attaching to mast cells thereby reducing or eliminating allergic symptoms.
>
> Is any one else on this or contemplating? I've been to another related board about this too.I've not actively considered this therapy, although I've had moderate success with desensitization a decade ago. I'd sure be interested in hearing how you do.
My psych state does correlate rather well with my ability to resist the effects of allergens. I.e., when I'm having a bad allergy season, I'm struggling with mood. A good allergy season is generally part of a more general sense of well-being. I'm pretty sure that my niacinamide/NADH intake might have some influence on this, but I'll need more experimental evidence to really be sure. This year should provide that for me.
> I've often wondered if severe allergies plus asthma (and affecting digestion) don't have some impact on one's cognitive processing including mood but most of what I've read seems to deny this. Not sure I'm in agreeement though. Anyone else have experience or insight along these lines?
I'm surprised you can't find support for this, as there is ample evidence in Pubmed. Here's a couple samples:
Am J Epidemiol. 1999 Nov 15;150(10):1107-16.
Cross-sectional associations of asthma, hay fever, and other allergies with major depression and low-back pain among adults aged 20-39 years in the United States.
Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H.
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.Although low-back pain and depression are common comorbidities, the mechanisms responsible for their association remain unclear. The effects of proinflammatory cytokines on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis lead to the hypothesis that allergic reactions, as markers for inflammation-associated activation of the HPA axis, result in aberrant responses to subsequent stressors. Data from 6,836 US adults 20-39 years old from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) were used. Subjects responded to questions regarding low-back pain in the past 12 months and history of asthma, hay fever, and other allergies. The history and onset of major depression were obtained from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the associations between allergies and depression and low-back pain. Subjects with a history of any allergy were more likely to report low-back pain (odds ratio = 1.51; 95% confidence interval: 1.16, 1.96), to be diagnosed with major depression (odds ratio = 1.58; 95% confidence interval: 1.13, 2.21), and much more likely to have both major depression and low-back pain (odds ratio = 3.03; 95% confidence interval: 1.32, 6.92). Hypersensitivity reactions may prime the HPA axis to respond aberrantly to stressors, resulting in physical and behavioral consequences.
Psychother Psychosom. 1991;55(1):24-31.
Depression and allergies: survey of a nonclinical population.
Bell IR, Jasnoski ML, Kagan J, King DS.
Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Mass.The possible association between depression and type I allergies (i.e. immunoglobulin E-mediated hay fever, asthma, eczema, hives) was examined in a nonclinical sample of 379 college students. Measures included self-reports of depression, tiredness, fearfulness, allergic disorders, and environmental allergens and irritants. Seventy-one percent of the subjects who had ever received a professional diagnosis of depression also indicated a history of allergy: those with greater self-rated current depression overall reported a significantly higher prevalence of asthma (p less than 0.05). Type I allergic (43%) and nonallergic subjects did not differ in self-rated frequency of depression, fatigue, or anxiety. However, type I subjects reported significantly worse mood after the flu than did nonallergic subjects (p less than 0.001). The data support the hypothesis that individuals prone to clinical depression have more allergies than nondepressives. Allergics may experience more postflu mood worsening but not current depression in comparison with nonallergics.
PMID: 1866437
I think that some allergists just can't see the forest for the trees. They're like the blind men and the elephant, able to interpret only their narrow view of human physiology. Histamine H2 and H4 receptors mediate cytokine release, and we know that cytokines influence mood. It's really not a stretch to link the two. Your beliefs do have scientific support.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:744012
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20070227/msgs/744104.html