Pollen allergy - what really helps?

Prof. Dr. J. Buters is giving a ZDF interview about the pollen flight and pollen monitoring network in Bavaria. > Link to video
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New article on the regulation of immune tolerance published in the Journal of Immunology

Regulatory T cells constitute a major T cell population that is necessary to prevent unwanted immune reactivity to both self- and foreign antigens including allergens. In collaboration with colleagues from Jena, the research group lead by Caspar Ohnmacht (shared first authors: Maria Potthast and Anna-Lena Geiselhöringer) could now show that the NF-kB family member RelB in dendritic cells regulates...
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DGAKI Award for Dr. Dennis Rußkamp

Dr. Dennis Russkamp from the research group Molecular and Translational Allergology of PD Dr. Simon Blank (ZAUM) received the award “Novel Immunological Therapies of Allergic diseases” of the German Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI). This annual award is sponsored by Sanofi Aventis and endowed with 5000 Euros. The award ceremony took place during the German Allergy Congress in...
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Bavarian ePIN pollen measurement system

Today the Bavarian Minister of Health Dr Huml officially started the "ePIN" pollen measurement system in Bavaria. The world wide unique system generates now online pollen data to support allergy sufferers during the pollen season. Prof. Dr. J. Buters from Poing was the initiator and head of the preliminary studies leading to this network. The LGL has built the network and will operate it long...
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New article on experimental allergen-specific immunotherapy published in Allergy

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only causal treatment for allergy. However, success rates vary depending on the type of allergy and disease background of the patient. Hence, strategies targeting an increased therapeutic efficacy are urgently needed. The research group of Simon Blank in collaboration with the German Mouse Clinic at the Helmholtz Center Munich (first authors: Dennis...
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New article on lipid mediators in house dust mite allergy published in Allergy

Bioactive metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) are important regulators of the immune response to allergens. Together with the Metabolomics Core Facility at Helmholtz Center Munich, the research team around Julia Esser-von Bieren (first authors: Fiona Henkel and Antonie Friedl) has established a method for the comprehensive characterization of AA metabolite profiles. Using this method, they could...
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"Specific Immunotherapy" DGAKI Award Winner Dr. Jose Oteros

The German Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) presents an annual award in the field of "specific immunotherapy", which is sponsored by Allergopharma GmbH & Co. KG and endowed with 5000 euros. This year, the recipient of the award was Dr. Jose Oteros of the AG Prof. Buters (ZAUM). The award ceremony took place during the German Allergy Congress in Dresden on 27 September 2018....
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Renske de Jong receives prestigious Humbold fellowship

Renske de Jong was just awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation. The foundation offers fellowships to high profile researchers from abroad that want to conduct a scientific project in a german institution of their choice. Renske de Jong is a current postdoctoral fellow in the Ohnmacht group at ZAUM where she will also carry out her project. The fellowship will...
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ZAUM built the world-wide first Pollen Indikator

The Pollen Indikator shows on-line the most recent pollen flight in Munich with a 3hrs lag-time. Two novelties lead to this Indikator: 1. Bavaria is world-wide the first state that implemented a network of 8 robotic pollen monitors (from Helmut Hund GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) that by image recognition determine how many pollen are in the air, and puts this data free for all on-line to download. 2....
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Researchers at IAF obtain funding for research on type 2 inflammation

Julia Esser-von Bieren (see research portrait) and Caspar Ohnmacht (see research potrait) will participate in the new DFG research unit “Tissue Type 2 Responses: Mechanisms of Induction and Regulation” (link to article)
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New Helmholtz Young Investigator group “Innate Immunomodulation” at IAF

Macrophages are key cells of the innate immune response against infections, but their roles in allergy and other type 2 inflammatory diseases are poorly understood. With her research team, Julia Esser-von Bieren wants to shed new light on how macrophages are reprogrammed during allergic inflammation. In the recent competitive call for Helmholtz Young Investigator (HYI) groups, Julia Esser-von...
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ZAUM on TV

Honeybee stings are potentially life-threatening for venom-allergic individuals. Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only curative therapy to treat venom allergy. However, sensitization profiles of patients to major allergens differ essentially and therapeutic extracts, used to treat honeybee venom allergy, can vary in the content of these relevant allergens. In “BR Gesundheit” PD Dr. Simon...
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EAACI Congress Scholarship and Poster Prize for Maximilian Schiener

EAACI Congress 2017, HelsinkiMaximilian Schiener, Ph.D. student in the group of PD Dr. Simon Blank (“Molecular and Translational Allergology”) at the Institute of Allergy Research, received an EAACI Congress Scholarship to attend the EAACI Congress 2017 held in Helsinki, Finland from 17-21 June 2017. The scholarship included all travel expenses, registration for the congress and accommodation in...
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Allergen-specific immunotherapy: Carrots and sticks for the immune system

The active substance Tofacitinib facilitates hyposensitization in the treatment of allergic asthma. This discovery was made by scientists at the Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM), a joint research institution of the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The findings of their research have now been published in the PLOS ONE Journal.People who suffer from...
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ERC Starting Grant for allergy research in the gut

The European Research Council (ERC) will be funding the ALLERGUT project at the Helmholtz Zentrum München for the next five years with an ERC Starting Grant. Working in this framework, the researchers headed by Dr. Caspar Ohnmacht want to discover if and how bacteria in the intestines can assist or prevent the development of allergies. The total funding amounts to 1.5 million euros. It is...
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Immunotherapy against bee stings in some cases incomplete

The preparations that are used for allergen immunotherapy against bee sting allergies do not always contain all the relevant venom components. This was the conclusion of an examination conducted by allergy experts at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). According to their report in ‘Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics’, this could possibly influence the...
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First world-wide interactive pollen station map

ZAUM is proud to announce the first interactive map showing all available pollen monitoring stations in the world.
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Cytochrome P450s – metabolic keys in immunity

Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) oxidize lipophilic molecules and are well examined in the liver and environmentally exposed tissues. Renate Effner (research group Environment, Prof. Dr. Jeroen T. Buters) now reported that CYP1 enzymes are cleaners of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in human immune cells, thereby limiting the effects of ligands. The findings, which were elaborated in...
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ZAUM on TV

The public awareness about allergic diseases and the allergic march are rising. Several TV formats gave Prof. Carsten Schmidt-Weber and Prof. Jeroen Buters from the Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) the chance to speak about allergy and pollen monitoring to clarify interesting facts and future perspectives: Pollen-Network on BR Mediathek BR Abendschau (starting at minute 7) ARD W wie...
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UNITED ACTION FOR ALLERGY AND ASTHMA

This year, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients Associations (EFA) are initiating a Political Call to Action, targeted at EU and national policymakers, to act on Allergy and Asthma in Europe.The Call to Action is embedded in the context of the European Parliament Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma and...
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Is an agent used to treat psoriasis aimed at the wrong target?

Neuherberg, November 2016: The antibody ustekinumab is in use for treatment of psoriasis since 2009. It inhibits the underlying inflammation by neutralizing certain messengers of the immune system. Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the Technical University of Munich and the University of Zurich have now shown in ‘Nature Communications’ that one of these messengers could actually be...
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Response to House Dust Mites is Age-Dependent

Neuherberg, August 2016: Adults suffering from a house dust mite allergy, exhibit a cascade of inflammatory signals on the surface of their airways, which leads to airway remodeling. This process cannot be influenced by standard cortisone therapy. In an experimental model researchers around Dr. Julia Esser-von Bieren (research group Immunemodulation) have reported that Wnt5a, the enzymes...
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Recombinant antigen 5 from seven hymenoptera species in diagnosis

Neuherberg, August 2016: Stings of hymenoptera can cause severe anaphylaxis in untreated venom-allergic patients. A correct diagnosis regarding the relevant species for immunotherapy is often hampered by clinically irrelevant cross-reactivity. Maximilian Schiener in the group of Dr. Simon Blank (Molecular and Translational Allergology) could show that the application of recombinant produced...
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Prof. Carsten Schmidt-Weber on air at the SWR2 Forum

Portrait of Prof. Carsten Schmidt-Weber in his laboratory.
Prof. Carsten Schmidt-Weber, Head of the Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM), took part in the discussion about "Allergies - do we trivialize the risks of this widespread disease?" at the SWR2 Forum.
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Molecular Allergology User's Guide

Vienna, June 2016: The ZAUM (Dr. Simon Blank; Molecular and Translational Allergology group) contributed to the establishment of the world’s first comprehensive handbook on Molecular Allergology. The book of more than 300 pages, named “Molecular Allergology User's Guide”, was officially presented to the scientific and medical community at the congress of the European Academy of Allergy and...
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Several prizes for ZAUM members at the EAACI 2016 Congress in Vienna

Vienna, June 2016: Several members of ZAUM successfully participated in the annual congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI): Dennis Rußkamp, Constanze Jakwerth, Ulrich Zissler and Julia Esser-von Bieren won scholarships for presenting their work in the oral abstract sessions.
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Review on "Tolerance to the Intestinal Microbiota Mediated by ROR(yt)+ cells"

Neuherberg, May 2016: Harmless microbes colonizing the gut require the establishment of a well-equilibrated symbiosis between this microbiota and its host. A recent review summarizes novel insights into how this microbiota is tolerized by the immune system.
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Development of a component-resolved approach to enhance diagnostic accuracy

Neuherberg/Munich/Luxembourg, February 2016: Researchers from the ZAUM (Dr. Blank, Prof. Schmidt-Weber) in cooperation with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (Prof. Ollert) and the Clinic of Dermatology and Allergy of the Technical University of Munich developed a component-resolved approach to enhance diagnostic accuracy in patients with mastocytosis and hymenoptera venom allergy.
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Stefanie Eyerich received the Henning Løwenstein Research Award

Rome/Neuherberg, November 2015: Stefanie Eyerich was awarded the WAO Henning Loøwenstein Research Award (20.000 €) for her achievements in the field of allergy research. Stefanie Eyerich, who is working at the Center of Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) received the price at a solemn award ceremony in Rome on the 20th of November.
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Poster Prize for Dennis Rußkamp and Maximilian Schiener

Deutscher Allergie Kongress 2015, Cologne and EAACI Congress 2015, Barcelona.
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The role of the microbiota in preventing allergies

Neuherberg & Paris, July 2015: The human body is inhabited by billions of symbiotic bacteria, carrying a diversity that is unique to each individual. The microbiota is involved in many mechanisms, including digestion, vitamin synthesis and host defense. It is well established that a loss of bacterial symbionts promotes the development of allergies. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, at the...
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"Es gibt nur zwei Schutzmöglichkeiten"

München, 16.03.2015. Interview mit Herrn Prof. Buters mit dem Bayerischen Rundfunk. Am Montag wurde ein Interview von Bayern2 ausgestrahlt, in dem unser Allergie-Experte Heroen Buters (TU München) zu dem Thema Stellung bezieht. Die Anfälligkeit für Heuschnupfen verdoppelt sich von Dekade zu Dekade, trotz der angebotenen Schutzmaßnahmen wie der Hypersensibilisierung.
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New diagnostic test to distinguish psoriasis from eczema

Neuherberg, 10 July 2014. In many patients it is not easy to differentiate between the chronic inflammatory skin diseases psoriasis and eczema. Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now developed a procedure based on a skin analysis that enables an exact diagnosis to be made. The results have been published in the specialist journal Science...
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Oberfläche von Nanopartikeln steuert gesundheitliche Effekte

Neuherberg, 08.07.2014. Nanopartikel können eine Rolle bei der Entstehung allergischer Reaktionen spielen. Durch bestimmte chemische Veränderungen ihrer Oberfläche allerdings lässt sich dieser Effekt reduzieren. Dies haben Wissenschaftler um PD. Dr. Francesca Alessandrini vom Institut für Allergieforschung (IAF) am Helmholtz Zentrum München in einer aktuellen Studie herausgefunden, die im...
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High Ambient Ozone Levels Lead to More Allergenic Birch Pollen

Neuherberg, 06.12.2013. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München, together with their colleagues at Technische Universität München, have discovered that ozone is a key factor in the association between climate change, urbanization and the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases and symptoms. The results of the studies clearly suggest that an increase in allergic diseases can be expected.
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