Belgian researchers have developed a nasal test capable of diagnosing dust mite allergies, less invasive than blood and skin tests.
Luckily they’re microscopic, otherwise the mites are sure to terrify us – they don’t look convenient. But as it stands, for the common people, the forced cohabitation with these tiny arthropods takes place peacefully. For part of the population, however, their ubiquity in habitats is a nightmare. This is the case for people with allergies, condemned to a blocked nose, recurrent colds and often asthma.
A team of researchers from Ghent University is trying to make life less difficult for these patients. It’s a challenge: there are more than 50,000 species of mites. They are everywhere, not a fabric can resist them. A mattress can contain two million mites; one gram of dust has 2,000.
Up to 15 components
Allergies being particularly frequent in the general population (approximately one in three French people), diagnosing the causes can be complicated and restrictive for the patient – it is indeed necessary to multiply blood and skin tests. In Belgium, the team of researchers is therefore working on another path: a nasal test which makes it possible to detect an allergy to dust mites in a finer and less invasive manner.
In a press release, the University announced the first results of their work. Inserted into the nasal passages, the test would measure up to 15 mite components simultaneously using a biochemical device.
“This technique has the advantage of measuring the allergy at the precise location where the allergic inflammation occurs,” the team said in the press release. Scientists hope that this method will become an alternative to blood tests and skin tests to make the diagnosis.
A vaccine in less than ten years
If the results suggest a “reliable” test, it is however advisable to remain cautious. Indeed, these preliminary results, although interesting, have not yet been published in a scientific journal. Other trials will need to be conducted and published before considering marketing.
By then, people with dust mite allergies may have found another way to fight off these little enemies who share their daily lives. Researchers from Nantes are currently developing a vaccine against this type of allergy. Tested on asthmatic mice the results are very conclusive. Trials are underway with the objective of making it available within the next five to ten years.
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