Skin bugs may fight allergy

Tuesday November 24th, 2009

Scientists may have identified bacteria that could help treat skin conditions caused by allergy and inflammation.

The discovery of the role played by common bugs that live on the skin may be linked to the so-called "hygiene hypothesis" - which says that exposure to dirt and grime may help protect children against allergy.

New findings show how a bacteria called staphylococcus, that lives on the skin, may help treat injury.

Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, scientist Dr Yu Ping Lai says he has discovered the bacteria can release a substance that can prevent inflammation of the skin. The substance is known as staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid or LTA.

Fellow researcher Professor Richard Gallo, of the University of California, San Diego, USA, said: "These germs are actually good for us.

"The exciting implications of Dr. Lai's work is that it provides a molecular basis to understand the hygiene hypothesis and has uncovered elements of the wound repair response that were previously unknown.

"This may help us devise new therapeutic approaches for inflammatory skin diseases."

Nature Medicine November 22 2009

Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Child Health | Dermatology | North America

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