VOA健康报道2024--US Approves Asthma Drug to Treat Food Allergies

US Approves Asthma¹ Drug to Treat Food Allergies²

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

The U.S. food and drug agency has approved a medication already used to treat the breathing condition asthma to treat people for food allergies.

On February 16, the United States Food and Drug Administration (or FDA) approved Xolair for a new use. Xolair has become the first medication approved by the FDA to reduce allergic³ reactions caused by food allergies.

Xolair is the brand name, or commercial name, for the drug omalizumab.

Many people who suffer from allergies — and their families —worry about exposure to things that cause allergic reactions. They might avoid eating at restaurants. They also might avoid social situations in which they might come into contact with something that causes their allergy⁴.

Dr. Robert Wood is director of the pediatric allergy division at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The FDA based its decision on research that Wood led. And the National Institutes of Health supported the allergy study.

One hundred sixty-eight people with allergies to peanuts and at least two other foods took part in the study. It found that 68 percent of the people injected with Xolair were able to have about 600 milligrams of peanut protein without serious problems. That number compares to only six percent of those who received an inactive substance instead of the drug.

The results of the study were similar for other allergens, or things that commonly cause allergies, such as tree nuts, milk, eggs, and wheat. Full results from the study are expected to be presented at a meeting and released in a peer-reviewed publication in the near future.

Wood said: "To have this protection is going to be life changing."

Wood estimated that 25 to 50 percent of people with food allergies, especially children and young adults, would choose to use Xolair.

Patients as young as one year of age with food allergies can take the drug by injection every two to four weeks. This depends on their weight and their body's response to allergens.

People who use Xolair must continue to avoid the foods that cause allergic reactions. These foods are often peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts⁵, milk products, and eggs. However, the medication appears to permit exposure to higher amounts of allergy-causing foods without causing major reactions.

Until now, doctors have used the drug to treat food allergies although that has not been its officially approved use, said Dr. Ruchi Gupta. Such a second use for a drug is called "off-label." Gupta is director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern University in Chicago. She welcomed full approval of the product.

Xolair works by blocking the body's natural response to allergens. It is known as a monoclonal antibody. The FDA first approved the drug in 2003. It is used to treat asthma, growths in the nose, and long-term skin problems known as chronic⁶ hives.

Swiss drug companies Novartis and Roche produce Xolair, and it is distributed by a part of Roche, called Genentech.

The most common side effects of Xolair are injection site reactions and high body temperatures. However, the FDA noted⁷ that the drug has also caused joint⁸ pain, rash, infections, malignancies, and abnormal laboratory tests.

Xolair also comes with a warning. The treatment itself can cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that causes breathing and blood pressure problems. For that reason, the treatment must be started in a health care center with equipment that can deal with such emergencies. In addition, the drug is not approved as an emergency treatment for allergic reactions.

Genentech says Xolair is expected to cost about $2,900 a month for children and $5,000 a month for adults. The company said patients usually pay less because their health insurance often pays most of the cost of many drugs.

Words in This Story

asthma –n. a long-term condition involving problems with breathing

allergy –n. a strong reaction to a substance that does not normally cause a reaction in most people

commercial –adj. related to business and aimed at making a profit

exposure --n. an incident in which a person is in the presence of some substance and comes in contact with it or breathes it in

peer-reviewed –adj. research that has undergone a process of being studied by independent professionals of similar knowledge who judge it to be up to the level required by a publication

site –n. an exact place such as a place on the body where an injection is made

rash –n. a skin condition that involves pain, swelling⁹, redness or itchiness

distribute –v. to provide a produce to businesses which then sell it for use by the public

malignancy –n. a growth that is the product of disease or cancer

1 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

2 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

3 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

4 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

5 walnuts   

胡桃（树）( walnut的名词复数 )； 胡桃木

参考例句：

• Are there walnuts in this sauce? 这沙司里面有核桃吗？
• We ate eggs and bacon, pickled walnuts and cheese. 我们吃鸡蛋，火腿，腌胡桃仁和干酪。

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。