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Study targets inner-city asthmatics

Respiratory Care Weekly, October 25, 2006

Omalizumab, which is sold as Xolair, may help urban asthmatics better than other drugs because of the way it deactivates IgE antibodies, which are molecules produced by white blood cells in response to exposure to allergens. A new study at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas suspects that IgEs might hold the key to why city asthmatics, who are exposed to more  indoor allergens such as dust mites, cockroaches, molds, and animal dander, suffer more severe symptoms overall.

"IgE antibodies are the fuel in the immune system that perpetuates the asthmatic reaction," said  Rebecca Gruchalla, MD, principal investigator at the Dallas site. The study will cover 50 children at 11 U.S. sites.

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