It was then that they realized Alpha-gal syndrome was not limited to the southeastern United States but was instead a global problem. In 2007, she discovered a link between ticks and the red meat allergy. In 2009, the Virginia team learned of her research. Sheryl van Nunen, was researching unknown causes of anaphylaxis. Eventually he experienced a bad reaction of hives a few hours after eating lamb chops. He sent them to an entomologist and began checking his own IgE levels, which were rising. Almost all had.Īround this same time, Platts-Mills took a hike in the woods and was bit by a nest of larval Lone Star Ticks. Commins began calling all the new patients and asking them if they had ever been bitten by a tick. While none of them were cancer patients, some told the doctors that they thought their reactions had something to do with eating meat. Dr. They too had high levels of IgE antibodies to alpha-gal. Patients began coming to Platts-Mill’s clinic with sudden allergic symptoms: swelling, hives and sometimes anaphylactic shock. Since Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted by the bite of ticks, researchers began to wonder if ticks could be linked to the alpha-gal reactions as well. He realized that it exactly overlapped the hot spots of the cetuximab reactions. Jacob Hosen, another researcher in Platts-Mills’s lab, found a map from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that showed the prevalence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Christine Chung, a member of the team, began checking neighbors of the patients and discovered that almost one in five also had antibodies to alpha-gal.ĭr. The reactions happened in Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee, but not in Boston and northern California, suggesting that they were regional.ĭr. Team members looked for any common denominators that could explain the problem. In order to have an allergic reaction, someone needs to have been primed with a prior exposure to a substance, but the cetuximab patients who reacted badly had all done so on their very first dose. Knowing the source of the allergic reaction, however, did not completely solve the puzzle. Alpha-gal is present in all mammals, except humans and some other primates. The research team was able to identify the cause of the reaction, the sugar galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, also known as alpha-gal. Platts-Mills put together a team, which included Hatley, Dr. Since the responses to the drug appeared to be allergic reactions, and there seemed to be no explanation for why they had occurred, Dr. She mentioned the death to her former supervisor, Dr. Hatley had recently finished postgraduate training at the University of Virginia’s allergy center. Tina Hatley, an immunologist in Bentonville. About that same time, a patient in Bentonville, Arkansas collapsed and died after receiving their first dose of cetuximab.Ī nurse working at the Bentonville clinic mentioned the death to Dr. Some became so sick that they needed emergency shots of epinephrine and hospitalization. In clinics in North Carolina and Tennessee, 25 out of 88 patients became hypersensitive. However, as cetuximab was given to larger and larger groups, those statisticsĬhanged drastically. At first, only one or two out of every 100 cancer patients who had cetuximab infused into their veins had a hypersensitivity reaction (drop in blood pressure and difficulty breathing). As with any new drug, some people had bad reactions to it. In 2004, a new cancer drug, called cetuximab, came onto the market. Medications and Other Medical Products–coming soonĪlpha-gal syndrome has an interesting history, as it actually begins in theĬancer/oncology world.
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