One of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2015 selected by Québec Science magazine was achieved by a team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) led by Dr. Christine McCusker, researcher from the Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases Program of the RI-MUHC and allergist-immunologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital of the MUHC. Their innovative work, that attracted considerable media attention last spring, is featured in the current issue of Québec Science magazine.
Dr. McCusker’s team tested a potential vaccine, administered as a nasal spray, that redirects the immune response away from developing allergies. This discovery could bring hope to millions of Canadians suffering from allergic airway disease.
“What’s beautiful about our approach is that you do not have to couple the peptide with a specific allergen. Since it just nudges the immune system away from the allergic response, it will not matter if the child is exposed to pollen, cats or dogs. The immune system will simply not form an aggressive allergic reaction anymore,” says Dr. McCusker.
Source MUHC Newsroom