3 ms·
Jesus, what a mess... No wonder we have all sorts of allergies and imnune issues.
by aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
Jesus, what a mess... No wonder we have all sorts of allergies and imnune issues.
- chasil 4y agoAllergies are likely a byproduct of the immune reaction to parasites. They begin with mast cells that attach antibodies to their exteriors, and when one attaches to something it recognizes, the mast cell releases histamine and other signals to begin inflammation. This can be enough to clear parasites that have not evolved to address these effects. These parasites are now rare in the developed world, and the mast cell would likely be better disabled. I read several years ago that work was being done on a method to remove the mast cells' antibodies, which would stop much of an allergic reaction.
- aaaaaaaaaaab 4y agoYeah, I know this hypothesis. I have a bunch of allergic issues (atopic eczema, hay fever), and I’ve been contemplating some kind of helminth therapy, but I’m too much of a coward to actually do it…
- svachalek 4y agoIt's super complicated, but it's like alien legacy code from the far future. We can nitpick the obvious flaws but we are probably also completely underestimating some of the problems it had to solve. A typical person's immune system can often crack diseases in a few days that all the world's laboratories have spent decades on.