(Press-News.org) Children raised in rural environments who spend a lot of time outdoors with some exposure to animals grow to have better regulated immune systems than children living in urban environments, a new study has found.
Research led by APC Microbiome Ireland (APC), a world-leading SFI research centre and University College Cork (UCC), has shown that early life immune development is highly dependent on a child’s living environment and lifestyle factors. Researchers say that the immune system needs to learn how not to over-respond in early life in order to avoid excessive damaging reactions later in life that can lead to disease.
The study examined how environmental factors are linked with the presence of atopic dermatitis (AD) or eczema across South African children aged between 15 – 35 months living in rural and urban areas.
Researchers found that the immune systems of children living in rural areas possess several ways of identifying and dealing with threats. Multiple immune pathways are developed in response to early life protective exposures, such as time spent outdoors and time with animals, and potentially detrimental exposures, such as pollutants and virus infections.
The study also investigated other factors including birth mode and income levels. Rural children were less frequently born via c-section and rural families had lower income levels, compared to urban families in this cohort. However, while these differences were seen between the rural and urban families, their association with differences in gene expression were far less pronounced than the associations with animal exposures and time outdoors.
The findings support a body of evidence that exposure to certain environmental stimuli and lifestyle factors during childhood can have significant consequences on a person’s short- and long-term health. The research was conducted by APC Microbiome Ireland and UCC with the University of Cape Town, Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research, Stanford University and Karolinska Institute.
Professor Liam O’Mahony, study lead, APC Principal Investigator and UCC Professor of Immunology, said: “Our study found that many of the important environmental factors were linked with altered exposure to microbes during the first few years of a young child’s life, a crucial stage in shaping a person’s immune system as it is particularly responsive to environmental exposures including infections, nutrition and microbiome.”
“This ‘immunological window of opportunity’ plays a critical role in establishing the limitations and reaction trajectories of our immune system that stay with us for life and influence the risk of immune mediated diseases,” Professor O’Mahony continued.
“These protective and detrimental early life environmental exposures help shape our immune response. Growing our understanding of the mechanisms and role of environment on immune development is highly important, and research such as this can help pave the way for new developments in early disease diagnosis and expediting interventions for more specific and safe modulation of immune activity.”
ENDS
END
Rural environment supports children’s immune systems
2023-08-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Novel proton-conductive membranes for automobile fuel cells
2023-08-03
Fuel cells are compact energy conversion units that utilize clean energy sources like hydrogen and convert them into electricity through a series of oxidation–reduction reactions. Specifically, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), an integral part of electric vehicles, utilize proton-conductive membranes for operation. Unfortunately, these membranes suffer from a trade-off between high durability and high ion conductivity, affecting the lifetime and performance of PEMFCs.
To overcome this issue, scientists ...
UT extension to help Tennessee farmers navigate labor management
2023-08-03
University of Tennessee Extension and GAP Connections recently received a grant from the Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center to launch a series of workshops across the state to help agricultural producers and agribusinesses navigate the intricacies of labor management.
Tennessee’s labor-intensive farming operations are increasingly in need of agricultural labor options, creating challenges for agricultural employers that have transitioned from readily available family labor to scarce hired labor that ...
More girls started puberty early during the COVID-19 pandemic
2023-08-03
WASHINGTON—The number of girls diagnosed with precocious puberty increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to potential risk factors such as increased screen time and less physical activity, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
The number of girls referred to pediatric endocrinologists for precocious puberty has increased significantly over the last two years, potentially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Precocious puberty is when children's bodies begin to change into adult bodies too soon. They start to develop physical changes before the age of 8 such as breasts ...
It’s 2023, and coming out is, well, complicated
2023-08-03
In an era of unprecedented LGBTQ2+ visibility coupled with incredible backlash, coming out as a sexual minority can be a deeply ambivalent experience, according to new research.
In a study published in Theory and Society, sociologists Dr. Amin Ghaziani and Andy Holmes conducted in-depth interviews with 52 adult Vancouverites about their experiences coming out over the last five years.
We spoke to Dr. Ghaziani (he/him), professor in the UBC department of sociology and Canada Research Chair in Urban Sexualities, about the findings.
Why were you interested in recent experiences of coming out?
Coming out is about sharing your identity with someone, and it’s an ongoing ...
Enhanced tumor modeling using Laponite bioinks for 3D bioprinting
2023-08-03
(LOS ANGELES) – August 3, 2023 - Scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a nanoengineered bioink with improved bonding and cross-linking capabilities for 3D bioprinting of tumor models. A key component of this bioink is Laponite, highly charged, disk-shaped, crystalline nanoparticles. As explained in their recent paper in Biofabrication, these nanoparticles were shown to enhance the biological signaling that occurs in the tumor microenvironment ...
Sharing on Facebook reveals 2 very different news environments
2023-08-03
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A first-of-its-kind study examined 2.2 million news stories shared on Facebook and found that publishers create two very different news environments.
These distinct ecosystems involve low-credibility publishers – those that publish what is sometimes referred to as fake news – versus high-credibility publishers.
Findings showed that while these two types of publishers often pushed out bursts of coverage at the same time – a common feature of news coverage – they were often about different topics, said Kelly Garrett, senior author of the study and professor of communication at The Ohio State University.
“These ...
The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives $18 million award to develop a temperature stable, single-dose chikungunya RNA vaccine through a phase 1 clinical trial
2023-08-03
The Access to Advanced Health Institute Receives $18 Million Award to Develop a Temperature Stable, Single-Dose Chikungunya RNA Vaccine Through a Phase 1 Clinical Trial
KEY POINTS:
The goal of the award is to develop an effective chikungunya vaccine candidate that can reach endemic areas of the world by using AAHI’s innovative RNA platform technology.
The project will demonstrate that classic large-scale manufacturing challenges of live-attenuated vaccines can be overcome by using standard manufacturing equipment and techniques that are easy to tech transfer and scale.
The award supports a first-in-human clinical trial of a dried (lyophilized) ...
A path to defeating crop-killing gray mold without toxic chemicals
2023-08-03
It’s a mold that causes billions in crop losses every year, infecting berries, tomatoes and most other fruits and vegetables. Now, researchers have found a way to defeat the mold without showering toxic chemicals on the crops.
If you’ve ever seen a fuzzy gray strawberry, you’ve seen gray mold. It affects more than 1,400 different plant species, and there is no real cure for it. Being able to control it may hinge on the discovery of lipid “bubbles” secreted by the ...
Disparities in Black adults’ stroke risk factors persist; risk factor control reduced gap
2023-08-03
Research Highlights:
In a retrospective analysis of stroke patients, Black adults who had a stroke due to a severe blockage of a major artery in the brain (intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis) were younger, had higher rates of high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, and had lower physical activity scores compared to non-Black adults.
After one year of aggressive, individualized medical management, including lifestyle coaching and regular follow-up care, diastolic blood pressure and physical activity scores improved among Black adults.
Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023
DALLAS, Aug. 3, 2023 — Significant stroke risk factor disparities ...
Ear today, gone tomorrow? A new discovery in a cause of inner-ear bone loss
2023-08-03
Osaka, Japan – Chronic inflammation of the middle ear can cause several problems and complications that can affect a person’s hearing and balance. One such problem is the formation of a cholesteatoma, which is an abnormal collection of cells in the ear that can cause bone erosion if left untreated. In turn, this can cause symptoms such as hearing loss, dizziness, facial paralysis, and even a brain infection.
In a study published recently in Nature Communications, researchers from Osaka University have revealed the cause of cholesteatomas, which may help in developing new therapies for patients who are suffering ...