Mugwort allergy: MedUni Vienna study creates basis for vaccine

A research team at MedUni Vienna has discovered key mechanisms of allergy to pollen from the common weed mugwort, thereby also laying the foundation for the development of the world's first vaccine. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) poses a serious problem for allergic individuals in our latitudes from July through to September. Currently, the symptoms, which often lead to asthma, can only be treated symptomatically. The recent findings are an essential first step toward causal therapy and prevention of mugwort pollen allergy. The landmark study has now been published in the prestigious "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology". In their preclinical research, the scientists started at the point of origin of mugwort pollen allergy. They discovered where and how the immunoglobulin E (IgE) type antibodies detect the major mugwort pollen allergen (Art v 1) and trigger the exaggerated immune response.