Mice reveal new, severe form of allergy

As miserable as allergies may be, people can at least try to stay away from the allergens that trigger reactions. But, what if a person is allergic to himself?

Researchers studying an induced condition in mice akin to multiple sclerosis have stumbled across just such a situation. When injected twice with a protein fragment that mimics one of their own, these mice had a severe allergic reaction, according to a report by neuroimmunologist Rosetta Pedotti of Stanford University and her colleagues in the March Nature Immunology.