Washington University School of Medicine Digital Commons@Becker Washington University Record Washington University Publications 9-30-1993 Washington University Record, September 30, 1993 Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record Recommended Citation "Washington University Record, September 30, 1993" (1993). Washington University Record. Book 630. http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/record/630 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington University Publications at Digital Commons@Becker. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Record by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Becker. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. TnSexea' WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS iecord Vol. 18 No. 6 Sept. 30,1993 Pioneering work is good news/bad news for allergy sufferers Those who dread the sneezin' and wheezin' season — or simply the idea of allergies in general — face a new concern brought to light by a Washington University immunobiologist. Anu Dixit, Ph.D., a National Institutes of Health fellow at Washington University, has identified the allergenic proteins of a little- known but major allergen that, unlike most allergens we're familiar with, is a potential health threat year-round. The allergen, Epicoccum nigrum (EN), is a fungus, not pollen from a flowering plant, and it can be found everywhere — from clothes, to drapes and air-conditioning ducts indoors, to leaves, plants, rocks and soil outdoors. Allergists have known for years that a limited range of fungi (interchange- ably referred to as molds) have allergenic properties. Dixit's study is the first to show that allergenicity to EN is a concern in two climatologically distinct areas of the country — St.