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Newfound immune cells are responsible for long-lasting allergies

Knowing the cells’ identities might lead to new allergy treatments or cures

A young female-presenting person with allergies sneezes into a white handkerchief. They have brown skin and black hair pulled back into a ponytail. They are wearing a light yellow shirt and a backpack with black straps with a neon green camping roll strapped across their shoulders. Trees in various shades of green are blurred in the background.

Some allergies last a lifetime. Scientists have now identified the specific type of immune cell at the root of those long-lasting allergies.

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By Tina Hesman Saey

Allergy sufferers may one day be able to erase the source of their congestion, itchy skin and swollen lips and throat thanks to two studies that have uncovered elusive immune cells that maintain allergies over the long haul, often for a lifetime.