Today you’ll learn about how a cure for peanut allergies could be on the way to being a reality, how scientists are looking into treatments for an unreachable itch, and how a new study reports that talking about your financial debt makes you more likely to pay it off.
Today you’ll learn about how a cure for peanut allergies could be on the way to being a reality, how scientists are looking into treatments for an unreachable itch, and how a new study reports that talking about your financial debt makes you more likely to pay it off.
Peanut Allergy Blocker
Unreachable Itch
Debt Fear
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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/peanut-allergy-blocker-unreachable-itch-debt-fear
NATE: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. Time flies when you’re learnin’ super cool stuff. I’m Nate.
CALLI: And I’m Calli. If you’re dropping in for the first time, welcome to Curiosity, where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind. If you’re a loyal listener, welcome back!
NATE: Today you’ll learn about how a cure for peanut allergies could be on the way to being a reality, how scientists are looking into treatments for an unreachable itch, and how a new study reports that talking about your financial debt makes you more likely to pay it off!
CALLI: Without further ado, let’s satisfy some curiosity!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: Peanut allergies are kind of a serious deal for some people. I actually have a friend who, if he were to so much as have a single peanut, it could potentially kill him. But there is some new hope because scientists have figured out a way to block allergic reactions for people with life-threatening peanut allergies.
NATE: And that's a rough one. I love peanut butter and a lot of other stuff with peanuts in it, so I'm glad I don't have to deal with that particular difficulty. What how does this work? What is this new potential allergy cure?
CALLI: Kind of. First, let's kind of discuss what a peanut allergy is or why it's such a big deal and why a discovery like this is sort of a miracle. Around 1.1% of the U.S. population are believed to have severe, possibly even fatal allergic reactions caused by peanuts. And since there are no preventative treatments available, people that are allergic to peanuts are told to kind of fend for themselves with strict dietary avoidance. The problem is even accidental exposure, such as cross-contamination in a poorly maintained restaurant or even mislabeled or unlabeled food substances can still be quite deadly. Sources vary on this, but as few as 13 and as many as 100 children die of a peanut allergy every year.
NATE: All right. It does sound serious and like it's worth figuring out a way to cure or at least slow this down. What is this new treatment has work.
CALLI: So this is through the use of something called an allergen specific inhibitor molecule. I'm sure you've heard of it before.
NATE: Yes. Classic.
CALLI: To put it simply, it is like a vaccine in that it's a shot that you take, but it functions a little bit differently than a vaccine. Whereas vaccines strengthen your immune system by training it to fight any invasive germs. This inhibitor makes it so the peanut allergens never reach your bloodstream antibodies to begin with.
NATE: Oh, okay. That seems cool, but also difficult. What's stopping the contact there?
CALLI: The team started with a custom molecule known as a covalent hetero bivalent inhibitor or thank goodness CHBI for short. That specifically blocks the peanut allergens from binding to antibodies on the surface of cells known as immunoglobin E or IGE. This is important because if the allergens bind with those cells, it kicks off a chain reaction that creates an allergic reaction. IGE antibodies meet the allergen and the body releases a huge pool of molecules that create inflammation. The body thinks it's fighting off an invasive pathogen, but since all it's actually fighting is a peanut protein, the body actually ends up attacking itself.
NATE: Okay, so this drug, would it be accurate to say that it works like a camouflage for food? I mean, for the actual pathogens in the food.
CALLI: Actually. Yeah, exactly. That's kind of how it works. The IGE is being hidden from the peanut allergen, so it won't lead to the body being at war with itself. Camouflage on a molecular level. It's a really unique approach because this inhibitor starts working before the allergen even has a chance to trigger an allergic reaction.
NATE: All right, so food allergies seem like they're pretty complicated. How do you go about experimenting with something like this? Especially, you know, if someone has an allergy where they'll die if they eat it.
CALLI: Yeah, well, as they usually do, they tested it on mice first. And these mice produce human immune cells by using a single dose of the CHBI. The mice received two weeks of protection against a peanut allergy. And we're not talking about just like a small speck of peanut dust either. The mice were able to eat peanut butter comfortably after the CHBI dose. Even better, they gave mice with a peanut allergy some of that peanut butter without first giving them CHBI. And once the first symptoms of the allergic reaction appeared, they gave those mice CHBI and halted the reaction completely, giving the mice time to recover without the reaction progressing.
NATE: Okay, so it wasn't even just preventative, like they could actually catch it in the act. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Question That usually pops up when we're testing things on mice. When do we get to move to humans trying it out?
CALLI: The good news about this one is the research has been so successful that it's advancing into pre-clinical trials. Now it's only a matter of time before we get word on how effective this actually is for humans. But the researchers also believe that this is only the beginning in the development of other allergen specific inhibitors.
NATE: What do you mean?
CALLI: Okay, They. They call this a platform technology, meaning that the same design and engineering principles can be applied in creating inhibitors to treating other allergies. For instance, they say that it's incredibly likely that this method could be used to treat shellfish allergies or even penicillin allergies. This means that not only could we see the development of a brand new miracle cure for peanut allergies, we might be witnessing the creation of a miracle cure for virtually all food borne allergies entirely.
NATE: Can't wait for everyone with peanut allergies to finally taste peanut butter. It'll blow their minds.
CALLI: I wonder if they're going to like it.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: I think probably everyone at some point has had an itch that was pretty bad and like in a place it was really hard to reach. Well, it turns out that having an unreachable itch is actually a possible clinical diagnosis.
CALLI: Okay. Is the cure just scratching? Like, do you need a back scratcher? How is this clinical?
NATE: Well, it turns out that it's not so simple as that, because this is actually a nerve disorder called no Notalgia Paresthetica or NP for short. And it's a neuropathic syndrome where an itch happens in your mid to upper back that can last for months or even years. And as of right now, there are no FDA approved drugs to treat NP, which means you have a months long itch that even if you can reach, it will not go away.
CALLI: Okay, that sounds like my nightmare. How does this even happen?
NATE: No one really knows for sure, but it's speculated that NPY is caused by damage to certain parts of our spinal nerves known as the cutaneous branches of the dorsal rami. And that damage leads to an itching sensation, which leads to scratching, which in turn makes the condition even worse. And this is something where antihistamines don't work. Most topical creams don't work, and even the ones that do are only reducing symptoms, not treating the ailment entirely.
CALLI: Okay. I didn't even know this was a real thing. I feel awful about this now. How is it being treated?
NATE: It is in fact, a very real thing, but fortunately it may now have a very real treatment. And that treatment is Difelikefalin. And it's a drug that specifically targets Kappa opioid receptors in the body, which are nerves associated with the state of being itchy. These receptors, which are also known as KORs for short, were discovered back in the 20th century when similar pills that target KORs were found to trigger scratching behavior in mice, and since then Difelikefalin and was developed as a treatment for people suffering from chronic kidney disease because a common side effect of the ailment is moderate to severe itching. And researchers wondered then if the drug could be used for other itching-related illnesses such as NP.
CALLI: Awesome. Well, how did they test it?
NATE: This was tested with a double blind placebo-controlled trial study with 126 patients who had been diagnosed with NP, and the patients were randomly assigned to either receive two milligrams of Difelikefalin or a placebo twice a day for eight weeks. And every day the participants completed a rating scale called the Worst Itch Numeric Rating scale, which ranked levels of itchiness from zero or no itch at all to ten, which was defined as the worst itch imaginable. And their weekly average scores were recorded and then compared across the treatment and the placebo groups.
CALLI: I can only imagine that this went really well, but I'd like to know how well.
NATE: The researchers called it encouraging. So at the start of the trial, the baseline score for the entire group was 7.6, a severe itch. By week eight, that score dropped a full four points in the Difelikefalin in-group and two and a half points in the placebo group. So long story short, the itching went down big time. But unfortunately, there were some complications.
CALLI: Of course there were, because there always are. What were these complications?
NATE: The entire Difelikefalin group reported some side effects across the eight week period, including headaches, constipation, dizziness and increased urine output. After the eight week period was over, the researchers asked the group if they would continue taking Difelikefalin, but 19% said that they would not. Due to these side effects. Now, the researchers say that these results aren't reflective of their analysis, but it is worth mentioning that these people traded a debilitating itch for some other potentially nasty side effects.
CALLI: Huh. I mean, I guess I wouldn't blame them. But if it came down to extreme discomfort of itch over those side effects, yeah, that that would be hard choice. So what's next?
NATE: Larger and longer trials and more of an assessment into whether a Difelikefalin is safe as an NP treatment, it has already made it far enough down the road that it's scheduled for a phase three clinical trial though, and could end up becoming the very first FDA approved drug targeting NP.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: Nate, I have got a really fun question for you today. How much debt are you in?
NATE: I'm not planning on talking about that while Nick the sound engineers around and we're recording it personal.
CALLI: Okay, well, I've got some bad news for you. A new study has revealed that it's the people who are honest about their level of debt and are willing to ask for help that are more likely to actually get their finances in order.
NATE: All right. Tell me about this study then.
CALLI: All right. So this was a collaboration between Miranda Goode and associate professor of marketing at Western University's Ivy Business School, and Michael Moorehouse, an assistant professor of marketing at Wilfred Laurier University. The study looked into the psychology of people that were self-defined as being in some form of financial debt. They teamed up with a financial education company whose customers began the course with an average of $36,000 in debt and an average household income of $86,000. The study looked into two types of students, ones who received financial help from professional instructors in a private online setting, or ones who took part in a community based class, which could be compared to a sort of support group for people in debt.
NATE: All right. That seems like a pretty precise study. So that's good, I guess. Why is it important to know about the differences in how we deal with debt?
CALLI: Because at the start, Goode discovered that 20% of people in debt worried either moderately or severely about being in debt. And those were just the people who self-described as being anxious about other people's opinions.
NATE: Okay. Yeah, that that makes sense.
CALLI: So those same people also admitted to being much more secretive and unwilling to talk to their closest friends or family about their debt. So the reason communication matters is because 80% of all American families have an average of $38,000 in consumer debt. On top of things like mortgage and credit card delinquencies are expected to rise above 2% by the end of 2023. Since peer support has been shown to help people in other situations where people could be afraid of any kind of social stigma, things like addiction support groups, Goode believed it was worth looking into whether peer support could also help with debt.
NATE: Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. So what did the study learn what they find?
CALLI: Well, people who met with private instructors over the course of the study paid off an average of $3,531 in debt. But the students in the community group paid off $4370. Anyone who had previously stated they were afraid of being judged for their debt actually paid off more on average in the group setting. They also reported a 15% increase in their well-being, compared to a much smaller 8% in the private instruction setting.
NATE: That's kind of cool. All right. So what is it about the group setting that works so well and helps these people make these changes?
CALLI: It's kind of because it's an entire group of people that are coming from a common ground and being afraid of how their loved ones will react to it. A lot of the less successful participants feelings about how big their debt was proved to be an important predictor of financial stress, meaning that being stressed about debt made people more likely to end up in more debt. Since one of the rules of the community group is to be free of judgment, it made the participants more motivated than the other participants to take care of their debt because, metaphorically speaking, they can see their own hard work reflected in the actions of their peers.
NATE: Hmm. All right. Yeah. So what do we take away from this study to help us further down the road?
CALLI: The study suggests more community based debt reduction so that more groups can prioritize the mental health of people in debt without judgment. If people don't have access to community groups that do this kind of work. Another suggestion is for private instructors to set up small group activities. The message that needs to come across is you are not alone in this and you don't need to be.
NATE: All right. You've convinced me. Here's a dollar for dollar breakdown of every bit of debt I'm in.
CALLI: Oh, boy.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Let’s recap what we learned today to wrap up.
CALLI: Peanut allergies are no joke, with millions of people affected annually by the effects of this tasty treat across the world. But a new method has been developed that might make peanut allergies a thing of the past. With the use of a sort of “molecular camouflage,” scientists have been able to completely prevent the negative effects of a peanut allergy within mice. Researchers are confident that if the treatment is successful for humans, it could lead to preventative treatments for other allergies, such as shellfish or penicillin.
NATE: Got an itch you just can’t scratch? There’s a chance that it could be an actual disease known as notalgia paresthetica, and it won’t go away with any FDA-approved treatment - unless the fine people developing a treatment have anything to say about it! A drug called Difelikefalin that can treat nerve-related itching is about to begin Phase III of trial testing soon - and if it passes, it could become the first ever FDA-approved treatment for NP!
CALLI: Financial debt is common for most Americans and yet it’s considered socially stigmatizing to talk about debt - or even ask for help with it. A new study suggests that finding commonality with other people in debt in a group setting, however, can actually contribute to LESS debt for people overall. As they say, there’s no I in team - and there’s no I in debt, either!