Pathology

Description

Secretors tend to have higher levels of IgE than non-secretors. Type B tends to get pollen allergies more often than the other blood types, and Type O a bit less. Type B is associated with greater severity of chronic inflammatory diseases of the lungs. Asthma from chronic lung inflammation is also more common in Type B. In a population of Georgians, 293 patients with respiratory allergies, 83 patients with bronchial asthma, and 215 healthy subjects were studied to determine the relationship between respiratory diseases and blood type, Rh status, MN status, and secretor status. Researchers found that markers for bronchial asthma and pollinosis showed that the risk for the development of severe bronchial asthma was higher in Type B patients, and mild-to-moderate in Type O patients. Type O was at greatest risk for respiratory allergies. The highest resistance to respiratory allergies was found in Type AB. In cases of house dust allergy, Type O individuals had higher levels of IgE synthesizing B-lymphocytes than the other blood types. Type A had significantly lower levels. (1) In a study of 228 coal miners asthma was significantly related to the non-secretor phenotype, especially Type O. Lower lung function was observed in Type A, and to a lesser extent in Type B. (2)

Dietary lectins have been shown to induce the production of Interleukin-4, which in turn activates IgE. (3) This perhaps explains why one of the more common benefits reported by those who follow the blood type food plans is an improvement in allergic manifestations, sinusitis, and asthma. Many bacteria use lectins to attach to host tissue, and these lectins are some of the more highly allergenic parts of the organism. Many food lectins trigger IgE, including lectins found in bananas, chestnuts, and avocados, all implicated in what has been termed "latex fruit allergies." Kiwi fruit lectins also trigger IgE. Lectins from pea, broad bean, lentil, jack bean, soybean, peanut, and wheat germ have been shown to bind directly with IgE and initiate the release of histamine, which can produce a feeling of spaciness, a condition characterized by an inability to focus and concentrate.

References

1. Khetsuriani NG, Gamkrelidze AG J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 1995 Jan-Feb;5(1):35-9

2. Kauffmann F, Frette C, Pham QT, Nafissi S, Bertrand JP, Oriol R Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1996 Jan;153(1):76-82