Brain tumors less common in people with allergies, study says

A new study shows a link between allergies and a reduced risk of brain tumors.

Allergies are indicative of a hyper-active immune system, yet researchers cannot understand whether allergies blocked the tumors or if tumors blocked the immune system's response to allergies.

According to Science Daily, researchers used records from blood banks over the last 40 years.

They found that those with seasonal allergies had nearly half the rate of certain tumors called glioma.

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Indeed, Medical Daily reported that those whose blood samples contained allergy-related antibodies had an almost 50 percent lower risk of developing glioma 20 years later when contrasted with those who did not have the antibodies.

"It could be that in allergic people, higher levels of circulating antibodies may stimulate the immune system, and that could lower the risk of glioma,” said lead author Judith Schwartzbaum, associate professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University, reported Counsel&Heal.

“Absence of allergy is the strongest risk factor identified so far for this brain tumor, and there is still more to understand about how this association works.”

The study is published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.