13 Apr 2005
Carlsbad, California)--Commercially manufactured latex from the desert shrub guayule causes no detectable allergic reactions in persons who are sensitive to traditional Hevea latex, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University.
The study involved 180 adult health care workers and 53 children with spina bifida, all demonstrably sensitive to Hevea latex, according to Johns Hopkins Professor Robert G. Hamilton, author of the study. The results of the study suggest that medical devices manufactured with guayule latex should be safe for use by individuals allergic to Hevea latex, Hamilton said.
The Johns Hopkins allergenicity study is the first to involve commercially produced latex, as opposed to latex produced in a laboratory, according to Katrina Cornish, senior vice president for research and development at Yulex Corp. Carlsbad-based Yulex, which holds the licence from the US Department of Agriculture to commercialise guayule latex, provided the latex for Hamilton's study.
press release listing from Yulex Corp.
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