Now with a new grant from a national allergy foundation, University of Florida College of Nursing researchers will try to learn why symptoms get worse at night. UF College of Nursing Associate Professor Helene J. Krouse, a certified otolaryngology nurse practitioner, was awarded the grant to determine if there is a connection between sleep cycles, allergy symptoms and cytokine levels produced during sleep. Cytokines are hormone-like proteins produced by various cells to help regulate the intensity and duration of the body's immune response to allergens.
Cytokines also help cells communicate with each other.
Krouse, the principal investigator on the grant, is an otolaryngology nurse practitioner. Her co-investigators are Jean Davis, a neurophysiology nurse, and Dr. John Krouse, an otolaryngology physician in Volusia County and clinical professor of otolaryngology at the UF College of Medicine. It is not well understood why the nighttime swelling occurs. She further explained that it is not known whether the cytokines produced during sleep are the same cytokines that affect allergy symptoms. However, previous studies show that patients with allergic rhinitis exhibit increased allergy symptoms within the first few hours of awakening, Davis said.