Medical nutrition industry prepares for the first International Congress on DAO Deficiency – NutraSalud
Article published in NutraSalud magazine on November 2, 2021. Publication link
International experts on the various disorders caused by DAO deficiency, in fields as diverse as the digestive system, neurology, genetics, psychiatry, allergology and nutrition, will participate in the first International Congress on DAO Deficiency, organized by DR Healthcare.
DR Healthcare, a business unit of AB Biotek, part of the multinational Associated British Foods, presents the final program for the first International Congress on DAO Deficiency, which takes place on Thursday, November 4.
The conference, which will be broadcast virtually from 10:00 am to 6:45 pm, will feature medical and scientific experts to discuss the most important advances in the treatment of diamine oxidase deficiency (DAO), a disorder that affects people with migraines, fibromyalgia, intestinal problems, skin problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), among other pathologies.
DAO is an intestinal enzyme naturally secreted by the human body, although it can also be consumed as a nutritional supplement to treat its deficiency, which often leads to histamine disorders, a problem faced by millions of people worldwide.
The inaugural session will be given by Dr. Mª Carmen Vidal-Carou, Professor of Nutrition and Bromatology and Director of the Food and Nutrition Campus of the University of Barcelona, who will speak about histamine intolerance.
Experts in fields as diverse as the digestive system, neurology, genetics, psychiatry, allergology and nutrition, all of them related to DAO deficiency and its disorders, will participate in the conference, such as Dr. Oriol Comas-Basté, Dr. Walburga Dieterich, Dr. Eva Ruiz Casares, Dr. Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, and Dr. Joan Izquierdo, among others.
“We are immersed in finding new ways to offer a better quality of life to all those with DAO deficiency,” said Juanjo Duelo, founder of DR Healthcare. “The future is promising, and bringing together leading medical experts and pioneering scientists in this unique meeting to share and exchange information and data will help us to join collective efforts to advance for the benefit of patients.”
“We want to promote awareness of DAO deficiency with an extensive program that includes presentations of scientific studies from specialists worldwide,” mentions Carlos de Lecea, physician and global portfolio manager of AB Biotek’s Human Nutrition and Health division. “The collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of DAO deficiency will contribute to a paradigm shift in this field, whose relevance is growing every day due to the increase in the number of patients.
The event, supported by the International DAO Deficiency Society, will also feature a 3D virtual exhibition section and the opportunity for interaction between registered guests, participants and speakers.
AB Mauri set to lead first-ever virtual congress into DAO enzyme deficiency
Article published in bakeryandsnacks.com the 29-oct-2021, by Gill Hyslop. Publication link
The business unit of AB Biotek – which is part of the global yeast and bakery ingredients specialist – is hosting the first International Congress of DAO Deficiency online on 4 November.
Migraine, itching, stomach pain… This is how DAO deficiency affects you – SABER VIVIR tve
On October 23rd the magazine SABER VIVIR tve published an article about the DAO deficiency, its causes and management called “Migraine, itching, stomach pain… This is how DAO deficiency affects you”.
It is signed by the journalist specialized in health Eva Mimbrero and has the advice of the allergist Dr. Pedro Ojeda, co-director of the clinic Ojeda of Asthma and Allergy and a member of the International Society of Deficit of DAO.
To access the original article click here clic here.
What is histamine?
The article begins by explaining what the histamine molecule is, what its sources are in the organism (since it is produced and stored in certain cells, and can also be acquired through food in the case of a deficit of DAO) and what physiological functions it performs, among which are the secretion of gastric juices, processes of the immune system, neurotransmission in the nervous system, among others.
Which systems are affected?
After introducing the role of histamine in the body, the deficit of DAO and its symptoms are discussed. This consists of an alteration in the metabolism of histamine that comes from food, this alteration being caused by the deficit of the enzyme Diamino Oxidase.
Among its symptoms at the neurological level is migraine (87% of people who suffer from migraine have a deficit of DAO, according to a clinical study conducted in Spain), at the skin level itching, redness, emergence of beans, hives and angioedema, at intestinal level gastric pain, cramps, gas or diarrhea, at gynecological level menstrual pain, at cardiac level palpitations, arrhythmias or tachycardias, and at respiratory level rhinitis and the feeling that it is difficult to breathe.
Which are the causes?
Before going on to talk about methods for the dietary management of the symptoms of DAO deficiency, it is emphasized that DAO deficiency is not an allergic response but that its effects and control are more prolonged over time, being more durable and less instantaneous processes.
Finally, the article identifies the main causes of DAO deficiency, among which are the genetic alteration in the individual’s DAO enzyme, certain inflammatory intestinal disorders that alter the intestinal mucosa where DAO is produced (such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), the consumption of certain drugs that inhibit the enzyme, or the consumption of alcoholic beverages, since alcohol also acts as a potent inhibitor of the enzyme.
How to handle it?
Once these causes have been identified, it ends up talking about the management of the symptoms, in which its three fundamental pillars are the diagnosis of the specific cause in each patient, avoiding the consumption of alcohol and certain foods rich in histamine, as well as keeping a medical control of the drugs that are consumed, and finally following a dietary supplementation of diamond oxidase.
To access the original article click here clic here.
Migraine and DAO deficiency – el farmacéutico.es
You can download the supplement in pdf clicking in the image below or through here. (LANGUAGE: SPANISH)
el farmacéutico.es publishes its supplement nº 585 entitled “Migraine and DAO deficiency (Diamine Oxidase)”.
In this publication the scientific and clinical bases of migraine caused by DAO deficiency are exposed and the diagnostic methods and forms of migraine management caused by this metabolic alteration are shown. Products that can be found in pharmacies for the management and diagnosis of migraine caused by DAO deficiency are also shown.
The supplement has been prepared by the PhD. Medical Writer Antoni X. Torres-Collado and Eva Morán-Salvador, edited by MAYO editions and published on March 2 – 2020.
Contents of supplement nº585 “Migraine and DAO deficiency (Diamine Oxidase)”:
- What is migraine?
1. Classification
2. Symptomatology and diagnosis
3. Management and treatment of migraine - What happens in migraine?
1. Phases of the migraine crisis
2. Phystopathological mechanisms
3. What is histamine? - What is Diamino Oxidase?
- DAO and migraine deficit
1. pregnancy and migraine
2. associated symptoms (migraine comorbidity)
3. Diagnosis
4. Management of Migraine due to DAO deficiency - How to manage migraine due to DAO deficiency from the pharmacy?
1. DAO supplementation in the patient with migraine: food for special medical uses - Bibliography
Dosfarma – Do you know the difference between DAOfood and Migrasin?
Publication of the article “Do you know the difference between DAOfood and Migrasin? In the blog about health and wellness tips, novel and natural beauty treatments dosfarma.com. Language: Spanish.
This paper informatively discusses the role of food histamine and the enzyme diamino oxidase (DAO) in DAO deficiency and its associated pathologies. It also shows us how the DR Healthcare company is one of the pioneer companies in the investigation of this widespread metabolic disorder and informs us of the composition and indications of its DAOfood and Migrasin products. So, if you don’t know the differences between DAOfood and Migrasin, this article will show you what to take in each moment properly.
DAOfood is indicated for the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal, cutaneous and muscular disorders and pathologies. Being its main component the enzyme diamino oxidase (DAO).
Migrasin, containing DAO enzyme, group B vitamins (B6, B9 and B12) and caffeine, is indicated for the treatment and prevention of migraine and muscle headaches.
To access the article in dosfarma.com click here.
Migraines seem to be caused most likely by histamine than by ethanol – Eur J Neurol
The past 20 May was published in the European Journal of Neurology an article in which the doctors Wolfgang J Schnedl and Robert Queissner stated that there was apparently a greater relationship between the cause of migraines and histamine rather than with ethanol present in alcoholic beverages.
In the letter to the editor that have published both doctors, reflect on another recent publication of Onderwater et al, in the same magazine, in which it is intended to show by epidemiological studies a causal relationship between ethanol of alcoholic beverages and the development of migraines in people who consume.
However, both doctors argue that no one has been identified as specific pathophysiologic mechanism that correlate the alcohol intake with migraines and headaches (being the red wine the alcoholic beverage that has been related in the study population of Onderwater et al with migraine).
They argue, in contrast, that greater evidence exists so far as a cause of migraines and headaches are the deficit of the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO) (alteration in the main route of metabolism of dietary histamine and can be present as a heritable genetic alteration) and the effects that generate exogenous histamine and other biogenic amines (such as tyramine, phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, serotonin, tryptamine, agmatin) when they accumulate in plasma after being ingested.
The results of measurement of these amines into alcoholic beverages show that has been quantified higher concentrations in red wine (with concentrations >2,200 μg/L), being double the concentration that can be found in the white wine ( ~900 μg/L), and much higher even than in distilled spirits such as vozka. This difference in concentration also has been related to a lower incidence of migraine in studies in which the population consumed vozka than in the population that consumed wine.
With regard to the pathophysiologic mechanism of the cause of migraines by DAO deficiency, certain genotypes of the enzyme DAO and its allelic variants (all of them involved in a deficit of the enzyme activity) have shown association with increased risk of migraine. On the other hand, recent studies consisting of double-blind randomized trials in which a population of migraine patients were treated with supplements of DAO, have shown a reduction in the number, frequency, and intensity of migraines. States of these results, other studies of supplementation with DAO on patient population with intolerance to histamine (HIT), has shown a reduction of headaches and the rest of the symptoms related to this pathology.
Outside the interest and data and studies shown about people affected with a diagnosis of DAO deficiency and intolerance to histamine, this letter to the editor does not mention the inhibitory role of ethanol on the activity of the diamine oxidase, which explains the syndrome of the hangover after the acute intake of alcohol in people without a diagnosis of HIT or DAO deficiency.
Dr. Wolfgang J Schnedl is professor of internal medicine and doctor in the General Internal Medicine Practice Theodor Könerstrasse (Austria), and Dr. Robert Queissner is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine of the Medical University of Graz (Austria).
According to a study the 90% of migraines can be treated with the enzyme DAO – Interview of RTVE to Juanjo Duelo, CEO of DR Healthcare
7/3/2013 – interview to Juanjo Duelo in rtve 24h. Language: Spanish
These last hours has been spoken about migraines, from which has been made public that the fifteen percent of the world’s population suffers from these tremendous headaches that go beyond a headache. Juanjo Duelo, in addition to suffering from migraines, directs a research team that assures to be able to determine the causes of migraines and most importantly, their solution.
“Our market is the world and we began to be an international reference” – interview in eduscopi to Juanjo Duelo, CEO of DR Healthcare
8/5/2019 – original interview published in eduscopi
The patient Congressman
Affected by strong migraines for many years, Juanjo Duelo, who was dedicated to the world of finance, decided to start to learn first-hand the latest research about this symptom who accompanied him from quite young.
He began to attend medical conferences that addressed the topic of migraine and compared the information he received to that provided by the tests conducted on him his self as a patient at home.
He began to control his diet and saw that between the food and the migraine had some kind of relationship. Determined to find a solution to his problem and for millions of people, looked for researchers that endorse his hypothesis. Twelve years after he created DR Healthcare company with more than 80 patents and now it is a reference on the study of the DAO enzyme.
What prompted the creation, twelve years ago, of DR Healthcare?
We were born as a start-up of the University of Barcelona (UB), always linked to the Department of Nutrition and we seek in the world of academia if there was any research team with interest in our project. We wanted to find some scientific basis that will find the relationship between food and migraine, because until then we had no physiological or chemical explanation to explain this relationship.
Our market is the world and we began to be an international reference” – Juanjo Duelo, CEO of DR Healthcare
What was behind your research?
Doing research on histamine , which is a key molecule in our body because it regulates many functions. The problem is that the same molecule also forms in most of the foods from the diet, and the histamine that everyday we consume with food does not have a physiological function such as the produced by the body. This makes that when it reaches the intestine being degraded, metabolized and eliminated and not absorbed. In this context, a key enzyme in the metabolism of histamine is called Diamine Oxidase (DAO).
There are people who by a motive, mainly genetic, cannot degrade the histamine that ingest from food, and, like is not metabolised, it is absorbed through the intestinal epithelium and then enters the bloodstream and accumulates in the blood. There are individuals who accumulate histamine in the blood faster than others, and there are several others who suffer symptoms earlier than others. But it was never linked before to food because the relationship between you eat the food and the appearance of symptoms does not occur immediately.
In the year 2010 we published the first study that showed that more than 90% of migraine patients had a genetic variation that produces a deficiency in the activity of diamine oxidase enzyme.
Is it being a very productive line of research?
The field of migraine is where we have generated more scientific evidence, that is our main concern. We move in the field of medical nutrition, which is to tackle diseases through nutrition, and we need scientific evidence before looking for the clinical evidence. After publishing many studies on migraine and headaches, now we focus a lot on fibromyalgia or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
What is the solution the company offers to those affected by migraine headaches or symptoms associated to the DAO deficiency?
From a clinical point of view, people who have a DAO deficiency, their track therapy is twofold: on the one hand dietetic, controlling the intake of histamine and other secondary amines. And, depending on the activity level of DAO, other path is, at least in the first stage, restore, replace or complement DAO. And this is where we work in the DAO form animal, plant or biotechnology origin. We speak of very prevalent diseases (migraine, ADHD, fibromyalgia…) and we treat them as symptoms.
Over these 12 years of life where has evolved DR Healthcare?
Now we have abandoned the main focus of migraine and guide our research to the DAO and its role as a biomarker.
And you have decided to get out of Barcelona and seek alliances with the University Rovira i Virgili (URV) through a new R&D&i center in Tarragona
Accurate. The relationship with the UB is really satisfactory for us, but now we have also been attracted by the dynamism of the URV and we think that complement each other well . And in front of the need for growth of the company, we saw that we needed to boost an ambitious center with pilot tests with this enzyme, always with the premise that we didn’t want to leave Catalonia. We are an innovative company that begins to be an international reference and we believe that the relationship with the URV is a good option. With the URV Foundation we want to promote research projects jointly with other areas or departments of the University, always linked to the DAO. This is why who is leading this project is Jaume Bori, a graduate in biotechnology at the URV. He directs the Center for R+D+i and works to turn it into a reference center from where we will promote various projects. Over the years we have become a singular company, since we are the only specialists in DAO and its mainly deficiency and associated symptoms.
We have generated more than 80 patents, all with the enzyme DAO, and we are the only company that has this asset.
What functions assumes the center of Tarragona?
We want to complement the investigation initiated in the UB on DAO of plant origin, and also recombinant DAO. And the more immediate objectives are to begin looking for connectivities in the campus and within the scope of the University in order to find synergies and projects in other areas. At the moment, the forecast is to dedicate a 70% of the activity to research and a 20% to the production of the enzyme.
Which is your market?
Our market is the world. We have generated more than 80 patents, all with the enzyme DAO, and we are the only company that has this asset.
To access the original interview in catalan clic here.
The biomedical company DR Healthcare installs a research center and production plant on the Campus of Rovira i Virgili University – Indicador d’Economia
The center will dedicate 75% of the activity in research and a 25% in the production of the enzyme DiAmine Oxidase (DAO) as an ingredient in functional foods
DR Healthcare has invested 500,000 euros in this new center for research and in the production plant, both located in the Sescelades Campus of the URV (Tarragona, Spain). This biomedical company manufactured in Tarragona the enzyme that is the essential ingredient of its innovative product indicated for the dietary treatment of migraine.“The URV is a dynamic university and in Tarragona we hope to generate many synergies with different research groups located in the same campus” explains Juanjo Duelo, founder and CEO of DR Healthcare.
DR Healthcare was founded 12 years ago as a emergent company (start up) of the Universitat de Barcelona to investigate the relationship between diet and migraine. In 2010 published one of the first studies, which demonstrated the relationship between the DAO deficiency and the triggering of migraine. In these years the company, with headquarters in Barcelona, has focused the activity to generate scientific and clinical evidence about the deficit of diaminooxidase, the key enzyme in the metabolism of histamine. This deficiency leads to a series of associated disorders that, in addition to migraine, include fibromyalgia, dermatological problems, rhinitis, irritable bowel syndrome or Attention Deficiency- Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The dietary product of DR Healthcare for the treatment of migraine obtained last year the official certificate of the European Union that categorizes it as “new food with therapeutic objective.” This new recognition should definitely boost the marketing of the DAO enzyme as “food for special medical purposes,” according to Duelo, beyond the 500 pharmacies in within the Spanish state that they have participated in a pilot test.
The goal of the new plant of DR Healthcare
The company has generated more than 80 patents and the aim of the Tarragona plant is to continue with the production of DAO of animal origin for marketing, in addition to do research to lead to other modalities of this enzyme, such as that of plant and biotechnology origin. “We are the only company specialized in DAO deficiency and in the treatment of its associated symptoms, and we want that the plant of Tarragona to become a center of reference from where we will promote various research projects in collaboration with other departments of the University,” explains Juanjo Duelo, founder and director of the company.The plant has been installed in the building N5 of the Sescelades Campus and will be managed by Jaume Bori, holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology by the URV and PHD in Environmental Engineering. His figure will depend on the scientific department of the company, and will be devoted to seek synergies in the environment of the URV and launch projects with different areas of the University.The incorporation of this new company in the campus is in the line of the University, who wants to promote the relationship with the company and to promote the transfer of knowledge for the benefit of society.
The plant is managed by Jaume Bori, graduated in Biochemistry and Biotecnology by URV.
Other arguments in favor of this location, according to Duelo is that “we are looking for partners to be able to expand all over the world. If we have to use the airport of Tarragona or the Prat, we will obtain the same as if we are in Barcelona.”
Objective of the URV: The attraction of companies of high technological value
The attraction of companies of high technological value is a strategic objective for the URV, who currently maintains advanced negotiations with another company in the health sector. “This type of companies are very interesting because with their level of specialization cause interaction, mutual learning and generate new opportunities and projects. Contribute to raise the bar of the research that we do in the university,” explains Lourdes Jane, director of the Center for Transfer of Technology of the Foundation URV.
Data of interest
The Technology Transfer Center of the Foundation URV managed 318 collaboration contracts with companies and institutions the year 2018. Transfer contracts allow to create applicable solutions, and from the research results that are generated in the university. Of the 190 clients with whom collaborated the URV last year, 85 are private companies. The rest are public entities, associations, foundations and cooperatives. The sum of the value of contracts was supposed to the university 5.6 million euros of income.
Access the original new through here.
This new also has been published in the digital diary of University Rovira i Virgili the 1-4-2019, access the publication here, and in the publication Economic Indicator of URV, access the pdf.
Can you be allergic to alcohol? – Infosalus.com
Published on 28-3-2019 – Infosalus.com – Language: Spanish.
From the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC), Dr. Pedro Ojeda in an interview to the Media Infosalus indicates that there is a clinical non allergic picture, hereinafter referred to as ” non-allergic histaminosis” or “DAO deficiency”, in which alcohol inhibits the function of the intestinal enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO), causing symptoms such as pseudoallergics itching , redness, abdominal pain and migraine.
If this enzyme is deficient, and in addition is inhibited by alcohol, the person who suffers from this disorder can manifest symptoms pseudoallergics to alcohol consumption, such as itching, redness or abdominal pain” – Dr. Pedro Ojeda of the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC).
In response to the question of whether you may be allergic to alcohol, Dr. Ojeda explains that a person may not be allergic to alcohol, if by alcohol is used to mean “ethanol molecule”. However if you may be allergic to alcoholic beverages by its components. As an example, you may be allergic to proteins in barley, wheat or hops from beer, rage allergy symptoms immediately after the first shot.
In the non-allergic histaminosis produced by DAO deficiency, symptoms appear over time as a result of the silent accumulation of histamine and its effects in tissues and organs. On the other hand these non-allergic reactions can affect people of any age range, although they tend to occur in middle-aged and older.
Possible symptoms of non-allergic histaminosis DAO deficit after consuming alcohol
Dr. Ojeda points out that “in the case of non-allergic histaminosis, the symptoms are usually skin redness, itching skin, and sometimes migraine and hangover.”
For the treatment of this symptomatology, the expert of the SEAIC recommends “avoid alcoholic beverages. There are products on the basis of exogenous Diamino Oxygenase that help alleviate the situation.”
Get more information about DAO deficiency, the effects of food histamine and in which food is present.
Get access to the original publication here.