New Type of Latex Gloves Could Be Safer

Abstract

Elizabeth Mechcatie is a senior writer with Elsevier Global Medical News. Rubber gloves made from guayule latex, which may prove to be less allergenic than traditional latex rubber, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The new form of natural rubber latex is derived from the guayule bush, a native of the southwestern U.S. desert. The gloves, manufactured by the Yulex Corporation, are the first device made from this form of latex, according to the FDA. A Yulex spokesperson said the company intends to sell guayule rubber to medical device manufacturers. Despite data showing that even people who are highly allergic to traditional latex do not react the first time they are exposed to guayule latex proteins, there are no long-term data, so the product will have a warning about the potential for allergic reactions. Guayule latex gloves “may prove to be a safer alternative for some people with sensitivity to traditional latex” while providing the flexibility and strength of traditional latex gloves, Daniel Schultz, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in an FDA statement. Traditional latex gloves are made from the sap of rubber trees. A unique property of guayule rubber is its very low protein content, explained Robert G. Hamilton, PhD, professor of medicine and pathology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He is on the latex task force at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which has converted entirely to synthetic gloves because of allergy concerns. Before his institution would consider using guayule rubber gloves, a carefully controlled study would have to show safety in people highly sensitive to traditional latex, Dr. Hamilton said in an interview. He is planning such a study. A potential application of guayule rubber is for indwelling urinary catheters, where synthetic catheters may not always be as comfortable as rubber catheters, he added. Dr. Hamilton, who is also director of the dermatology, allergy, and clinical immunology reference laboratory at Johns Hopkins, is on the scientific board of Yulex Corporation.