Sublingual Immunotherapy Mechanisms

sublingual immunotherapy
The immunologic mechanisms of sublingual immunotherapy are less established. In Cochrane analysis, the authors concluded that there was an increase in IgG4 but no stable effect on IgE levels in adults. In addition, the induction of allergen-specific IgA has been reported. There are conflicting data concerning lympho-proliferative responses. So far the evidence on changes in Th1/Th2/Treg activity induced by sublingual immunotherapy need to be confirmed. The effects on T-cell reactivity and cytokine secretion show strong variation in a number of studies. (more…)

Foxp3 Forkhead Winged Transcription Factor & Mechanisms Of Suppression

foxp3
The intracellular forkhead winged transcription factor Foxp3 (forkhead box P3) appears to be specifically expressed by naturally occurring Treg cells, particularly in mice, although in humans there is evidence of upregulation of Foxp3 in all T cells on activation. Foxp3 is required for the development and function of naturally occurring regulatory t cells (treg) and expression is sufficient to convert non-regulatory CD4+CD25T cells into cells with regulatory activity. Conversion of peripheral CD4+CD25 naive T cells to Foxp3+CD4+CD25 foxp3+ Treg cells can be induced by TGF-ß. In a murine asthma model, these TGF-ß-induced Treg prevented house-dust mite-induced allergic pathogenesis or infection pathogenesis in lungs. A single independent report has suggested that IL-4 and IL-13 also induce Foxp3+CD25+ Treg from CD4+CD25precursors. (more…)

Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma: Genetic Linkage Regions

allergic rhinitis asthma
Allergic rhinitis and asthma are common comorbidities. Like asthma, the presence of a genetic component in allergic rhinitis has been well established. To identify genetic linkage regions unique to allergic rhinitis, as well as those shared by allergic rhinitis and asthma, a genome screen study was conducted. A total of 295 families in the French Epidemiological Study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma (EGEA) containing 1317 subjects were genotyped for 396 microsatellite markers. The families included had two siblings with DNA available and at least one asthmatic subject. Three definitions of allergic rhinitis were used, two binary and one categorical. To investigate linkages specific to allergic rhinitis (without asthma), linkage analyses were also conducted in 185 families with at most one asthmatic sib. (more…)

Anti IgE Therapy Tolerability with Omalizumab Therapy in Allergic Asthma Patients

Anti IgE Therapy
Anti-IgE therapy could be particularly beneficial for patients with concomitant asthma and rhinitis as it targets a common factor in the two diseases. Omalizumab is significantly more efficacious than placebo in preventing asthma exacerbations and in improving disease-related quality of life scores when added to standard asthma and rhinitis therapies. (more…)

Allergy Immunotherapy with Depigmented Glutaraldehyde-Polymerized Extracts

Allergy Immunotherapy
Allergic rhinitis is a very common problem associated with poor quality of life, reductions in social and work activities and poor interpersonal relationships. The main goal of the management of allergic rhinitis is to improve the quality of life. Immunotherapy is a specific therapy for allergic rhinitis and several reports have documented the safety and efficacy of this treatment . Safety has been a key issue in immunotherapy and various modalities are being investigated to make allergy immunotherapy more tolerable and safe to administer. (more…)

Atopy Patch Test Accuracy in Diagnosing Hypersensitivity to Cow’s Milk & Hen’s Egg

Over the last 5 years some studies have suggested that the atopy patch test (APT) may be a useful test in atopic dermatitis children who have suspected food hypersensitivity and may even obviate the need for oral challenges. An alternative test to oral allergy challenges with high sensitivity and specificity would be helpful in the diagnosis of food hypersensitivity. (more…)

Food Hypersensitivity, Adverse Reactions to Foods & Food Avoidance Among Teenagers

This population-based cross-sectional study, funded by a UK government agency, aimed to establish the rate of sensitization to food allergens, reported food hypersensitivity, food avoidance and objectively assessed food hypersensitivity in 11- and 15-year-olds living on the Isle of Wight, UK. The researchers approached the teenagers via their schools, and a questionnaire completed by the parents and children formed the basis of capturing data to determine the prevalence of current reported food hypersensitivity and rates of food avoidance. This information was available on 775 individuals aged 11 years and 757 aged 15 years. (more…)

Allergen Vaccine Potency by Skin Testing and Vivo Testing

The potency of an allergen vaccine is the total allergen activity (that is, the sum of the contribution to allergenic activity from any individual IgE molecule specific for any t-cell epitopes on any molecule in the allergen vaccine). It follows that potency measures always will depend on the serum pool or patient panel selected as well as the methodology used. Methods used for the assessment of allergen vaccine potency may be divided into in vitro or in vivo techniques. (more…)

Allergic Reactions To Penicillin and Skin Test Evaluation via Intradermal Injection

Intradermal Injection
This study compared the diagnostic value of intradermal tests and patch tests in 20 patients with non-immediate reactions to penicillin (none had IgE antibodies to benzylpenicillin or amoxicillin detectable using a commercial RAST [radioallergosorbent test] method), using 30 patients tolerant to penicillin as controls. Intradermal tests assessed reactivity to injection of major and minor determinants of benzylpenicillin, amoxicillin and ampicillin. Allergy patch testing involved the same hapten solutions used for intradermal testing, either embedded in a patch disk or mixed with petrolatum. (more…)

Penicillin Allergy Testing: Re-prescription Of Penicillin After Allergic-Like Events

Penicillin Allergy Testing
Suspected drug allergy is not easy to investigate. In the UK, few centers have the necessary facilities and expertise, the evidence base of the available diagnostic tests is not robust, and their interpretation of drug allergy reaction is not straightforward. This has led many clinicians increasingly to rely on the patient’s recollection of previous response to individual allergies medicines when anticipating the likely tolerability of future exposure. (more…)

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