
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…)
Allergen-specific immunotherapy aims to correct the underlying immune imbalance associated with specific immunotherapy allergic rhi ...
The precise mechanisms underlying the effects of Specific Immunotherapy are not well understood but several studies have shown ...
The increasing prevalence of allergic disease in the Western world has led to the concept of the ‘allergic march’ to describe t ...
Allergen-specific immunotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of IgE-mediated allergy diseases such as rhinitis, conjunc ...
Histamine is a low-molecular-weight monoamine that binds to four different G-protein-coupled receptors, and has recently been d ...

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…)
Regulatory T cells Treg (picture above) is the existence of suppressor cells, which limit ongoing immune responses and prevent ...
An emerging concept is that pro-inflammatory signals lead to loss of Regulatory T Cells (Treg) function. Pasare and Medzhitov ( ...
Treg cells or regulatory T cells constitute a large population of cellular infiltrate in atopic/allergic inflammation and a dys ...
The induction of immune tolerance and specific immune suppression are essential processes in the control of immune responses. R ...
Allergen-specific immunotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of IgE-mediated allergy diseases such as rhinitis, conjunc ...

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…)
This study sought to determine the influence of passive exposure to tobacco smoke during childhood on the results of genetic linkag ...
This study examined the genetic basis of sensitization to house dust mite allergy allergens. A genome scan was conducted usin ...
About twenty percent of patients who have common allergic rhinitis are also having perennial allergic rhinitis symptoms. This f ...
A previous genome-wide screen for mite-sensitive atopic dermatitis asthma in Japanese families indicated linkage to chromosome 5q33 ...
Asthmatic children who also have Allergic Rhinitis seem to have higher morbidity and to use more healthcare resources. This was fur ...

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…)
Patients with severe persistent asthma who are inadequately controlled despite Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2002 step 4 ther ...
Treatment with omalizumab has been shown to reduce serum free IgE concentrations and to have beneficial effects on allergic airway ...
IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has ...
Allergic rhinitis is a very common problem associated with poor quality of life, reductions in social and work activities and p ...
This study evaluated budesonide formoterol efficacy and safety of a novel asthma management strategy for both maintenance and s ...

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…)
The safety of immunotherapy has been a constraint on this form of treatment for allergic disease. Although retrospective survey ...
Specific immunotherapy has been widely used to treat allergic rhinitis symptoms. As with any other form of specific immunotherapy, ...
Allergen-specific immunotherapy aims to correct the underlying immune imbalance associated with specific immunotherapy allergic rhi ...
It is now almost a century since the pioneering work of Noon and Freeman was used to successfully treat hay fever symptoms usin ...
Allergen immunotherapy has proven to be effective in the management of allergic disease and is the only treatment that is able ...
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…)
One of the popular allergy testing besides food allergy testing is skin allergy testing. Allergy patch test is the most commo ...
Diagnosis of food hypersensitivity is a clinical challenge and the only current definitive test is the Double Blind Placebo-Control ...
This population-based cross-sectional study, funded by a UK government agency, aimed to establish the rate of sensitization to food ...
The diagnostic approach to allergic food reactions comprises three steps. The first step includes the medical allergy history, ...
The food eating challenges materials used at different centers vary considerably. Some centers use freeze-dried foods, some use con ...
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…)
The food eating challenges materials used at different centers vary considerably. Some centers use freeze-dried foods, some use con ...
Over the last 5 years some studies have suggested that the atopy patch test (APT) may be a useful test in atopic dermatitis childre ...
Diagnosis of food hypersensitivity is a clinical challenge and the only current definitive test is the Double Blind Placebo-Control ...
The literature on the prevalence of latex allergy in the general population is unclear. The prevalence has been estimated as ra ...
The diagnostic approach to allergic food reactions comprises three steps. The first step includes the medical allergy history, ...
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…)
The quality of an allergen vaccine is a measure of the complexity of the composition, including the concentration of the variou ...
A subcommittee under the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) for the establishment of international standards (IS ...
Allergen vaccines are complex mixtures of antigenic components produced by the extraction of naturally occurring source materia ...
Having determined an adequate potency and complexity in composition, an allergen vaccine may still be deficient in the content of m ...
Being an immunological disease, the characteristics of allergy are those of specificity and memory. Regardless of whether the c ...

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…)
Suspected drug allergy is not easy to investigate. In the UK, few centers have the necessary facilities and expertise, the evid ...
Patients (and many doctors) frequently use the term ‘allergy’ when referring to any adverse drug reaction, even one that has no fea ...
One of the popular allergy testing besides food allergy testing is skin allergy testing. Allergy patch test is the most commo ...
Allergy skin testing is probably the most susceptible and practical way to monitor for existing allergy sensitivity. Biological ...
Over the last 5 years some studies have suggested that the atopy patch test (APT) may be a useful test in atopic dermatitis childre ...

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…)
This study compared the diagnostic value of intradermal tests and patch tests in 20 patients with non-immediate reactions to pe ...
Patients (and many doctors) frequently use the term ‘allergy’ when referring to any adverse drug reaction, even one that has no fea ...
One of the popular allergy testing besides food allergy testing is skin allergy testing. Allergy patch test is the most commo ...
Allergy skin testing is probably the most susceptible and practical way to monitor for existing allergy sensitivity. Biological ...
Over the last 5 years some studies have suggested that the atopy patch test (APT) may be a useful test in atopic dermatitis childre ...