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…)

Treg Cells In Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy

treg cells
Treg cells or regulatory T cells constitute a large population of cellular infiltrate in atopic/allergic inflammation and a dysregulated immune response appears to be an important pathogenetic factor. Cardinal events during allergic inflammation can be classified as activation, organ-selective homing, survival and reactivation, and effector functions of immune system cells. T cells are activated by aeroallergens, food antigens, autoantigens, and bacterial exotoxins superantigens in allergic inflammation. They are under the influence of the skin, lung, or nose-related chemokine network and show organ-selective homing. (more…)

Tumour Necrosis Factor Effects on Antagonism On Allergen-Mediated Asthmatic Airway Inflammation

Tumour Necrosis Factor is a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway inflammation, hyper-reactivity and remodelling. The primary aim of the trial was to assess whether TNF antagonism, using a soluble Tumour Necrosis Factor receptor (TNFR:Fc etanercept, Enbrel ® ), can attenuate eosinophilic airway inflammation in patients with mild to moderate allergic asthma. (more…)

Effects Of Treatment With Anti-Immunoglobulin E Antibody Omalizumab

IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has significant anti-inflammatory effect and reduces serum and airway IgE, but IgE or eosinophils may not be causally linked to airway bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine in mild to moderate asthma. (more…)

Antigen-Specific Cd4 T Cells Drive Airways Smooth Muscle Remodeling In Experimental Asthma

Cd4 T Cells
Airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma may involve smooth muscle growth, a manifestation of airway remodelling. The involvement of inflammatory cells in the induction of airway smooth muscle growth was studied in vivo and ex vivo in a brown Norway rat model of asthma. Transfer of CD4 + T lymphocytes from ovalbuminsensitized animals induced an increase in airway smooth muscle mass in naive animals upon repeated ovalbumin challenge. Ex vivo, coculture of antigen-stimulated CD4 + T cells and airway smooth muscle cells led to myocyte proliferation and prolonged T-cell survival. (more…)

Omalizumab Treatment, A Humanized Monoclonal Anti-Ige Antibody, On Nasal Reactivity To Allergen And Local Ige Synthesis

Treatment with omalizumab has been shown to reduce serum free IgE concentrations and to have beneficial effects on allergic airway disease. However, its effect on local IgE synthesis is unknown. The authors investigated whether omalizumab therapy diminishes nasal reactivity to allergen and local IgE production. Nineteen patients with perennial allergic rhinitis were treated with intravenous omalizumab every 2 weeks for 26 weeks in an open-label study. (more…)

Non-Allergic Rhinitis – Causes and Treatments

Non-Allergic Rhinitis Treatment
Non-allergic rhinitis is defined by the absence of positive SPTs or radioallergosorbent test (RAST) to common allergens. Ideally, it should include a negative response to likely nasal allergen challenge since local nasal IgE synthesis has been demonstrated. In practice, the diagnosis is usually dependent on there being no offending allergen apparent from the clinical history. As advancing age is associated with reduced IgE levels and a reduced prevalence of positive SPTs, this may be a confounding factor when assigning rhinitics into atopic and non-atopic subgroups. Such age-related changes contribute to the fall in the apparent prevalence of allergy among persistent rhinitics from around 80% in childhood to below 20% in elderly people. Epidemiologic studies of a population of nearly 3000 patients in Tucson, Arizona, have shown that the prevalence of symptoms of allergic rhinitis is as high as 30% even in those with very low ageadjusted serum IgE scores. This emphasizes that there is a nonallergic subgroup to rhinitis. (more…)

Pediatric Allergy – Children Allergic Treatment and Medication

pediatric allergy

pediatric allergy children
Treatment of allergic diseases in childhood presents unique challenges, as both the beneficial effects and the detrimental effects of intervention(s) may last for decades and even for a lifetime. Most allergic diseases are managed in a community setting by primary care physicians, rather than in a hospital setting by allergy specialists. Here, we describe outpatient treatment, which is focused on prevention and relief of morbidity from allergic diseases and on the identification of children at high risk (more…)

Nose Inflammation and Nasal Allergen

nose inflammation nasal allergen
After nasal allergen challenge, substance P and CGRP are released into nasal secretions of atopic patients . In allergic rhinitis patients, but not in normal control subjects, exogenous substance P induces nasal obstruction. (more…)

Gas Air Pollution and Their Effects to Asthma

air pollutants asthma effects
Sulfur Dioxide

The effects of SO2 have been extensively reviewed. Total emergency room visits for respiratory problems and increased hospital admission rates have been linked with increased ambient exposure to SO2. In children, decreased lung function has been linked to increases in ambient sulfur dioxide levels and the likelihood (more…)