Inhaled corticosteroids are capable of reducing the level of exhaled nitric oxide (expiratory nitric oxide fraction (FE,NO)) in asthmatic patients in a dose-dependent fashion. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether or not treatment with an inhaled steroid can prevent changes in FE,NO after the exposure to relevant allergens, following avoidance, in asthmatic children allergic to house du...

The scabies mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, is the causative agent of scabies, a disease that is common among disadvantaged populations and facilitates streptococcal infections with serious sequelae. Previously, we encountered large families of genes encoding paralogues of house dust mite protease allergens with their catalytic sites inactivated by mutation (scabies mite inactivated protease paralogue...

OBJECTIVES Allergens produced by domestic mites (DM) are among the most common allergic sensitizers and risk factors for asthma. To compare exposure levels between workplaces and living areas a new assay able to measure airborne DM antigen concentrations was developed. METHODS At workplaces and in living areas, 213 floor dust samples and 92 personal inhalable dust samples were collected. For ...

atopic dermatitis (ad) is a heterogeneous disease with regard to clinical phenotype and natural history. we investigated t cell subtypes and cytokine responses in peripheral blood and skin lesions of ad patients with various sensitivities. immunological studies were performed in 27 subjects: 9 house dust mite (hdm)-sensitized; 6 subjects with sensitizations other than hdm; 7 non-allergic ad pat...

mite allergens. Although mites were first grown on human skin scales collected from barber shops and on yeast [1] , other food media used included fish food flakes, dried Daphnia, dog food, rodent chow, several cereal preparations, and even mold cultures [2] . Due to their position in the trophic chain, mites mainly feed on proteins found in house and mattress dust. A supplement of yeast is als...

House dust mites are found in almost all dwellings in New Zealand and are a major risk factor in the development of asthma and perennial allergic rhinitis. We studied the longevity, life stage length, and fecundity of a New Zealand strain of European house dust mite, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Trouessart), at constant (23 degrees C, 75% RH) and the fluctuating conditions typically found in...

BACKGROUND Children with asthma have a high prevalence of environmental allergies, especially to indoor allergens. The relationships of exposure to indoor allergens (dust mites, cat, dog, cockroach, and molds) and other host factors to allergy sensitization have not been evaluated simultaneously in a large cohort. OBJECTIVES We studied 1041 children aged 5 to 12 years with mild-to-moderate as...

The contribution of the HLA-DRB1, -B3, and -B5 gene products in the recognition of Dermatophagoides spp. (house dust mite) by helper T cells isolated from an atopic individual (HLA-DRw12, DR7; DRw52b) with perennial rhinitis was investigated. Using a panel of histocompatible and histoincompatible accessory cells, the restriction specificity obtained for a long term T cell suggested that a compo...

OBJECTIVES The therapeutic benefit of specific immunotherapy (SIT) in allergic rhinitis and asthma has been endorsed by expert consensus. This study compared the cost/efficacy (C/E) of SIT with current symptomatic treatments (CST) for allergic rhinitis and asthma. METHODS A C/E analysis was performed using a decision tree model. The decision tree and medical and economic hypotheses were defin...