BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Sublingual immunotherapy was first described in 1986. Since then, its use has been increased as an alternative to subcutaneously administered immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The most common side effects are of oropharyngeal and gastrointestinal in nature, for example, itching, swelling, irritation, ulceration of the oropharynx and nausea, abdominal pai...

investigated by immunoblot with serum from individuals sensitized to anisakis or shrimp. IgE binding patterns in the immunoblots were used for the identification of major Anisakis allergens, which were analysed by mass spectrometry-based proteomics in ESI-Orbitrap, after separation on SDS-gel. Results: Four new allergen candidates were identified. The first identified allergen was enolase, whic...

Molds and allergens are common indoor biocontaminants. The aims of this study were to assess the concentrations of common molds in indoor air and floor dust and the concentrations of house dust mite, cat and dog allergens in mattress dust in French dwellings, and to assess predictors of these concentrations. A sample of 150 houses in Brittany (western France) was investigated. Airborne Cladospo...

Background: In order to characterize human antibodies with specificity for mite allergens at the molecular level, a scFv phage display library was constructed using peripheral blood mononuclear lymphocytes from an asthma patient allergic to mite as Ig gene sources. Methods: Immunoglobulin VH and V gene fragments were obtained by polymerase chain reaction, and randomly combined in pCANTAB-5E vec...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of asthma among schoolchildren and to determine the level house dust mites in Kuwaiti homes and its role in asthma and rhinitis. SUBJECTS AND METHOD The International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Children questionnaire was distributed to schoolchildren in the age group of 5-7 years, after random sampling from all the five governor...

BACKGROUND House dust mites have been considered the most important source of allergens for humans. These allergens have been encountered at different indoor sites, mainly on mattresses and pillows. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the number and different specimens of mites on Brazilian bunk-bed mattresses. METHODS Dust samples were collected once using a standardized method on the upper mattress sur...

BACKGROUND Few studies have yet addressed the effects of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in house dust on human nasal mucosa. OBJECTIVES We investigated the effects of house dust containing DEHP on nasal mucosa of healthy and house dust mite (HDM)-allergic subjects in a short-term exposure setting. METHODS We challenged 16 healthy and 16 HDM-allergic subjects for 3 hr with house dust at a...

On-site home visits, consisting of a home inspection, dust sampling, and questionnaires were conducted in 777 homes belonging to an ongoing birth cohort study in Cincinnati, Ohio. Various home characteristics were investigated, and antigen levels (concentrations [microg/g] and loadings [microg/m(2)]; IU for cockroach allergen) in floor dust samples collected in child's primary activity room wer...