allergic rhinitis (ar) is a very frequent disease which is not only characterized by nasal symptoms, but also with behavioural changes. this study evaluated the serum serotonin levels in patients with pollen-induced ar during and outside the pollen season. one-hundred-two  (56 females, 46 males, median age: 28.7 years) were included in this study: 56 with seasonal ar (sar) evaluated outside the...

the aim of the study was to assess the safety of nasal allergen challenge, and the use of certain parameters applied in assessing the condition of the respiratory system. we enrolled 30 patients diagnosed with allergy to common environmental allergens and 30 healthy controls. the safety of nasal challenge tests with an allergen was assessed by measuring the concentration of exhaled nitric oxide...

BACKGROUND The great majority (60-80 %) of patients consulting specialist physicians for allergic respiratory disease are polysensitized and thus may be potentially clinically polyallergic. However, management approaches to allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in polysensitized and polyallergic patients are not standardized. METHODS An international group of clinicians with in-depth expertise in AIT ...

The IgE response has been associated with both allergic reactions and immunity to metazoan parasites. Recently, we hypothesized that all environmental allergens bear structural homology to IgE-binding antigens from metazoan parasites and that this homology defines the relatively small number of protein families containing allergenic targets. In this study, known allergen structures (Pfam domain...

BACKGROUND Avoiding food allergens when eating outside the home presents particular difficulties for food allergic (FA) and intolerant (FI) consumers and a lack of allergen information in restaurants and takeaways causes unnecessary restrictions. Across Europe, legislation effective from December 2014, aims to improve allergen information by requiring providers of non-prepacked foods to supply ...

BACKGROUND Endogenous nitric oxide protects against airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to bradykinin in mild asthma, whereas AHR to bradykinin is enhanced by inhaled allergens. OBJECTIVE Hypothesizing that allergen exposure impairs bronchoprotective nitric oxide within the airways, we studied the effect of the inhaled nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) on ...

The amino acid analysis of the purified allergen from Dirofilaria immitis revealed that it had a total number of 98 amino acid residues. The allergen was remarkably rich on glutamic acid (15 residues), lysine (14 residues) and aspartic acid (12 residues). No half-cystine was obtained. The ratio of the acidic residues to the basic ones was 1.4. The weak positive charge of the allergen is contrib...

BACKGROUND Removing allergen from the indoor environment should be a primary strategy for the management and treatment of allergic disease. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to characterize the distribution of dog, cat, and mite allergen on hard surfaces in homes with and without pets and to evaluate the efficiency of removing allergen from hard surfaces by wiping with a dry dust cloth an...

BACKGROUND Cockroach allergy is common among inner city children with asthma, and exposure to cockroach allergen is associated with more severe disease. However, there has been little evaluation of educational approaches for controlling cockroach infestations and reducing allergen exposure. OBJECTIVE An educational intervention to reduce cockroach allergen exposure in the homes of Hispanic ch...

Exposure to indoor allergens represents a significant risk factor for allergies and asthma in several parts of the world. In Mexico, few studies have evaluated indoor allergens, including cat, dog, and mouse allergens and the factors that predict their presence. This study evaluates the main environmental and household predictors of high prenatal allergen levels and multiple allergen exposures ...