BACKGROUND The GA2LEN chamber has been developed as a novel mobile allergen exposure chamber (AEC) allowing standardized multicenter trials in allergy. Hitherto, subjective nasal symptom scores have been the most often used outcome parameter, but in standardized modern trials objective parameters are preferred. Despite its practicability, the objective parameter peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNI...

Although human experimental studies have shown that gaseous pollutants enhance the inflammatory response to allergens, human data on whether combustion particulates enhance the inflammatory response to allergen are limited. Therefore, we conducted a human experimental study to investigate whether combustion particulates enhance the inflammatory response to aeroallergens. "Enhancement" refers to...

BACKGROUND Allergy diagnosis in patients exposed to multiple pollen species is complex and misdiagnosis is often a cause for unsuccessful specific immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE We studied the sensitization profile of individual allergens (major, minor and pan-allergens) in pollen-sensitized patients in a region with high exposure to olive pollen by investigating the influence of minor allergens on...

BACKGROUND The efficacy of Lactobacillus paracasei NCC 2461 in modulating allergic rhinitis was previously evaluated in two exploratory clinical studies. Oral administration with NCC 2461 reduced specific subjective symptoms following nasal provocation tests with controlled grass pollen allergen concentrations. Our aim was to confirm the anti-allergic effect of NCC 2461 in grass pollen allergic...

OBJECTIVE Using a model of natural allergen exposure, we examined the effect of regular treatment with salmeterol on allergen-induced changes in airway responsiveness and exhaled nitric oxide (ENO). DESIGN Double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study. SETTING Specialist allergy unit in a university hospital. PATIENTS Asthmatic patients sensitized to pollen allergens were randomly alloca...

Allergen exposure plays a major role in the development of sensitization, inflammation and symptomatic asthma. The development of new means of detecting allergens has enabled the evaluation of the effect of a reduction in allergen exposure to be better assessed. In order to prevent allergen exposure it is necessary to determine the allergen sources and reservoirs to which avoidance measures sho...

BACKGROUND Natural allergen contact induces an increase of IgE levels and sensitivity but the mechanisms underlying the allergen-specific memory responses are poorly understood. Furthermore, it has not been studied whether allergen exposure affects the molecular reactivity profiles in patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of nasal allergen encounter on the molecular profi...

BACKGROUND Specific allergen from various pollen types has been found to be carried through the outdoor air, not only by intact pollen grains, but also by much smaller, paucimicronic particles. There is no complete agreement on whether, for birch (Betula), the seasonal appearance of atmospheric pollen allergen follows the fluctuation pattern of the pollen season. METHODS Assessment of birch-p...

BACKGROUND Birch pollen is the major allergen in pollinosis in northern Japan. IgE reactivity to individual birch pollen allergens has been shown to differ between populations of birch pollen-allergic patients living in different countries. In this study, we examined the IgE profiles to recombinant birch pollen allergens in birch-sensitive patients living in Sapporo. METHODS This study used t...

Abstract Pollen allergies are responsible for a considerable global public health burden, and understanding exposure is critical to addressing the impacts. Atmospheric pollen counts routinely used as predictor of risk; however, immune responses triggered by specific proteins known allergens, which occur both within on surface grain. The ratio between atmospheric allergen concentrations (‘pollen...