The mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus has been identified in dust from the houses of children in Birmingham suffering from asthma. Skin tests were carried out on 150 asthmatic children with extracts of D. pteronyssinus, of the related species D. farinae, of other mites found in house dust, and of crude house dust. Though positive reactions to D. pteronyssinus were obtained more frequently and...

Specific IgE against Acarus siro, Glycphagus domesticus, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, and Lepidoglyphus destructor have been investigated by ELISA in sera of 92 children. Of them, 41 were found to be specific IgE positive (> or = 0.35 IU/ml) against at least one of house dust mite species, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae, by an immunoblot. In 65.9% of the dust mite-sens...

House dust mites are common pests with an unusual evolutionary history, being descendants of a parasitic ancestor. Transition to parasitism is frequently accompanied by genome rearrangements, possibly to accommodate the genetic change needed to access new ecology. Transposable element (TE) activity is a source of genomic instability that can trigger large-scale genomic alterations. Eukaryotes h...

BACKGROUND Although exposure to house dust mite allergen is a major risk factor for allergic sensitization and asthma, nationwide estimates of dust mite allergen levels in US homes have not been reported. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of dust mite allergen in beds of US homes and to identify predictors of dust mite allergen concentration. METHODS Data we...

A double-blind clinical trial of hyposensitization with aqueous extracts of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (the house-dust mite) and human skin scales showed a substantial improvement in symptoms in 11 asthmatics allergic to house dust treated with the D. pteronyssinus extract and a reduction in their need for other therapy. Five patients were well for a year but six relapsed. These results con...

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 etiology of chronic urticaria and angioedema remains uncertain in most of the patients. There are several agents and factors including medications, foods and food additives, infections, contactants, inhalants, physical factors and autoimmunity that implicated in provoking urticaria symptoms. In addition, the possible role of house dust mites has been considered in a few reports. We investig...

BACKGROUND Cross-sectional studies have reported a lower prevalence of sensitization in older adults, but few longitudinal studies have examined whether this is an aging or a year-of-birth cohort effect. OBJECTIVE We sought to assess changes in sensitization and total IgE levels in a cohort of European adults as they aged over a 20-year period. METHODS Levels of serum specific IgE to common...

BACKGROUND Studies have demonstrated that IgE-binding cross-reactive epitopes between shrimp, cockroach, and house dust mite tropomyosins can account for the presence of detectable IgE to shrimp in patients with cockroach and dust mite allergies. OBJECTIVE We investigated the correlation between IgE-mediated sensitization to shrimp, cockroach, and dust mite in relation to allergen exposure in...