Blood-feeding arthropods-like mosquitoes, sand flies, and ticks-transmit many diseases that impose serious public health and economic burdens. When a blood-feeding arthropod bites a mammal, it injects saliva containing immunogenic compounds that facilitate feeding. Evidence from Leishmania, Plasmodium and arboviral infections suggests that the immune responses elicited by pre-exposure to arthro...

Activities of the endocannabinoid system are believed to be substantially involved in psychostimulant and opioid addiction. Nevertheless, interactions between cannabinoid and opioid systems are not yet fully understood. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the interaction between morphine and the cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist arachidonylcyclopropylamide (ACPA) in behavioural...

Background Infants with family history of atopy are considered at high risk for developing allergic disease. Environmental exposures are modifiable risk factors with a potential for intervention to prevent allergy. Children who develop house dust mite (HDM) sensitisation by pre-school age are at higher risk of developing asthma. Prevention of HDM sensitisation in early childhood by immune modul...

Background Advances in the characterization of allergens have allowed the development of new diagnostic tools based on purified and recombinant allergens. The complex information provided by these multiplexed systems needs a careful interpretation in the light of the local characteristics of patients. Therefore, there is a need to define the sensitisation profiles of each population. The aim of...

BACKGROUND Hymenoptera venom-allergic patients frequently present multiple sensitisations. OBJECTIVES To define the allergic profile by components in wasp allergic patients. To study the usefulness of specific IgE to components in cases of double sensitisation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Wasp allergic patients who needed Polistes and/or Vespula venom immunotherapy were included. Before immunothe...

BACKGROUND Correct diagnosis of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated disease is the prerequisite for secondary allergy prevention during early childhood. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of a new blood test, Phadiatop Infant, in detecting IgE sensitisation to food and inhalant allergens among children at 2 years of age. METHODS Children (n = 239) were followed prospectively from bir...

No large study has described the seasonal variation in asthma attacks in population-based asthmatics in whom sensitisation to allergen has been measured. 2,637 young adults with asthma living in 15 countries reported the months in which they usually had attacks of asthma and had skin-prick tests performed. Differences in seasonal patterns by sensitisation status were assessed using generalised ...

OBJECTIVES To determine asthma and allergy phenotypes in unselected urban black teenagers and to associate bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) with asthma, other atopic diseases and allergen sensitisation. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study of 211 urban high-school black children of Xhosa ethnicity. Modified ISAAC questionnaires regarding asthma, eczema and rhinitis were administered. ...

WINNING ABSTRACT: Prior evidence has suggested a direct relationship between the level of house dust mite (HDM) allergen exposure, sensitisation and asthma. A recent cross-sectional study indicated a bell-shaped relationship between HDM exposure and sensitisation [1]. We examined the effects of cumulative HDM allergen exposure during the first 5 years of life on outcomes at age 5 years in Sydne...

There is current evidence to demonstrate a close association between fungal sensitisation and asthma severity. Whether such an association is causal remains to be confirmed, but this is explored by means of a detailed literature review. There is evidence from two randomised controlled trials that, in the example of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), treatment with systemic antifung...