Glucocorticoids, secreted by the adrenals in response to stress, have profound effects on behavioural responsiveness to psychostimulant drugs. We have studied the critical time-window for the influence of corticosterone on behavioural sensitisation to cocaine in relation to i) the stage of behavioural sensitisation, and ii) the time of drug exposure. Previously, we have identified a mouse strai...

TITLE OF THE TEST GUIDELINES (YEAR OF APPROVAL): In Chemico Skin Sensitisation: Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (DPRA), OECD 442C (adopted 2015) In Vitro Skin Sensitisation: ARE-Nrf2 Luciferase Test Method, OECD 442D (adopted 2015) In Vitro Skin Sensitisation: Human Cell Line Activation Test (h-CLAT) (draft OECD TG under discussion, EURL ECVAM recommendation published 2015) In vivo tests: Skin ...

BACKGROUND German cockroach or Blattella germanica is commonly found in homes across the inter-tropical region. The contribution of sensitisation to Blattella germanica in people with asthma in sub-Saharan Africa has not received attention. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and investigate the predicting factors of sensitisation to Blattella germanica in patients with asthma in...

BACKGROUND No longitudinal studies exist on the natural history of food hypersensitivity and IgE sensitisation to food allergens in adults. OBJECTIVE To examine the natural history of food hypersensitivity, the natural history of IgE sensitisation to food allergens and to investigate the risk factors for new onset food hypersensitivity. METHODS Food hypersensitivity was questionnaire-assess...

BACKGROUND Sensitisation to pan-allergens has become an interesting tool for the study of the allergenic profile of different populations. Profilins are one of the most common pan-allergens to be studied because they are responsible for a large number of sensitisations and are clearly related to cross-reactivity and co-sensitisation. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to investigate t...

OBJECTIVES Sensitisation of asthmatic patients to mites in sub-Saharan Africa has been less described. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of sensitisation to mites in asthmatic adolescents and adults in Yaounde, Cameroon. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional study. Logistic regression models were employed to investigate the determinants of sensitisation to mites....

BACKGROUND While the prevalence of asthma in children is decreasing or remaining the same, time trends in the prevalence of rhinitis in children are not known. Understanding sensitisation trends may help inform about trends in asthma and rhinitis prevalence. OBJECTIVE To assess time trends of wheeze, rhinitis and aero-allergen sensitisation prevalence at 10 years of age, we compared two birth...

BACKGROUND Exposure to allergens in early life may predispose subjects to develop allergies and diseases related to allergic sensitisation. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between month of birth and atopic sensitisation in adult Turkish patients with rhinitis and/or asthma using the diagnostic method of skin prick tests. METHODS This prospective cross-sectional study included all adu...

Many inhalation exposure studies have been performed with toluene diisocyanate (TDI) in different animal species. Many were targeted at respiratory irritation and/or sensitisation. As there is still no broadly accepted guideline for the performance of respiratory sensitisation tests, protocols used and endpoints investigated are numerous. In this review we collected data from those respiratory ...

debosch, South Africa; University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; Division of Allergy, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Background: The relationship between sensitisation to helminths and atopy, bronchial-hyperresponsiveness and allergic diseases may differ depending on many factor...