bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Topical dermal anaesthesia inhibits the flare but not the weal response to allergen and histamine in the skin‐prick test
Authors: PIPKORN U. , ANDERSSON M. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryThe effect of topical dermal anaesthesia on the immediate allergic skin reaction was evaluated in a double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled study. Twenty‐one patients with strictly seasonal allergic rhinitis, confirmed by a positive skin test for the respective pollen allergen, were studied in the pollen‐free winter months. Skin‐prick tests for one pollen allergen and histamine were performed after pre‐treatment of the skin for 1 hr with an emulsion of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA®) and the equivalent vehicle on different test sites. The skin‐prick tests were made with a preloaded standardized test needle (Phazet®). The area of the induced weal‐and‐flare reaction was measured and subsequently calculated with the help of a digitizer served by a microcomputer. The topical dermal anaesthesia induced a reduction of the flare response to histamine by 49% (P < 0.01) and allergen by 21% (P < 0.05). No reduction of the histamine‐ and allergen‐induced weal response were noted. Our findings indicate that the treatment did not affect the allergen‐induced release of inflammatory mediators and the vascular leakage induced by these mediators. However, this study seems to confirm earlier suggestions that the flare response is partly mediated through neural reflex activity as it was ameliorated by topical anaesthesia. Furthermore, from a clinical point of view, this study shows that it is possible to perform a valid skin test, without any associated itching and pain, if only the weal response is taken into account n i the evaluation of the skin‐prick test.
Theophylline‐induced alterations in cellular immunity in asthmatic patients
Authors: FINK G. , MITTELMAN M. , SHOHAT B. , SPITZER S. A. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryTwenty patients with bronchial asthma, on long‐term oral therapy with theophylline, demonstrated an increased number of suppressor T‐cells and impaired graft vs host reaction. Ten asthmatics on other therapy, not including theophylline, as well as ten normal healthy controls, failed to show similar findings. Elimination of suppressor T‐cells corrected the above immunological abnormalities in the theophylline‐treated patients, while addition of serum from theophylline‐treated asthmatic patients to lymphocytes from normal healthy controls, affected the graft vs host reaction of these lymphocytes. We conclude that theophylline induces quantitative as well as qualitative immunological alterations by increasing the number and activity of suppressor T‐cells, which most probably secrete a serum factor, responsible for some of the abnormalities observed.
Bronchial allergen challenge: comparison between two different methods of provocation
Authors: FRØLUND L. , SVENDSEN U. G. , NIELSEN N. H. , WEEKE B. , MADSEN F. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryBronchial allergen challenge was performed twice in ten well‐defined stable asthmatic patients. On each provocation day the allergen was administered either by a standard method at tidal volume breathing or by a dosimeter method. Ten‐fold increasing concentrations of allergen were administered with an interval of 10 min. Total amount of allergen of 9, 90, 900, 9000 and 90000 SQ units using the standard method, whereas the corresponding amount by the dosimeter method was 0.5, 5, 50, 500, and 5000 SQ units. The bronchial response was determined by forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and by total resistance to breathing (Rt) measured by an opening interrupter method. The provocation was stopped when a decrease of at least 20% of the post‐saline FEV1 and a 4O% increase in post‐saline Rt, was observed. A PC20‐FEV1 and a PC40‐Rt was calculated by interpolation on the log dose‐response curve. The late reaction was recorded and defined as a 20% reduction in peak expiratory flow (PEF) occurring during the 24‐hr period after challenge. The comparability of PC20‐FEV1 and PC40‐Rt obtained with the standard method and with the dosimeter was high. r= 0.89 and r= 0.88. Furthermore, no significant difference was found by comparing Δ FEV1 and Δ Rt during provocation by either method as well as the occurrence and magnitude of the late reaction. We conclude that there exists a high comparability of the bronchial response to an allergen challenge performed either by a standard method at tidal volume breathing by continuous inhalation of the allergen aerosol or by a dosimeter method of inhalation despite the difference in the total allergen doses inhaled.
Efficacy of grass–maize pollen oral immunotherapy in patients with seasonal hay‐fever: a double‐blind study
Authors: VAN NIEKERK C. H. , DE WET J. I. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryForty patients with a well‐documented history of seasonal hay fever and a positive skin‐prick test specific to grass pollen, including Bermuda grass and maize pollen (Zea maize), were allocated randomly on a double‐blind basis to receive either an oral mixed grass–maize pollen extract or a matched placebo during the 1981/1982 grass pollen season. After 12 months the code was broken and patients on placebo were transferred to active therapy while patients on active therapy continued with maintenance therapy for another 12 months during the 1982/1983 grass pollen season. The assessment of the effect of the orally administered grass–maize pollen extract was on the clinical symptoms. During the first year the patients on active therapy had significantly fewer hay fever symptoms during the summer months compared with the placebo group. During the second study year, with all patients on active therapy, both groups had markedly milder symptoms compared with the placebo group. Side–effects were negligible. This study concludes that oral immunotherapy with grass‐maize pollen extract in grass pollen‐sensitive seasonal hay fever patients is safe and effective.
Clinical symptoms and IgE responses to common food proteins and inhalants in the first 7 years of life
Authors: HATTEVIG G. , KJELLMAN B. , BJÖRKSTÉN B. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryA group of eighty‐six children followed from birth to 4 years of age and previously reported was now re‐investigated at the age of 7 years. The prevalence of atopy/allergy was 15%. All of the children with current atopy/allergy had had previous manifestations during their first 4 years of life. No child was allergic to milk at the age of 7 years and only two of the six children with a previous allergy to eggs retained their allergy. No other children had developed allergies to milk or eggs. Only one of the eight children with an elevated level of IgE antibodies to egg white (RAST class I or more) during infancy still had increased concentrations of such antibodies. No child had developed an elevated level of IgE antibodies to egg white or milk after the first year of life. Clinical allergies to inhalants had increased from 1% at 4 years of age to 7% at 7 years. Children with elevated levels of IgE antibodies to inhalants had increased from 7% at 4 years of age to 10% at 7 years. The majority of them had had increased levels of IgE antibodies to egg white during infancy. The specificity of an elevated level of cord blood IgE, i.e. above 0.9 kU/1 for predicting atopy/allergy during the first 7 years of life and for current atopy/allergy at 7 years of age were both 95%. The corresponding figures for presence of elevated levels of IgE antibodies to egg white (positive RAST) during infancy were 98 and 97%, respectively. The sensitivity of the cord blood IgE predictor was 14 and 17%. respectively and for a positive RAST to egg white during infancy 32 and 50%, respectively.
The effect of seasonal and domestic factors on the distribution of Euroglyphus maynei in the homes of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergic patients
Authors: WALSHAW M. J. , EVANS C. C. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryA survey of the house dust mite population was carried out in the homes of fifty asthmatic Liverpool individuals with strongly positive skin tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. As expected, D. pteronyssinus was the commonest species found. However, Euroglyphus maynei made up 37% of the total adult mite count and was the predominant species in 48% of beds examined. There was a good correlation between increasing numbers of E. maynei and decreasing social class, but only a weak one with percentage relative humidity. Ionic sodium levels in bed dust were found to correlate with decreasing social class and increasing E. maynei levels. In nineteen beds, mites were sampled at 4‐monthly intervals for 1 year—this showed a relative decrease in the proportion of E. maynei compared with other mites in the autumn, when relative humidity was high. A further twenty beds underwent intensive house dust eradication (including the use of plastic covers) for 1 year—these beds showed a progressive fall in the proportion of E. maynei recovered, suggesting that this mite is more vulnerable to anti‐house dust mite measures. Euroglyphus maynei is a common house dust mite and further work needs to be done to assess its antigenic nature and clinical significance.
Serological and clinical investigation of humidifier fever
Authors: McSHARRY C. , ANDERSON K. , BOYD G. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryA group of nineteen normally healthy subjects in a microprocessor factory reported various degrees of work‐related respiratory and systemic symptoms that in some were suggestive of humidifier fever (HF). They all had normal serology against a variety of infectious agents, but serum‐precipitating antibody against antigens in the factory humidifier water was present in twelve subjects, primarily those with symptoms most in keeping with HF. There was extensive serological identity between the antigens from this and other confirmed sources of HF. The antibody‐positive subjects were all nonsmokers and had significantly raised serum IgG. Nine months later, following modification of the humidifier system, the symptoms had resolved in fourteen of the nineteen subjects, the precipitins were reduced in seven but persisted in five subjects, and the total IgG levels were significantly reduced in all subjects. The measurement of total, as well as specific, IgG may be of value in assessing this disease.
Histamine‐induced suppressor cell function and nasal sensitivity in hay fever sufferers
Authors: FENNERTY A. G. , JONES K. P. , FIFEFIELD R. , DAVIES B. H. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryHistamine‐induced suppressor cell function was measured in a group of twenty‐five hay fever suffers and sixteen non‐atopic controls. No difference was found in the suppression index between sufferers and controls. There was, however, a significant relationship between the suppression index and nasal sensitivity to grass pollen, whether measured pre‐ or post‐season, but no correlation between specific or total IgE levels and the suppression index. Histamine‐induced suppressor cell function may influence pollen sensitivity in the most sensitive subjects, but not via an effect on IgE production.
Controlled trial of house dust mite avoidance in children with mild to moderate asthma
Authors: GILLIES D. R. N. , LITTLEWOOD J. M. , SARSFIELD J. K. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryTwenty‐six asthmatic children participated in a controlled trial of house dust mite avoidance. Group A (n= 14) had 12 weeks’avoidance, provided that they had not deteriorated at the end of the first 6 weeks. Group B (n= 12) had an initial 6 weeks’observation period followed by 6 weeks’avoidance. Mite numbers were extremely variable and often low. There was a significant fall in mite numbers in the first, but not the second, 6‐week period in group A. In group B there was a significant fall in mite numbers in both the first (observation) and second (active avoidance) periods. Active avoidance produced highly significant falls in total serum IgE. There were no significant changes in IgE during the observation period. This impressive immunological effect was not associated with any changes in the radio‐allergo‐sorbent assay (RAST) to house dust mite, or symptom scores; peak expiratory flow rates or histamine induced bronchial reactivity. More rigorous avoidance procedures in more severely affected asthmatic patients warrants further investigation.
Effect of nedocromil sodium on adenosine‐ and methacholine‐induced bronchospasm in asthma
Authors: CRIMI E. , BRUSASCO V. , BRANCATISANO MARINA , LOSURDO ELENA , CRIMI P. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryThe effect of nedocromil sodium on adenosine‐induced bronchospasm was investigated in eight asthmatic patients. Nedocromil sodium (4 mg) administered by aerosol 10 min before challenge, effectively inhibited adenosine‐induced bronchospasm. In another group of six asthmatic patients, nedocromil sodium administered in the same way did not reduce the bronchial response to methacholine. These results support the view that adenosine‐induced bronchospasm may be prevented by a membrane stabilizing drug and is not mediated through cholinergic pathways. The mechanism(s) by which nedocromil sodium inhibits adenosine‐induced bronchospasm requires further investigations.
Effect of terfenadine and placebo on symptoms after nasal allergen provocation
Authors: RÖKENES H. K. , ANDERSSON B. , RUNDCRANTZ H. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryTerfenadine (60 mg b.i.d.) was compared with placebo in a randomized, double‐blind, cross‐over study in twenty‐three patients with birch pollen allergy. The patients were treated during two 7‐day periods separated by a 2‐week wash‐out period during a season free from birch pollen. Nasal provocations with birch pollen extracts were made at study entry and after each treatment period. Blockage (rhinomanometry), secretion (weight) and sneezings (number) were compared between treatments. The results showed a significant inhibitory effect of terfenadine on secretion and sneezing, but no significant difference between treatments with regard to blockage. Terfenadine showed no signs of sedative properties or inhibition of salivation.
Immune response of the atopic woman and foetus: effects of high‐ and low‐dose food allergen intake during late pregnancy
Authors: LILJA G. , DANNAEUS A. , FÄLTH‐MAGNUSSON KARIN , GRAFF‐LONNEVIG V. , JOHANSSON S. G. O. , KJELLMAN N.‐I. M. , ÖMAN H. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryThe influence of the mother's consumption of cows’ milk and hens’ egg on the immune response (IgE, IgG) in the mother and foetus was studied in 165 pregnant women with atopical respiratory disease with an allergy to pollen and/or animal dander. The women were randomly allocated to four diets ranging from a diet free from hens’ egg and cows’ milk to a diet containing intake of one egg and one litre of milk daily during the third trimester. No significant differences in cord blood IgE levels were noted in spite of differences in maternal diet, and no specific IgE antibodies to ovalbumin, ovomucoid and betalactoglobulin were found in the cord blood. The mother's IgG antibody concentrations to ovalbumin, ovomucoid and betalactoglobulin were influenced by her diet, but cord blood IgG antibody levels to the selected food allergens were unaffected. The data presented on the IgE and IgG antibody levels to ovalbumin, ovomucoid and betalactoglobulin in cord blood suggest that changes in maternal diet during the last trimester of pregnancy in order to prevent atopic sensitization in utero are less likely to affect the foetus than previously supposed.
Systemic adrenaline attenuates skin response to antigen and histamine
Authors: WARREN J. B. , McCUSKER M. , FULLER R. W. 
Published: April 2006

SummarySix atopic subjects received either adrenaline (0.3 ml of 1 mg/ml), subcutaneously over the deltoid muscle, or saline on 2 separate days. After 10 min, histamine and antigen were injected intradermally in the forearm. Adrenaline significantly inhibited the flare of histamine and both the flare and weal of antigen (P< 0.05). This anti‐allergic action of adrenaline occurred with a dose that we have previously shown produces plasma concentrations at the upper limit of the physiological range in resting normal subjects.
Sublingual allergen administration. I. Selective suppression of IgE production in rats by high allergen doses
Authors: HOLT P. G. , VINES JULIA , BRITTEN DESLEY 
Published: April 2006

SummarySublingual administration of a protein allergen to immunologically naïve rats suppressed subsequent allergen‐specific IgE responses. Susceptibility to this form of immunotherapy was genetically determined, with some inbred rat strains displaying immunological tolerance in the IgE antibody class alone, whilst others developed concomitant suppression of IgG. Parallel gastric intubation experiments established that the development of tolerance by sublingual allergen administration proceeded independently of events occurring in the gut resulting from swallowing the allergen. These results are consistent with clinical reports which suggest that the oral mucosa is a potentially useful site for therapeutic modulation of allergic reactivity, and indicate that appropriate animal models can be developed to probe this important question. However, further research is required to determine the relevance of these findings to current sublingual desensitization practices.
Hay fever, a post industrial revolution epidemic: a history of its growth during the 19th century
Authors: EMANUEL M. B. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryAlthough other forms of allergic disease were described in antiquity, hay fever is surprisingly modern. Very rare descriptions can be traced back to Islamic texts of the 9th century and European texts of the 16th century. It was only in the early 19th century that the disease was carefully described and at that time was regarded as most unusual. By the end of the 19th century it had become commonplace in both Europe and North America. This paper attempts to chart the growth of hay fever through the medical literature of the 19th century. It is hoped that an understanding of the increase in prevalence between 1820 and 1900 may provide an insight for modern researchers and give some clues into possible reasons for the epidemic nature of the disease today.
Relationship between mite densities and the prevalence of asthma: comparative studies in two populations in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea
Authors: TURNER K. J. , STEWART G. A. , WOOLCOCK A. J. , GREEN W. , ALPERS M. P. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryThe recent dramatic rise from 0.1 to 7.3% in the prevalence of adult asthma in the South Fore area of the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has not been matched by a similar increase in asthma in the adjacent Asaro valley, where the prevalence remains extremely low at 0.3%. While the living conditions of these two populations appear comparable, the mean density of house dust mite (principally Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) in blankets of residents in the Asaro valley was found to be significantly lower (283/g dust) than that of a corresponding random selection in the South Fore (1371/g dust). Since from 200 to 600 mites per g dust have been reported to constitute a risk factor for asthma, the data suggest that the relative risk for asthma in the Asaro valley population is low compared with that in the South Fore. In randomly selected sera, both IgE and IgG antibodies to D. pteronyssinus from the Asaro valley were comparable with those of a group of non‐asthmatics from the South Fore (mean 4.39 vs 3.43 U/ml for IgE antibodies and 1832 vs 1815 U/ml for IgG antibodies for Asaro valley vs South Fore, respectively) but significantly lower (P < 0.001) than corresponding data for subjects in the South Fore with asthma (108.6 U/ml and 3365 U/ml, respectively). This study emphasizes the interplay between genetic and environmental factors in determining the development of asthma, and highlights the importance of house dust mites in the pathogenesis of asthma in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Comparative study of the effects of nedocromil sodium (4 mg) and sodium cromoglycate (10 mg) on adenosine‐induced bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects
Authors: CRIMI N. , PALERMO F. , OLIVERI R. , VANCHERI C. , POLOSA R. , PALERMO BIAGIA , MACCARRONE CONCETTA , MISTRETTA A. 
Published: April 2006

SummaryThe effect of nedocromil sodium (4 mg; 7.8 × 10−6m) on adenosine‐induced bronchoconstriction was compared with that of a higher dose of sodium cromoglycate (10 mg; 24.1 × 10−6m). Eleven allergic asthmatic patients (mean age 26.28 ± 12.21 years) were studied. Adenosine (0.03–4.00 mg) was administered as nebulized aerosol. The dose of adenosine producing a 20% change in FEV1(PD20) was calculated from the individual semi‐logarithmic dose‐response curves. Patients were studied on 4 separate days. On the first day the adenosine challenge was performed; on subsequent days patients were pretreated (20 min before challenge) with either placebo or test drug (nedocromil sodium 2 × 2 mg or sodium cromoglycate 2 × 5 mg) administered by pressurized aerosol in a randomized, double‐blind manner. Statistical analysis was performed by two‐way analysis of variance. Neither sodium cromoglycate nor nedocromil sodium showed a significant bronchodilator effect. In patients treated with placebo, inhalation of adenosine produced a dose‐related bronchoconstriction with a geometric mean PD20 of 0.42 mg. After drug administration the mean PD20 values were 1.29 mg with sodium cromoglycate and 2.30 mg with nedocromil sodium. Both drugs produced a significant increase in mean PD20 value in comparison with placebo and baseline (P < 0.01). These results demonstrate that nedocromil sodium (4 mg) is significantly more potent than a larger dose of sodium cromoglycate (10 mg) in inhibiting adenosine‐induced bronchoconstriction (P < 0.05).
Effect of nedocromil on bronchospasm induced by inhalation of substance P in asthmatic subjects
Authors: CRIMI N. , PALERMO F. , OLIVERI R. , PALERMO BIAGIA , VANCHERI C. , POLOSA R. , MISTRETTA A. 
Published: April 2006

SummarySeveral studies have demonstrated that neuropeptides are present in peptidergic fibres of bronchial tissue. The aim of the present study was to evaluate in vivo the effect of nedocromil sodium (2 × 2 mg) on bronchospasm induced by inhalation of substance P. Six moderate asthmatic patients, mean age 25.17 years, were studied. Airway response was measured as FEV1 and the dose of substance P (using a dose range of 23–736 nmol) producing a 20% decrease in FEV1 (PD20) was calculated from the individual semilogarithmic dose‐response curves. Patients were studied on 3 separate days in a randomized, double‐blind manner. On the first day a baseline PD20 value was determined. On subsequent days substance P challenge was performed after pretreatment (20 min before challenge) with either placebo or nedocromil sodium. Student's paired t‐test and Wilcoxon's test were used for statistical analysis. The results of this study demonstrated that inhalation of substance P causes a dose‐dependent bronchoconstriction and that the bronchoconstriction induced by substance P can be prevented by pre‐treatment with nedocromil sodium.
The major aeroallergens in Guangxi, China
Authors: CHEN KE , LIAO YUANFEN , ZHANG JINTAN 
Published: April 2006

SummaryOver a 2‐year period we have identified pollen grains from 48 families of grasses, as well as mould spores and mite particles during air sampling in Guangxi Province. The major aeroallergens were Artemisia, Moraceae and Euophoribiacea, and the spores of Aspergillus, Penicillinum, Cephalosporium and Helminthosporium. Mites were probably also one of the major outdoor aeroallergens. Our investigations also included inspection of the vegetation of the geographical area involved, as well as skin testing on 774 subjects using extracts of 37 aeroallergens. We believe that this work has provided fundamental information on seasonal allergy in Southern China and South‐east Asia.