Probiotics for the treatment of eczema: a systematic review
Probiotics have been proposed as a treatment for eczema, but the results of intervention trials have been mixed. To evaluate the efficacy of probiotics for treating eczema by performing a systematic review of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs). We searched the Cochrane Skin Group Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, LILACS, ISI Web of Science, the reference lists of articles, ongoing clinical trial registers and conference proceedings. RCTs of live orally ingested microorganisms for the treatment of eczema were eligible for inclusion. Twelve trials (781 participants) were identified. Meta-analysis of data from five of these trials showed that there was no significant reduction in eczema symptoms with probiotic treatment com......
POSTED 06/30/2009 at 06:00 PM --
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Glycoimmunology: ignore at your peril!
(Source: Immunological Reviews)...
POSTED 06/30/2009 at 02:58 AM --
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Index
(Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Rapid Desensitization for Hypersensitivity Reactions to Medications
Drug desensitization is the induction of temporary clinical unresponsiveness to drug antigens to which patients have presented severe hypersensitivity reactions. It is typically achieved by gradual reintroduction of small doses of drug antigens at fixed time intervals, and it is aimed at providing increased safety and protection from side effects, including anaphylaxis. Delivery of full therapeutic doses is achieved during desensitization, allowing patients to receive firstline chemotherapy, antibiotics, or monoclonal antibodies, as well as other drugs such as insulin, aspirin, and iron. Desensitizations are high-risk interventions. Inhibition of cellular activation mechanisms occurs during drug desensitization, allowing for the protective clinical outcomes and lack of side effects in the ......
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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The Basophil Activation Test in Immediate-Type Drug Allergy
This article summarizes the authors' current experience with the BAT in the diagnostic management of immediate-type drug allergy mediated by drug-specific IgE antibodies. (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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In Vitro Tests in Drug Hypersensitivity Diagnosis
The diagnosis of a drug hypersensitivity reaction (DHR) is a challenging task because multiple and complex mechanisms are involved. Better understanding of immunologic pathomechanisms in DHRs and rapid progress in cellular-based in-vitro tests can help to adjust the correct diagnostic strategy to individual patients with different clinical manifestations of drug allergy. Thus, drug hypersensitivity diagnosis needs to rely on a combination of medical history and different in vivo and in vitro tests. In this article, the authors discuss current in vitro techniques, most recent findings, and new promising tools in the diagnosis of T-cell–mediated drug hypersensitivity. (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Skin Testing in Delayed Reactions to Drugs
This article discusses details of the use of patch tests as they apply to patients with various drug reactions. Drug skin tests are useful to study cross-reactivity between suspected drugs. False positive results can occur. The negative predictive value of drug skin tests is approximately 90%. (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Skin Testing for IgE-Mediated Drug Allergy
Skin tests with drugs help determine the cause and mechanism of drug hypersensitivity reactions. The diagnosis of adverse drug reactions is based primarily on history and clinical presentation. In type I, IgE-mediated allergic drug reactions, skin prick test and intradermal testing may provide rapid and supportive evidence for diagnosis or exclusion of IgE-mediated reactions. These tests often are more sensitive than laboratory assays for IgE antibodies to drug allergens, which are available only for a few drugs. Because intradermal skin tests occasionally induce adverse events, they should be performed by experienced personnel in an adequate environment. (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Heparin Allergy: Delayed-Type Non–IgE-Mediated Allergic Hypersensitivity to Subcutaneous Heparin Injection
Itching erythematous or eczematous plaques around injection sites are quite frequent side effects of heparin treatment and clinical symptoms of delayed-type non–IgE-mediated allergic hypersensitivity (DTH) to heparin. For diagnosis, intradermal, patch, and subcutaneous challenge tests with heparins are suitable. In most cases, changing the subcutaneous therapy from unfractionated to low molecular weight heparin or treatment with heparinoids does not provide improvement because of extensive cross-reactivity. Hirudin polypeptides, which exhibit a different chemical structure, are a safe therapeutic alternative for subcutaneous application, however. Importantly, despite DTH to subcutaneously injected heparins, most patients tolerate heparin intravenously. Moreover, in case of therapeutic ne......
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Immediate and Delayed Reactions to Radiocontrast Media: Is There an Allergic Mechanism?
Radiocontrast media can cause immediate (1 hour) and nonimmediate (>1 hour) hypersensitivity reactions that remain unpredictable and a cause of concern for radiologists and cardiologists. Immediate hypersensitivity reactions resemble anaphylaxis, whereas nonimmediate ones clinically are predominated by exanthemas. Increasing evidence indicates that immediate reactions and nonimmediate skin exanthemas may be allergic reactions involving either contrast media–reactive IgE or T cells, respectively. Skin testing is a useful tool for the diagnosis of contrast media allergy. It may have an important role in the selection of a safe product in previous reactors, although validation data are still lacking. In vitro tests to search for contrast media–specific cell activation are currently under ......
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Perioperative Anaphylaxis
The incidence of immune-mediated anaphylaxis during anesthesia ranges from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 20,000. Neuromuscular blocking agents represent the most frequently involved substances, followed by latex and antibiotics, but every drug or substance used may be involved. Diagnosis relies on tryptase measurements at the time of the reaction and skin tests and specific IgE or basophil activation assays. (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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The Pholcodine Story
Anaphylactic reactions to neuromuscular blocking agents during general anesthesia constitute a major cause of concern and a great source of debate among anesthesiologists. The authors' recent investigations, taking the striking differences of incidence between Norway and Sweden as the point of departure, have provided valuable insights into the pathogenetic mechanisms and the highly uneven geographical distribution of these rare, but dramatic and notoriously unpredictable, events. Eventually, a cough syrup containing pholcodine emerged as the most likely suspect. This new knowledge led to the withdrawal of the drug from the Norwegian market and to the examination of the role of pholcodine-containing drugs in other countries. The present article is a brief summary of the research behind thi......
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Preface
Most reviews on the topic of drug hypersensitivity start with the sentence: “Drug allergy is a difficult problem because….” Indeed, the multitude of drugs and clinical symptoms, and the variety of different mechanisms that underlie drug-induced diseases can promote a rather fatalistic attitude to drug hypersensitivity, as it seems just too complicated to address it well. Indeed, many physicians rely on history and experience alone, and do not test for drug allergy. As the tests are still not very sensitive, this approach is understandable. But will such an attitude improve this area of medicine? (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Foreword: Drug Allergy and Primum Non-nocere
Drug-induced allergy is the moral equivalent of the primal sin for the medical profession. Arguably, the temptation here is not pleasure but a noble goal to help a sick patient. Nonetheless, we are in conflict with our first principle of “primum non nocere” whenever our patients experience an adverse event because of our intervention. (Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Forthcoming Issues
(Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Contents
(Source: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Correction
With regard to the January 2005 article entitled “The national montelukast survey” (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2005;115:47-54), there is an error in the text on page 50, in the Patient Assessment section. The 4th sentence of that section should read as follows: “Approximately two thirds of the patients (n = 199) were continuing to take montelukast; of these 49.8% (95% CI 42.6% to 56.9%, n = 99) believed that their asthma was much better, and 69.8% (95% CI 63.0% to 76.1%, n = 139) reported…” (Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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The Editors' Choice
It is generally accepted—in the United States, at least—that effective subcutaneous injection immunotherapy can be accomplished with mixes of multiple non–cross-reacting allergen extracts. To date, no study of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with more than 2 differing allergen extracts has been reported. In this issue of the Journal, Amar et al (p 150) address this question. Fifty-three subjects with grass pollen–induced allergic rhinitis received 10 months of SLIT consisting of monotherapy with timothy grass (30 μg of Phl p 5 daily), the same dose of timothy grass plus 9 nonrelated pollen extracts, or placebo. A very poor pollen season obscured the clinical response. However, those receiving timothy grass monotherapy showed significant differences from placebo for titrated skin p......
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Alterations in epithelial barrier function and host defense responses in chronic rhinosinusitis
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is characterized by a chronic symptomatic inflammation of the nasal and paranasal sinus mucosae and is one of the most frequently reported chronic diseases in the United States, with an estimated prevalence of greater than 10% of the general population. Although the pathogenesis of CRS remains poorly understood, there is evidence for a role of bacteria and fungi, as well as the presence of a robust adaptive immune response in the upper airways and sinuses. Recent studies of CRS, as well as several other diseases in the skin and respiratory epithelium, have uncovered evidence that deficiencies in epithelial immune barrier function might compromise the interaction between the host and external immune stimuli. Recent studies suggest the hypothesis that reduced exp......
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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Breakdown in epithelial barrier function in patients with asthma: Identification of novel therapeutic approaches
(Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology)...
POSTED 06/29/2009 at 09:55 AM --
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