BACKGROUND The fungal allergen Alternaria alternata is implicated in severe asthma and rapid onset life-threatening exacerbations of disease. However, the mechanisms that underlie this severe pathogenicity remain unclear. OBJECTIVE We sought to investigate the mechanism whereby Alternaria was capable of initiating severe, rapid onset allergic inflammation. METHODS IL-33 levels were quantifi...

Life histories of "wild" house dust mites, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Trouessart) (Acari: Pyroglyphidae), were compared with laboratory cultures by using a diet consisting of skin and dust or a laboratory diet consisting of dried liver and yeast. Under constant conditions of 25 degrees C and 75% RH, fecundity and rate of reproduction were higher in laboratory cultures on both diets compare...

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...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of house dust mite allergen in bedroom floor dust on respiratory health of children with asthmatic symptoms. Two hundred and twenty eight school children with reported attacks of shortness of breath with wheezing in the past year and/or with doctor-diagnosed asthma, were included in the study. Data on home characteristics, both past and p...

INTRODUCTION Asthma affects approximately 10% of the world's population. Sensitization to allergens is an important risk factor, and exposure to allergens is associated with disease severity. METHODS We performed skin tests to evaluate allergen sensitization to mites, cockroaches, cats, dogs, and molds in 73 asthmatic patients. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay was used to assay the mite and ...

INTRODUCTION Observational studies report inverse associations between the use of feather upper bedding (pillow and/or quilt) and asthma symptoms but there is no randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence assessing the role of feather upper bedding as a secondary prevention measure. OBJECTIVE To determine whether, among children not using feather upper bedding, a new feather pillow and feathe...

Lung surfactant proteins (SP) A and D are calcium-dependent carbohydrate-binding proteins. In addition to playing multiple roles in innate immune defense such as bacterial aggregation and modulation of leukocyte function, SP-A and SP-D have also been implicated in the allergic response. They interact with a wide range of inhaled allergens, competing with their binding to cell-sequestered IgE re...

Background—Relatively little is known about risk factors for the persistence of asthma and respiratory symptoms from childhood into adolescence, and few studies have included objective measurements to assess outcomes and exposure. Methods—From a large cross sectional study of all 4th grade school children in Munich (mean age 10.2 years), 234 children (5%) with active asthma were identified. Of ...