Pru p 3 is the major peach allergen in the Mediterranean area. It frequently elicits severe reactions, limiting its study in humans, raising the need for animal models to investigate the immunological mechanisms involved. However, no anaphylaxis model exists for Pru p 3. We aimed to develop a model of peach anaphylaxis by sensitising mice with Pru p 3 in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS...

BACKGROUND Over the last 10-20 years, international guidelines and consensus statements for the management of common allergic diseases (e.g. allergic rhinitis and asthma) have been developed and disseminated worldwide. However, their impact on knowledge and standard of clinical practice among primary care physicians and specialists is unknown. OBJECTIVE To investigate need for an improvement ...

Peanut allergy is common and can be a cause of severe, life-threatening reactions. It is rarely outgrown like other food allergies, such as egg and milk. Peanut allergy has a significant effect on the quality of life of sufferers and their families, due to dietary and social restrictions, but mainly stemming from fear of accidental peanut ingestion. The current management consists of strict avo...

BACKGROUND Some studies reported the possible induction of food allergy, caused by neo-sensitization to cross-reacting allergens, during immunotherapy with aeroallergens, while other studies ruled out such possibility. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the development of neo-sensitization to Pen a 1 (tropomyosin) as well as the appearance of reactions after ingestion of foods c...

As a clinician and researcher in the prostate cancer field, I have been hearing that prostate cancer is “20 years behind” breast cancer now for the last 25 years! Who would have thought that poor ol’ prostate cancer would have an FDA-approved immunotherapy before breast cancer—and in fact, before any cancer![1] Furthermore, as a urologist, I am proud that a urologist is at the heart and soul of...

Background: Hen’s egg (HE) allergy is one of the commonest food allergies in young children with a natural history to resolve, although recent evidence suggests a greater prevalence and more persistent nature. Treatment strategies of allergen avoidance anticipating that the child will grow out of the allergy are being replaced by interventions like oral immunotherapy (OI). The recipes used in H...

Allergy immunotherapy (AIT) is an effective treatment for allergic asthma and rhinitis, as well as venom-induced anaphylaxis. In addition to reducing symptoms, AIT can change the course of allergic disease and induce allergen-specific immune tolerance. In current clinical practice immunotherapy is delivered either subcutaneously or sublingually; some allergens, such as grass pollen, can be deli...

Since my 2012 report in The Melanoma Letter on promising intralesional therapies for metastatic melanoma, researchers have achieved important milestones in the field. Foremost were the October 2015 U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval and January 2016 European approval of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC, brand name Imlygic,® formerly OncoVEX), an oncolytic immunotherapy derived from HSV...