To the Editor: Approximately 5% of young children and 4% of adults have some type of adverse immune responses to foods in westernized countries. Mustard is a widely consumed spice that can trigger life-threatening IgE-mediated allergic reactions. Mustard is frequently consumed as a hidden allergen in foods, resulting in unexpected allergic reactions. It has been reported that more than 50% of p...

The asparagine-linked carbohydrate moieties of plant and insect glycoproteins are the most abundant environmental immune determinants. They are the structural basis of what is known as cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCDs). Despite some structural variation, the two main motifs are the xylose and the core-3-linked fucose, which form the essential part of two independent epitopes. Plan...

OBJECTIVE: Because the prevalence and pattern of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to inhalant allergens may vary between different European regions, our goal was to evaluate ragweed aeroallergen sensitization in allergic rhinitis patients from the central part of the Romanian Plain, located in the southern part of the country. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a two-year period we recruited patients with a...

OBJECTIVE Allergic rhinitis, a disease that impairs quality of life, is characterized by inflammation due to an allergic reaction. Fexofenadine is a second-generation histamine receptor blocker well known for its potent interaction with this inflammatory process. The main aim of this study was to further clarify the anti-inflammatory effects exerted by fexofenadine in patients with intermittent...

Radiation therapy is one of the most important strategies in cancer treatment with irreplaceable advantages. However, it should not be overlooked that the immune damage caused by radiation therapy, which means that radiation therapy could lead to the immune function lessening and immune organ damage (Hu et al., 1988; Uh et al., 1994). The immune system damage could further weaken the immune fun...

AIM Paediatric cut-off values for serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) using the Siemens IMMULITE(®) 2000 system to diagnose allergic rhinoconjunctivitis have not been established. We aimed to determine cut-off levels for sIgE for 10 common inhalant allergens and to study the relationship between sIgE, total IgE and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO ). METHODS We enrolled 243 schoolchildren...