Infants who live in "moldy" homes are three times more likely to develop asthma by age 7 - an age that children can be accurately diagnosed with the condition. Study results are published in the August issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). "Early life exposure to mold seems to play a critical role in childhood asthma development," says Tiina Reponen, PhD, lead study author and University of Cincinnati (UC) professor of environmental health... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

To cite this article: Masse MS, Granger Vallée A, Chiriac A, Dhivert-Donnadieu H, Bousquet-Rouanet L, Bousquet P-J, Demoly P. Comparison of five techniques of skin prick tests used routinely in Europe. Allergy 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2011.02679.x.AbstractBackground:  Skin prick tests represent indispensable tools in allergy, even more than 30 years after their introduction in clinical practice.Objectives:  Few recent European studies have focused on this topic and we thus wanted to compare the instruments most often used today.Methods:  Four instruments were investigated: the 23G intravenous (IV) needle, the ALK Lancet, the Stallergenes (STG) Prick Lancet and the Stallerpoint® (using two different methods). Sensitivity, reproducibility, and acceptability were evaluated. In 22 subjects, we calculated the sensitivity and reproducibility (both intra- and interpatient) of these methods by testing the positive control five times. In 50 subjects, we tested the single-blind acceptability of these same five techniques.Results:  In terms of sensitivity, the IV needle (100%) and metal lancets (96% for the ALK Lancet and 98% for the STG Prick Lancet) were superior (P < 0.01) to the two Stallerpoint® methods (20% and 57%). Intrapatient reproducibility was 16.2%, 14.6%, 15.0%, 97.1% and 18.1%, respectively. The instruments that were best tolerated by the patients were the IV needle and the two metal lancets.Conclusion:  Metal needles and/or lancets are the tools of choice for skin prick testing.

To cite this article:  Martin SF, Esser PR, Weber FC, Jakob T, Freudenberg MA, Schmidt M, Goebeler M. Invited review for the journal allergy mechanisms of chemical-induced innate immunity in allergic contact dermatitis. Allergy 2011; 66: 1152–1163.AbstractAllergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is one of the most prevalent occupational skin diseases and causes severe and long-lasting health problems in the case of chronification. It is initiated by an innate inflammatory immune response to skin contact with low molecular weight chemicals that results in the priming of chemical-specific, skin-homing CD8+ Tc1/Tc17 and CD4+ Th1/Th17 cells. Following this sensitization step, T lymphocytes infiltrate the inflamed skin upon challenge with the same chemical. The T cells then exert cytotoxic function and secrete inflammatory mediators to produce an eczematous skin reaction. The recent characterization of the mechanisms underlying the innate inflammatory response has revealed that contact allergens activate innate effector mechanisms and signalling pathways that are also involved in anti-infectious immunity. This emerging analogy implies infection as a potential trigger or amplifier of the sensitization to contact allergens. Moreover, new mechanistic insights into the induction of ACD identify potential targets for preventive and therapeutic intervention. We summarize here the latest findings in this area of research.

To cite this article: Gadermaier E, Staikuniene J, Scheiblhofer S, Thalhamer J, Kundi M, Westritschnig K, Swoboda I, Flicker S, Valenta R. Recombinant allergen–based monitoring of antibody responses during injection grass pollen immunotherapy and after 5 years of discontinuation. Allergy 2011; 66: 1174–1182.AbstractBackground:  Subcutaneous injection immunotherapy (SCIT) is considered as antigen-specific and disease-modifying treatment with long-lasting effect.Methods:  We used a panel of recombinant grass pollen allergens for analyzing allergen-specific IgE, IgG1-IgG4, IgM, IgA, and light-chain (kappa, lambda) responses in grass pollen–allergic patients who had received one course of injection immunotherapy (SCIT) with an aluminum hydroxide-adsorbed grass pollen extract or only anti-inflammatory treatment. Serum samples were analyzed before and after 5 months of treatment as well as after 5 years.Results:  After 5 months of SCIT but not of anti-inflammatory treatment, IgG1 > IgG4 > IgG2 > IgA antibody responses using both kappa and lambda light chains specific for major grass pollen allergens (Phl p 1, Phl p 5, Phl p 6, Phl p 2) increased significantly, whereas specific IgM or IgG3 levels were unaltered. Allergen-dependent basophil degranulation was only inhibited with SCIT sera containing therapy-induced allergen-specific IgG antibodies. Likewise, decreases in Phl p 1- and Phl p 5-specific IgE levels and significant (P < 0.001) reduction in symptom and medication scores were found only in the SCIT group but not in the group of patients receiving anti-inflammatory treatment. After 5 years, allergen-specific IgG antibody levels in the SCIT group had returned to baseline levels and there was no significant difference regarding symptoms between the SCIT and non-SCIT groups.Conclusion:  The results from our observational study demonstrate that only SCIT but not anti-inflammatory treatment induces allergen-specific IgG and reduces boosts of allergen-specific IgE production but that one SCIT course was not sufficient to achieve long-term immunological and clinical effects.