Allergo Journal International最新文献

Summary

Urticaria can manifest at any age, including infants and young children. Urticaria is one of the most prevalent skin diseases in childhood. As in adults, a distinction is made between acute and chronic urticaria, with chronic urticaria further classified into chronic spontaneous urticaria and inducible urticaria. According to the current German S3 guideline for classification, diagnosis, and treatment of urticaria, existing literature suggests that the prevalence, disease characteristics, causes, and also the response to treatment are very similar in children and adults. The clinical hallmark of urticaria is the subjective sensation of itch. In young children who may have difficulty expressing itching, it is crucial to observe their scratching behavior during clinical examinations. Particularly in children, mastocytosis and autoinflammatory syndromes (cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes [CAPS], especially Muckle–Wells syndrome and childhood Still’s disease) are important differential diagnoses. Autoinflammatory syndromes are characterized by additional symptoms such as fever, bone pain, muscle pain, and joint complaints. Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes usually manifest in infancy, so that these diseases must be considered, especially if cold-associated urticarial skin lesions are present. Appropriate and early treatment can prevent serious sequelae. In maculopapular mastocytosis (urticaria pigmentosa), reddish macules are characteristic for the disease; especially after elicitation of the Darier’s sign, differentiation from urticaria can be difficult, but the macules are permanent. Clinically, wheals and/or angioedema are found similarly to adults, indicating that mast cell-induced angioedema is also associated with childhood urticaria. In the case of exclusive angioedema, hereditary angioedema must also be considered, which usually manifests for the first time during puberty, often linked to hormone preparation usage.

Summary

Background

To tackle the growing allergy epidemic, novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. One promising avenue is the development of anti-allergen antibody therapies. This passive immunization approach stands out from traditional allergen immunotherapy by not exposing patients to the allergen but also by potentially treating patients who are less responsive or even unresponsive to allergen immunotherapies and providing immediate protection.

Methods

After a review of historical and recently published literature on the topic of anti-allergen antibodies, the status quo and recent advancements are presented. Anti-allergen antibody therapies in the context of immunological changes that occur during allergen immunotherapy are also discussed.

Results

While the protective role of anti-allergen antibodies was recognized decades ago, the advancement of antibody discovery technologies has fueled the field, and now different anti-allergen antibody therapies are approaching clinical use. These developments have also broadened our understanding of the allergens and allergenic epitopes responsible in different allergic diseases, and also the role played by immunoglobulins in shaping the immune system.

Conclusion

The development of anti-allergen antibody therapies offers great potential for the treatment of allergies. Of interest, the efficacy of passive immunization approaches will likely extend beyond allergen neutralization as in the presence of the allergen they might contribute to long-lasting disease modification.

Background

Grass pollen allergy is the most common pollen allergy in the world. The grass family (Poaceae) consists of many genera and species of allergenic importance, but all share a uniform pollen grain morphology. Phenology is the key to discriminate different taxa.

Methodology

PubMed was used as the search engine. The publications found were selected based on their relevance and summarized.

Results

Studies with this focus are still rare. The composition of grass genera and species varies largely from region to region. Some taxa play a more important role in terms of pollen release and allergenicity than others.

Conclusion

Phenological routines need deep botanical knowledge and are time-consuming. Nonetheless, they should be integrated into studies on the grass pollen season since they allow a more precise understanding.

Background

The measurement of pollen concentrations has been performed according to various protocols in recent decades. In all approaches the following questions were of importance: the positioning of the measuring device (whether at roof or nose level), the reliability as well as the comparability of measurements.

Methods

Current methods for pollen measurements and previous studies on measurement heights are presented and compared.

Results

The most widely used device is the Hirst pollen and spore trap. Its data is widely used for pollen information, pollen prediction models, and clinical studies. The position of the trap at roof level remains the current standard as the pollen concentrations correlate best with “real world” situation and regional symptom data.

Conclusion

The guideline for the detection of pollen and spores for allergy networks (EN 16868:2019-09) in Europe was an important step towards standardization. Modern, automated measurement methods are still in experimental stage in terms of validation and comparability. Harmonization of data from different measurement methods is a future challenge.

Summary