Natural rubber latex is a processed plant product that is manufactured from the rubber tree, Hevea braziliensis. Allergy to natural rubber latex, which contains a complex blend of water-soluble plant proteins, is a major source of concern in clinical practice. Latex is the inciting factor in at least 10 percent of anaphylactic reactions that have been reported during anesthesia. IgE-mediated sensitization to natural rubber latex could induce hypersensitivity reactions ranging from mild contact urticaria to potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis. Because of the ubiquitous use of latex in medical equipment and devices, anesthesiologist should give more attention and to the management of the allergic reactions to latex in high risk groups. We report upon the anesthetic management of a parturient undergoing Cesarean section, in which an allergic reaction to latex developed just after the insertion of latex urethral catheter.
Anaphylaxis ; Anesthesia ; Cesarean Section ; Female ; Hevea ; Hypersensitivity* ; Latex* ; Plant Proteins ; Plants ; Pregnancy ; Rubber ; Urinary Catheters* ; Urticaria

Latex is the milky sap obtained by tapping the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis. The prevalence of latex allergy has been on the increase alongside the wider use of latex-manufactured products. The number of reports of latex-induced anaphylaxis during operation is therefore increasing. We report the case of a 56-year-old male patient who developed severe anaphylactic shock while under anesthesia when the tourniquet was deflated during elbow arthrolysis. A subsequent allergy workup revealed an IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to latex.
Anaphylaxis ; Anesthesia ; Elbow ; Hevea ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate ; Latex ; Latex Hypersensitivity ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Tourniquets

A new species of Alternaria causing leaf spots on the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) in Yunnan, China, was isolated, examined, and illustrated. Morphologically, it belongs to the section Porri of Alternaria, which produces relatively large conidia and a simple or branched, filamentous long beak. It is, however, characterized by conidiophores gradually enlarging near the apex into a clavate conidiogenous cell and long ellipsoid to obclavate, smooth-walled conidia with a long filamentous beak. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on ITS rDNA, GAPDH, and TEF1-alpha sequences demonstrate that the phytopathogen falls in the clade of the section Porri, being most closely related to A. sidae, A. sennae, A. deseriticola, A. cyamopsidis, A. rostellata, A. nitrimali, A. crassa, and A. thunbergiae.
Acanthaceae ; Accidental Falls ; Alternaria ; Animals ; Ascomycota ; Beak ; China ; Classification ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Hevea ; Rubber ; Spores, Fungal

Natural rubber from hevea brasiliensis trees (Thailand, RRIM 600 clone) of different age (8, 20, and 35 years) were characterized by size exclusion chromatography coupled with online viscometry according to their distribution of molar mass and branching index at a temperature of 70 degrees C using cyclohexane as solvent. Washing with an aqueous solution of sodium dodecylsulfate and subsequent saponification purified the natural rubber samples. With this procedure physical branching points caused by phospholipids, proteins and hydrophobic terminal units, mainly fatty acids, of the natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene) molecule, could be removed leading to completely soluble polymer samples. All samples investigated possess a very broad (10 to 50,000 kg/mol) and distinct bimodal molar mass distribution. With increasing age the peak area in the low molar mass region decreases favoring the peak area in the high molar mass region. By plotting the branching index as a function of the both, the molar mass and the age of the trees.
Age Factors ; Chromatography, Gel ; *Hevea ; Molecular Weight ; Online Systems ; Rubber/*analysis ; Viscosity