The incidence of allergic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy) increased gradually over recent decades, and an increasing number of patients are suffering from allergic diseases, thus the rise in allergic disease incidence warrants concern. Researchers have already had a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. Mounting evidence has shown that the eosinophils play an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. Many systematic studies have been conducted about eosinophils, therefore, this review will provide a summary on recent progress in eosinophils and allergic diseases.
Asthma ; etiology ; immunology ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; etiology ; immunology ; Eczema ; etiology ; immunology ; Eosinophils ; Food Hypersensitivity ; etiology ; immunology ; Humans ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; etiology ; immunology

Eosinophils ; immunology ; Food Hypersensitivity ; etiology ; Gastritis ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Milk Hypersensitivity ; complications ; immunology ; Milk Proteins ; immunology

Child ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; etiology ; immunology ; Humans

Otitis media with effusion (OME) was first described by Austrian otologist POLITZERZAI in 1867. The main feature is ear effusion and conductive hearing loss. However the etiology and pathogenesis of OME has not been clear up to now. It is thought that OME can be induced by upper respiratory infection,also can arise after radiotherapy of head and neck cancer. Presently the dysfunction of eustachian tube,infection of middle ear and allergic reaction are considered to be the major causes of OME. In recent years, more and more researches have concerned in immune response and otitis media with effusion.
Animals ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Otitis Media with Effusion ; etiology ; immunology

Antigens ; immunology ; Child ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Maternal Exposure ; Milk Hypersensitivity ; etiology ; Milk, Human ; immunology ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVETo understand the clinical features of gastrointestinal cow's milk allergy in children, and to assess the importance of cow's milk challenge.

METHODAn analysis was performed on the clinical manifestations and the challenge results of 50 children who received cow's milk challenges after admission to the department of gastroenterology, Children' s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January,2009 to December, 2012. The value of immunoglobulin E antibody was also analyzed among the 50 children, 25 cases were male and the other 25 were female. The youngest subject was 1. 6 months old, and the oldest was 20 months, most of the cases were younger than 6 months (36 cases).

RESULT(1) Diarrhea (27 cases, 54%) and hematochezia (25 cases, 50%) were the most common clinical features, vomiting, hematemesis and abdominal distention were rare. (2) Cow's milk challenges failed in 58% of the cases, 90% of whom showed delayed allergy. Diarrhea (19 cases, 73%) was the major later presentation, whereas the immediate hypersensitivity showed angio-edema, gastrointestinal symptom and rash. (3) The neutrophil count ((3.8 ± 2.8) x 10(9)/L vs. (2.5 ± 1.3) x 10(9)/L) was higher after challenge among children who failed the challenge. The change in the count of blood cell, neutrophil and platelet was studied, however, there were no statistical differences between the challenge-failed children and the passed ones. (4) Forty-seven cases had milk specific immunoglobulin E antibody test, and 5 showed positive results, 4 of whom were seen among the challenge-failed children.

CONCLUSIONDiarrhea and hematochezia was the most common clinical manifestation, and cow's milk protein induced proctocolitis was the most common disease in practice. It is important and necessary to perform cow's milk challenge.

Animals ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; etiology ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; etiology ; Hematemesis ; etiology ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate ; immunology ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Milk ; Milk Hypersensitivity ; immunology ; Vomiting ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the immune response of silicotic rats to sheep red blood cells(SRBC).

METHODSSilicotic rats were immunized with SRBC by tracheal instillation(Group 1) or intraperitoneal injection (Group 2), and non-silicotic rats were immunized by tracheal instillation as normal control(Group 3). The levels of serum hemolytic index(HC50) were measured on 7, 12, 20, 25, and 32 days after primary immunization and 5, 12, 15 days after the second immunization. Special anti-SRBC IgG was measured with ELISA(A490 nm) on 12, 20, 25, 32 days and 5, 12, 15, 27 days respectively. Delayed-type hypersensitivity(DTH) to SRBC was measured 20 days after second immunization and DTH reaction was determined at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after administration. Total cell count and cell populations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF), lung associated lymph node(LALN) and spleen weight, special IgG secreted from spleen cells were measured at the end of the experiment.

RESULTSThe HC50 of Group 1(47.4 +/- 1.0, 52.2 +/- 4.6, 31.1 +/- 11.9, 43.8 +/- 3.5, 33.6 +/- 16.8, 49.0 +/- 2.3, 92.9 +/- 20.2, 87.7 +/- 5.2) were statistically higher than those of Group 3(40.4 +/- 10.6, 2.8 +/- 2.5, 0.8 +/- 0.6, 6.6 +/- 5.8, 1.4 +/- 0.1, 36.5 +/- 16.5, 53.0 +/- 33.2, 2.6 +/- 2.2). The special anti-SRBC IgG response in Group 1(1.67 +/- 0.19, 1.98 +/- 0.36, 1.12 +/- 0.50, 1.38 +/- 0.30, 2.75 +/- 0.15, 2.60 +/- 0.28, 2.86 +/- 0.10, 2.50 +/- 0.20) were much stronger than those in Group 3 (0.59 +/- 0.30, 0.56 +/- 0.21, 0.21 +/- 0.16, 0.22 +/- 0.01, 0.81 +/- 0.25, 0.74 +/- 0.25, 0.69 +/- 0.26, 1.38 +/- 0.41). Furthermore, the results of DTH showed positive response and the ratios for diameter of skin rash > 5 mm at 24, 48, 72, 96 h were 16/16, 16/16, 16/16, 15/16 respectively in Group 1, while those in Group 3 were 8/15, 1/15, 1/15, 1/15 respectively. Total cell count in the BALF, LALN and spleen weight, and special IgG secreted from spleen cells in Group 1 were higher too. Group 2 expressed almost of the same but with mild immunologic responses as Group 1.

CONCLUSIONSilicosis-induced extremely strong DTH and over-response of humoral immunity to some antigens may contribute to the likelihood of silicosis complicated with tuberculosis.

Animals ; Erythrocytes ; immunology ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; etiology ; Immunization ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Rats ; Sheep ; Silicosis ; immunology

OBJECTIVEThe causes of chronic diarrhea in children are complex. At present, food allergy is generally viewed as an important cause of this disorder, and IgG-mediated delayed allergy plays a major role in this process. This study aimed to explore the link between food specific IgG and chronic diarrhea in children, as well as the value of food allergens-specific IgG antibody detection in the management of this disorder.

METHODSEighty-two children with chronic diarrhea and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum levels of specific IgG antibody to 14 kinds of food were detected using ELISA. The results were classified into four grades: Grade 0 (negative), Grade 1 (mild allergy), Grade 2 (moderate allergy) and Grade 3 (severe allergy). The patients received a diet treatment based on the results of food specific IgG antibody detection. Children with negative IgG antibody were allowed to continue their current diet. In children with Grade 1 allergy, the food responsible for the IgG antibody positive test was given only at an interval of four days. In children with Grade 2 or 3, the offending food was eliminated from the diet.

RESULTSOf the 82 children with chronic diarrhea, 79 (96.2%) had increased specific IgG levels for one or more of the 14 foods tested compared to 8 (26.7%) of the controls (P <0.01). The majority of patients showed increased specific IgG levels for milk (68.3%) and egg (62.2%). A low proportion of patients (2.4%) was allergic to chicken, and no patient was allergic to pork. The symptoms were improved in 65 patients (79.3%) after 1 week to 3 months of diet treatment.

CONCLUSIONSFood allergy is one of major causes of chronic childhood diarrhea. Food specific IgG antibody detection may assist in the dietary management of this disorder.

Allergens ; immunology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chronic Disease ; Diarrhea ; etiology ; immunology ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Infant ; Male

Anaphylaxis following laminaria insertion rarely occurs but may be a life-threatening condition. Laminaria tents, prepared from natural sea kelp, are commonly used prior to elective termination of pregnancy to achieve cervical dilatation. We report herein two cases of anaphylaxis caused by IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to laminaria. Two women, each of whom had undergone at least one previous abortion where a laminaria had been utilized, developed anaphylactic reaction following laminaria insertion. The reaction included urticaria, nausea, breathing difficulty, and hypotension. The patients subsequently underwent skin testing and measurement of serum specific IgE level to laminaria extract, and were shown to elicit positive responses to laminaria. The implication and impact of laminaria allergy on gynecologic procedures are significant and this allergy should be included in the list of differential diagnoses for hypersensitive reaction in gynecologic procedures.
Adult ; Anaphylaxis/*etiology/*immunology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Human ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate/*immunology ; Laminaria/*immunology ; Pregnancy ; Skin Tests ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

It is known that early childhood wheezing associated with sensitization to allergens, including food, has an increased risk of developing asthma later during school age. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is well known to be associated with asthma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is an association between silent GER and food sensitization in infants and young children with recurrent wheezing. Eighty-five infants or young children with recurrent wheezing, and no gastrointestinal symptoms, underwent 24 hr esophageal pH monitoring, as well as total serum IgE and specific IgE testing for eggs and milk. Among the 85 subjects, 48.2% had significant GER. There was no significant difference in the GER between atopic and non-atopic recurrent wheezers (41.7% and 50.8%, respectively). The sensitization rate to food (eggs or milk) was 12.2% and 20.5% in the GER and non-GER groups, respectively and showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.34). In conclusion, about half of infants and young children with recurrent wheezing and no gastrointestinal symptoms have silent GER. The silent GER may not contribute to food sensitization in infants and young children with recurrent wheezing.
Allergens/immunology ; Child, Preschool ; Esophageal pH Monitoring ; Female ; *Food Hypersensitivity/etiology/immunology ; *Gastroesophageal Reflux/complications/immunology ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; *Respiratory Sounds/etiology/immunology