The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Oct 1997
Evidence of Hop Japanese pollinosis in Korea: IgE sensitization and identification of allergenic components.
Hop Japanese (Hop J) pollens are abundant in the air of Korea during the autumn season. Their significance as a source of allergic sensitization is still unclear. ⋯ We believe that the Hop J pollen should be considered as a relevant allergen during the autumn season and thus included in skin test batteries in Korea. Some patients diagnosed as having "intrinsic" asthma or rhinitis might be sensitized to this pollen and other previously unknown allergens.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Oct 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialRelationship between food-specific IgE concentrations and the risk of positive food challenges in children and adolescents.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) is the "gold standard" for diagnosis of food hypersensitivity. Skin prick tests and RASTs are sensitive indicators of food-specific IgE antibodies but poor predictors of clinical reactivity. Previous studies suggested that high concentrations of food-specific IgE antibody were predictive of food-induced clinical symptoms. Because the CAP System FEIA (Pharmacia Diagnostics, Uppsala, Sweden) provides a quantitative assessment of allergen-specific IgE antibody, this study was undertaken to determine the potential utility of the CAP System FEIA in diagnosis of IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity. ⋯ When compared with the outcome of DBPCFCs, results of CAP System FEIA are generally comparable to those of skin prick tests in predicting symptomatic food hypersensitivity. Furthermore, by measuring the concentrations of food-specific IgE antibodies with the CAP System FEIA, it is possible to identify a subset of patients who are highly likely (>95%) to experience clinical reactions to egg, milk, peanut, or fish. This could eliminate the need to perform DBPCFCs in a significant number of patients suspected of having IgE-mediated food allergy.