The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 1998
Dissection of the grass allergen-specific immune response in patients with allergies and control subjects: T-cell proliferation in patients does not correlate with specific serum IgE and skin reactivity.
Pollinosis, caused by grasses of the Poaceae family, is a problem worldwide. The relative importance of grass groups 1 and 5 major allergens is well established. However, not much is known about the recognition of these allergens by T cells and whether this T-cell reactivity correlates with skin reactivity and serum IgE levels. ⋯ Grass allergen-specific T-cell responses are highly cross-reactive, and patients with allergies exhibit higher responses than nonallergic donors, suggesting that T cells are involved in the allergic reaction to grass group 5 allergens. However, group 5-specific T-cell responses are also found in donors without group 5-specific IgE, and the patients' grass-specific T-cell responses and cytokine production do not correlate to skin reactivity or to concentrations of grass-specific IgE.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialSalmeterol improves quality of life in patients with asthma requiring inhaled corticosteroids. Salmeterol Quality of Life Study Group.
Traditional clinical outcomes have demonstrated that salmeterol improves pulmonary function and reduces asthma symptoms. However, they do not evaluate how patients perceive the effect of therapeutic intervention on day-to-day functioning and well-being. ⋯ Salmeterol provided significantly greater improvement in quality-of-life outcomes in patients whose asthma symptoms are not well controlled with inhaled corticosteroids. These results demonstrate that the benefits of salmeterol are not limited to conventional clinical measures of efficacy.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 1998
Identification of common allergenic structures in mugwort and ragweed pollen.
Identification of common allergenic structures in mugwort and ragweed pollen. ⋯ In addition to profilin, mugwort and ragweed pollen contain a number of cross-reactive allergens, among them the major mugwort allergen Art v 1. Cross-reactive IgE antibodies can lead to clinically significant allergic reactions.