International archives of allergy and immunology
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Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. · Apr 2003
Comparative StudyComparison of allergen-induced late inflammatory reactions in the nose and in the skin in house dust mite-allergic patients with or without asthma.
It remains to be established which factors contribute to the occurrence of asthma in allergic individuals. We hypothesized that differences in the late allergic inflammatory reaction to allergen between asthmatic and non-asthmatic house dust mite-allergic individuals might contribute to the difference in the clinical presentation of allergy. ⋯ House dust mite-allergic patients with or without asthma have very similar late allergic inflammatory reactions in the skin and in the nose after allergen challenge. Hence, it is unlikely that the occurrence of pulmonary symptoms in asthma is explained by a general tendency of asthmatics to have an enhanced late allergic cellular inflammatory response. Nasal and dermal allergen provocations are adequate models to study allergen-induced inflammation but probably lack the pivotal link which is essential for the development of asthma.