[Nonallergic hypersensitivity to environmental factors].

The prevalence and severity of manifestations of non-allergic hypersensitivity to chemical environmental factors pose the question about the need to study the mechanisms of its formation in population. It should be borne in mind that, in the absence of immunological mechanisms of formation of the mentioned state, the term "chemical sensitization" must be replaced by the term "non-allergic hypersensitivity." The investigation of this problem should permit to reduce the risk of formation of different types of hypersensitivity in population.

[Testing of the system of biochemical and immunological indices of the state of population health in the survey of residents of Moscow, exposed to ambient air pollution].

New biomarkers of effect of some controlled ambient air pollutants (formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and TSP) were found in two surveys of Moscow residents (apparently healthy and outpatients with allergic diseases) with a help of screening system of biochemical and immunological parameters. Possible mechanisms of the effects, including interference of atmospheric carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide with corresponding endogenous second messengers, are discussed.

[Phenotypic polymorphism of biomedical parameters of the health status in hygienic studies].

The paper presents the results of investigating the phenotypic polymorphism of a number of biochemical and immunological parameters (the values of oxidative stress, the activity of catalase and glutathione-S-transferase in red blood cells, the serum levels of catecholamines, tumor-necrosis factor-?, and IgG antibody subclasses) in the authors' hygienic studies of genotypic and nongenotypic population samples.

[Enhanced serum DNAase activity in hypersensitization to pollen allergens].

Factor analysis of cross-sensitization to 24 common allergens and correlation analysis of the relationship between the hypersensitivity to the allergens and some biochemical markers (the intensity of serum chemiluminescence, the content of SH-groups, and the activity of lysosomal enzymes) of the health status were carried out in a sample of Moscow residents with allergic diseases. A significant correlation was found between the serum levels of specific IgE antibodies to pollen allergens and the activity of serum acid DNAase (R = 0.498; p = 0.009; N = 67). The revealed regularity may be used to devise a test for the differential diagnosis of pollenoses and suggests that there are possible differences in the levels of apoptosis and cytogenetic damages between patients with pollenoses and those with other allergic diseases.

[Development of an extended immunological system parameters for assessment influence of environmental factors on the population's health status].

The immune status of Moscow dwellers was studied. The findings indicate the criterion significance of immunological and allergological parameters in the estimation of a risk of allergic diseases under the influence of poor environmental factors influence. Hyperactivity in individuals with high immunoglobulin class E levels to environmental factors is suggested by the elevated concentrations of serum specific IgE to intrahouse factors that in combination with the increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and the suppressed production interleukin-4 are criteria for the early manifestations of allergy.

[Insect allergens in the human dwelling].

The paper considers the insect fauna of a human dwelling as a risk factor for patients with respiratory allergic diseases with domestic dust hypersensitivity. It shows that cockroaches, moths, domestic dust ticks, and molds may be additional sources of allergens within the human dwelling. The paper also lends support of an important role of cockroaches and their vital activity in the development of respiratory allergy and shows their implication as inhalation allergens.