Food anaphylaxis in antiphospholipid syndrome and thrombosis

Background: We have observed that some cases of food anaphylaxis were followed by severe thrombosis associated to anticardiolip in antibodies. Food anaphylaxis associated with antiphospholipid syndrome has seldom been published. Objective: The aims were: 1) to test anticardiolipin antibodies in an important number of patients with anaphylaxis due to vegetal foods and their relationship with possible thrombosis; and 2) to study seed and fruit hypersensitivity in patients with previous thrombotic events associated with antiphospholipid antibodies (aCL). Methods: We included 30 patients diagnosed of thrombosis associated with a CL, 52 patients who suffered from anaphylaxis due to seeds or fruits, and 120 control patients. Haematological, cardiopulmonary vascular and rheumatologic studies had been performed as needed. In vivo and in vitro allergy tests with a large battery of vegetal allergens were carried out in all the patients. Measurement of IgG a CL antibodies and specific IgE to vegetal food was done by ELISA and CAP-FEIA (Phadia). Immunodetection and inhibitions with lipoproteins belonging to seedswere performed. Results: Seventy-five percent of the patients diagnosed as having antiphospholipid primary syndrome had specific IgE against different proteins from different vegetable allergens, most of them seeds, and clearly against lipoproteins that were also recognised by the patients with food anaphylaxis but not by the control cases. Among the patients with anaphylaxis, 28% had anticardiolipin antibodies and 17.3% thrombosis. Conclusion: Our study suggests that seed lipoproteins which cause severe food anaphylaxis might have a potential role in the antiphospholipid syndrome and related thrombosis (AU)

Food anaphylaxis in antiphospholipid syndrome and thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: We have observed that some cases of food anaphylaxis were followed by severe thrombosis associated to anticardiolipin antibodies. Food anaphylaxis associated with antiphospholipid syndrome has seldom been published. OBJECTIVE: The aims were: 1) to test anticardiolipin antibodies in an important number of patients with anaphylaxis due to vegetal foods and their relationship with possible thrombosis; and 2) to study seed and fruit hypersensitivity in patients with previous thrombotic events associated with antiphospholipid antibodies (aCL). METHODS: We included 30 patients diagnosed of thrombosis associated with aCL, 52 patients who suffered from anaphylaxis due to seeds or fruits, and 120 control patients. Haematological, cardiopulmonary vascular and rheumatologic studies had been performed as needed. In vivo and in vitro allergy tests with a large battery of vegetal allergens were carried out in all the patients. Measurement of IgG aCL antibodies and specific IgE to vegetal food was done by ELISA and CAP-FEIA (Phadia). Immunodetection and inhibitions with lipoproteins belonging to seeds were performed. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of the patients diagnosed as having antiphospholipid primary syndrome had specific IgE against different proteins from different vegetable allergens, most of them seeds, and clearly against lipoproteins that were also recognised by the patients with food anaphylaxis but not by the control cases. Among the patients with anaphylaxis, 28% had anticardiolipin antibodies and 17.3% thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that seed lipoproteins which cause severe food anaphylaxis might have a potential role in the antiphospholipid syndrome and related thrombosis.

Is Lolium pollen from an urban environment more allergenic than rural pollen?

BACKGROUND: Allergy to grass pollen is a highly prevalent allergic disease. Hay fever is more predominant in urban than in rural areas, despite the increasingly smaller areas of surrounding grassland. The effect of vehicle exhaust pollutants, mainly diesel particles, and other industrial sources of atmospheric pollution leading to plant damage has been implicated in this phenomenon. OBJECTIVE: This study compared the in vivo and in vitro allergenicity of pooled samples of Lolium perenne grass pollen harvested from 10 different urban areas with that of samples of the same pollen from 10 neighboring rural areas. METHODS: Lolium perenne pollen from different parts of a city and from a nearby rural area was harvested in 1999 and 2000 during the peak pollination period. Protein composition was compared by SDS-PAGE and in vivo and in vitro IgE-binding capacity was compared by skin-prick tests, RAST-inhibition and measurement of the major allergen, Lol p 5. RESULTS: In the two years under study, urban samples contained approximately twice the protein content of the rural samples. Biological activity and Lol p 5 content was higher in urban pollen than in rural pollen and showed differences in the two years under study. CONCLUSIONS: The protein content and allergenicity of Lolium perenne pollen was higher in urban areas than in rural areas. These differences might explain why allergy to grass pollen is more prevalent in urban areas. This finding should be taken into account in diagnosis, preventive measures and specific immunotherapy.

Allergy after ingestion or inhalation of cereals involves similar allergens in different ages.

BACKGROUND: Cereals are among the major foods that account for food hypersensitivity reactions. Salt-soluble proteins appear to be the most important allergens contributing to the asthmatic response. In contrast, very limited information is available regarding cereal allergens responsible for allergic reactions after ingestion of cereal proteins. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the allergenic reactivity of ingested and inhaled cereal allergens in different ages, in order to investigate if the response to different allergens would depend on the sensitization route. METHODS: We included 66 patients in three groups. Group 1: 40 children aged 3 to 6 months who suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, eczema or weight loss after the introduction of cereal formula in their diet and in which a possibility of coeliac disease was discarded. Group 2: 18 adults with food allergy due to cereals tested by prick tests, specific IgE and food challenge. Group 3: eight patients previously diagnosed as having baker's asthma. Sera pool samples were collected from each group of patients and IgE immunoblotting was performed. RESULTS: We found an important sensitization to cereal in the 40 children. The most important allergens were wheat followed by barley and rye. Among the adults with cereal allergy, sensitization to other allergens was common, especially to Lolium perenne (rye grass) pollen. Immunoblotting showed similar allergenic detection in the three groups. CONCLUSION: Clinically significant reactivity to cereal may be observed in early life. Inhalation and ingestion routes causing cereal allergy seem to involve similar allergens. The diet control was more effective in children. The possibility of cereal allergy after the introduction of cereal formula during the lactation period should not be underestimated.

Early introduction of cereals into children's diets as a risk-factor for grass pollen asthma.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of asthma has increased from the 1950s to the 1990s. The relationship between diet and asthma is an area of controversy that has never been fully evaluated. Attempts at dietary prevention of asthma have produced conflicting results. We have recently identified allergens from cereals that show cross-reactivity with proteins in grass pollen. An early intake of cereals in the diet during early life might cause IgE sensitization to cereals. It is not known whether such sensitization predisposes the development of allergy to pollen. METHODS: To test this hypothesis, a cross-sectional study and an observational case-control analysis of reviewed data were carried out on 16381 patients who had been admitted to our Allergy Unit between 1989 and 1999. All the patients underwent allergy tests to identify asthma risk-factors. All information in our data base was analysed using the SPSS computer system. RESULTS: There has been an increase of 7.8% in incidences of allergic asthma and a 7.3% increase in asthma due to grass pollen in the last decade. Grass-pollen asthma was associated with sensitization to cereals. The early introduction of cereals in the diet of children was found to be a risk factor for grass-pollen asthma (OR = 5.95; 95% CI 3.89-9.10). CONCLUSIONS: These findings document the progression of allergic asthma during a decade in a large sample of people who were influenced by similar environmental conditions and studied with the same diagnostic methods. This study represents the largest database of patients in which a common food is shown to be a risk factor for asthma.

Anaphylaxis associated with antiphospholipid syndrome.

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge, no previously published reports have described food-induced anaphylaxis associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome. OBJECTIVE: We undertook a study of four patients with thrombosis associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome after each patient experienced anaphylaxis attributable to ingestion of vegetal foods. METHODS: IgE antibody levels to various foods were determined in serum specimens from the study patients, and skin prick tests with the same allergens were conducted to determine their in vivo responses. Hematologic, cardiopulmonary, vascular, and rheumatologic studies were also performed. IgG anticardiolipin antibody levels were determined by ELISA. RESULTS: All four patients fulfilled the criteria for antiphospholipid syndrome and had high levels of specific IgE antibodies for certain food allergens. By immunoblot analysis, the presence of serum IgE specific for a 45-kD protein band in an almond extract was detected in these four patients who experienced food-related anaphylaxis. No specific IgE was detected in sera from normal subjects. No IgE antibodies specific for the food panallergen lipid transfer proteins were detected. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of severe food-precipitated anaphylaxis associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome and the first description of a patient with allergy to blackberry. The possible involvement of food panallergens distinct from lipid transfer proteins is also discussed.

Hombro doloroso y tumor de Pancoast / Shoulder pain and Pancoast tumor

El tumor de Pancoast es una forma de presentación conocida del carcinoma de pulmón. A pesar de ello, como consecuencia de su forma de manifestación, tanto clínica como radiológica, hace que a menudo no sean diagnosticados correctamente, siendo remitidos inicialmente este tipo de pacientes a la consulta de traumatología, lo que hace que el diagnóstico y tratamiento se retrase innecesariamente (AU)

Occupational asthma by Anisakis simplex.

BACKGROUND: No cases of occupational asthma caused by the inhalation of antigens from Anisakis simplex have been published. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possibility that A simplex can play a role in the asthma experienced by 2 workers when handling fish and fish flour. METHODS: Skin prick and bronchial challenge tests with A simplex were performed. We also carried out measurements of specific IgE to A simplex and immunoblotting. RESULTS: Both patients had strong positive skin test responses, challenge test responses, and specific IgE to A simplex. Immunoblotting showed that both patients also had IgE against several bands in the fish flour extract, suggesting contamination by Anisakis allergens. CONCLUSION: These 2 patients provide evidence for occupational asthma caused by A simplex, based on in vivo and in vitro tests for Anisakis-specific IgE.

Comparison between metacarpal bone measurements by computarized radiogrammetry and total body DEXA in normal and osteoporotic women.

We evaluated the precision of metacarpal radiogrammetry by computed radiography as a technique for bone mass measurement. Measurements obtained using this method were compared with densitometric measurements of total body bone mass using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Our results showed that the coefficients of variation for radiogrammetric measurements were similar in 60 women with osteoporosis and in 100 normal women: 0.7% in both groups for external diameter of the second metacarpal, 2.41% in the normal women and 2.03% in the women with osteoporosis for internal diameter, and 2.3% and 2.4%, respectively, for cortical thickness. Except for external metacarpal diameter, which did not differ between normal and osteoporotic women, all the measurements were smaller in the women with osteoporosis (p < 0.001). The correlation between metacarpal cortical thickness and total body bone mineral content was r2 = 0.462 in the women with osteoporosis, r2 = 0.476 in the controls, and r2 = 0.522 in the two groups combined (all p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation (p < 0.001) between cortical thickness and densitometric metacarpal measurements of both the diaphysis and epiphysis. These results confirm the value of radiogrammetry as a technique for quantitating bone mass under normal and pathological conditions. Additional advantages of the method are minimal radiation dose delivered, possibility for storing the image and data, and technical facility.

Raynaud's phenomenon as initial manifestation of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa.

The case of a 45 year old man with cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa and Raynaud's phenomenon as initial manifestation of the disease is reported. Although peripheral vascular disease is a well characterised extracutaneous manifestation of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, to our knowledge this is the first reported case in which Raynaud's phenomenon was the initial and sole manifestation of the disease for a long time.

Bakers' asthma: prevalence and evaluation of immunotherapy with a wheat flour extract.

One hundred thirty-nine bakers and pastry cooks were included in a prevalence study of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to wheat flour demonstrated by skin tests, specific IgE to wheat flour (RAST), and inhalation challenge. From the sensitized workers, we selected 30 asthmatic patients. Twenty patients were treated with a standardized wheat flour extract, and ten with a placebo in a double-blind clinical trial. Before and after immunotherapy we performed tests in vivo (skin tests with wheat flour and methacholine tests), and in vitro (total IgE and specific IgE to wheat flour). We found substantial prevalence of wheat flour allergy (25.17% of workers), and a significant decrease (P less than .001) in hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, skin sensitivity (P = .002), and specific IgE (P less than .005) to wheat flour after 20 months of immunotherapy. There was also significant subjective improvement (P less than .001). The placebo group showed no changes in these variables.

Hodgkin's disease occurring in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

A 57 year old woman with a 13 year history of mouth dryness, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and recurrent bronchial infections presented with multiple lymphadenopathies. Histological diagnosis was Hodgkin's disease. B and T cell lymphomas are well known complications of Sjögren's syndrome. This case provides evidence that Hodgkin's disease may also be associated with this syndrome.

Exercise-induced anaphylactic reaction to grain flours.

On rare occasions, reproducible exercise-induced anaphylactic reactions (EIA) occur in some patients only after certain foods have been eaten before exercise, yet eating these foods alone or exercising alone causes no symptoms. This special response has been evident sometimes with shellfish, nuts, and wheat. We describe a patient in whom grain flour was a triggering factor for EIA. Skin tests and RAST were positive for grain flours. Normally, the patient tolerated grain flours without symptoms and IgE mechanisms had not been suspected. Testing for food hypersensitivity may be important in patients with EIA.