Questions and Answers about Allergies

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Question 1: (Amani) It is very important for Physicians, researchers, and patients to understand the terminology used to define allergic diseases. Failure to do so can lead to inappropriate advice, prevention and ineffective treatment. The term allergy is commonly refers to reactions or conditions related to an IgE antibody-mediated immunological mechanism following antigenic exposure. Antigen is a material that is capable of initiating an immune reaction when introduced into the human body (J.Genuis , 2010). Regarding food allergy, adverse food reactions (AFRs) can be classified into toxic and hypersensitivity reactions (HRs). When an immunological response has been occurred, hypersensitivity food reaction must be referred to as food allergy, while if the role of IgE is demonstrated, the suitable definition is IgE mediated food allergy. About 20 percent of individuals report an AFR, while food allergy shows lower prevalence: (0.5-3.8 percent in children and 0.1-1 percent in adults). (G.Gasbarrini, 2008). Non-toxic food reactions are classified into immunological (food allergy) and non-immunological (food intolerance); food allergy is subdivided into: IgE mediated: characterized by the presence of IgE specific antibodies and the exact relation between ingestion of food and the symptoms. and non IgE mediated: Demonstrated by antibodies of different isotype from IgE :IgG, IgM, IgA which consists cell-mediated immunity (Fig….). Hypersensitivity or sensitivity are referred to reproducible symptoms or signs initiated by exposure to certain stimulus at a dose tolerated by normal persons (S.G.O. Johansson2004). The primary differences between sensitivity and the allergy are that; an allergy involved the immune system reaction, but s... ... middle of paper ... ...t proteins to form covalent conjugates, so when penicillin is ingested or injected, it forms conjugates with self proteins, and the penicillin modified self peptides provoke a TH2 response in some individuals. These TH2 cells then activates penicillin-binding B cells to produce IgE antibody against the penicillin hapten. Thus, penicillin acts both as the B-cell antigen and, by modifying self peptides, as the T-cell antigen. While when penicillin is injected intravenously into an allergic patient, the penicillin-modified proteins can cross-link IgE molecules on tissue mast cells and circulating basophils and thus causing anaphylaxis (A. Janeway ,2012) 1-Haenuki Y, Matsushita K, Futatsugi-Yumikura S, Ishii KJ, Kawagoe T, Imoto Y,et al. A critical role of IL-33 in experimental allergic rhinitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2012;130:184-94.

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