{"title":"Allergen challenge tests in allergen immunotherapy: State of the art.","authors":"Petra Zieglmayer, René Zieglmayer, Patrick Lemell","doi":"10.5414/ALX02322E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02322E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Treatment effects in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) studies are based on symptomatic improvement, and evaluations of naturally exposed patients do often show weak efficacy. Allergen challenge tests, such as conjunctival (CAC), nasal (NAC), or bronchial (BAC) challenge tests, or challenges in allergen exposure chambers (AEC) are accepted by regulators for AIT phase II studies only.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This review aims to describe different allergen challenge test methods, summarizes safety and limitations for each, and discusses their potential for use in AIT trials.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Organ-specific allergen challenges provide information about individual reactivity, reaction threshold, and organ-specific efficacy of AIT. AECs, targeting all affected organs simultaneously, were developed to investigate disease mechanisms and treatment effects under controlled and reproducible conditions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A high level of standardization is existing for NAC only; in CAC and BAC, the toolbox is limited to subjective symptom scoring with no validated objective parameters identified yet. AECs are complex and heterogenous; correlation of systems and comparability of study data is claimed. All challenge methods are safe when conducted by experienced staff.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"25-32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10012425/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9188030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chronic recurrent wheals - If not chronic spontaneous urticaria, what else?","authors":"Hanna Bonnekoh, Karoline Krause, Pavel Kolkhir","doi":"10.5414/ALX02375E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02375E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic urticarial rash, mostly due to chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), is seen in up to 1 - 4% of the general population. Urticarial vasculitis (UV) and autoinflammatory syndromes, i.e., cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) and Schnitzler syndrome (SchS), can mimic CSU-like rash but represent rare disorders with systemic symptoms including fever, headache, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia. Clinical and laboratory features can point to the presence of any of these diseases in patients initially presenting with chronic urticarial rash. These include long-lasting wheals (> 24 hours), lesional burning, systemic symptoms, and/or increase in inflammatory markers (e.g., C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, and/or S100A8/9). Lesional skin biopsy usually demonstrates leukocytoclastic vasculitis (UV) or neutrophil-rich infiltrate (CAPS and SchS). In contrast to CSU, where second-generation H1 antihistamines and omalizumab allow to control symptoms in most patients, systemic immunosuppression and anti-interleukin (IL)-1 therapies are needed in case of UV and autoinflammatory diseases, respectively. The rarity and low awareness of CSU differential diagnoses may be related to the longer delays in diagnosis and therapy in those affected with UV, CAPS, and SchS. Knowledge of the differential diagnoses of CSU is important because only correct diagnosis allows adequate therapy. Complications such as the development of lymphoproliferative disease in SchS and amyloidosis in CAPS, and the presence of comorbid diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus in UV, must be considered and monitored.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"8-16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9835205/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10535614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Knut Brockow, Gerda Wurpts, Axel Trautmann, Wolfgang Pfützner, Regina Treudler, Andreas J Bircher, Randolph Brehler, Timo Buhl, Heinrich Dickel, Thomas Fuchs, Thilo Jakob, Julia Kurz, Burkhard Kreft, Lars Lange, Hans F Merk, Maja Mockenhaupt, Norbert Mülleneisen, Hagen Ott, Johannes Ring, Franziska Ruëff, Bernhardt Sachs, Helmut Sitter, Bettina Wedi, Stefan Wöhrl, Margitta Worm, Torsten Zuberbier
{"title":"Guideline for allergological diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity reactions: S2k Guideline of the German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) in cooperation with the German Dermatological Society (DDG), the Association of German Allergologists (ÄDA), the German Society for Pediatric Allergology (GPA), the German Contact Dermatitis Research Group (DKG), the German Society for Pneumology (DGP), the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, the Austrian Society of Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI), the Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology (ÖGDV), the German Academy of Allergology and Environmental Medicine (DAAU), and the German Documentation Center for Severe Skin Reactions (dZh).","authors":"Knut Brockow, Gerda Wurpts, Axel Trautmann, Wolfgang Pfützner, Regina Treudler, Andreas J Bircher, Randolph Brehler, Timo Buhl, Heinrich Dickel, Thomas Fuchs, Thilo Jakob, Julia Kurz, Burkhard Kreft, Lars Lange, Hans F Merk, Maja Mockenhaupt, Norbert Mülleneisen, Hagen Ott, Johannes Ring, Franziska Ruëff, Bernhardt Sachs, Helmut Sitter, Bettina Wedi, Stefan Wöhrl, Margitta Worm, Torsten Zuberbier","doi":"10.5414/ALX02422E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02422E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Not available.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"122-139"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10495942/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10252212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amely Brückner, Petra Funk-Wentzel, Julia Kahle, Stephanie Hompes
{"title":"Milk ladder as a therapeutic option for cow's milk allergy: Proposal for a step-by-step plan for cow's milk introduction in cow's milk allergy.","authors":"Amely Brückner, Petra Funk-Wentzel, Julia Kahle, Stephanie Hompes","doi":"10.5414/ALX02381E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02381E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In regard to cow's milk allergy, the current option of avoiding can be expanded by (re-)introducing milk using a milk ladder. So-called \"food ladders\" are internationally well known and utilized for both non-IgE-mediated and IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy. Stepping up the stairs from highly processed baked goods with milk via cooked milk products to pasteurized fresh milk reflects the status of acquired tolerance of each level. The allergenicity of milk depends on processing and amount. By implementing the milk ladder, it can enhance the clinical process of tolerance development, lead to meeting nutrient requirements quickly, and involve parents actively in the therapeutical process. The milk ladder, for the first time being published and adapted for Germany, describes a structured framework that might be adapted individually regarding the time period on a certain level or other variations such as preparation/amount of milk products. From a safety perspective, healthcare professionals should pay great attention to patient selection and education prior to implementing the milk ladder. Detailed advice as well as recipes and a graphical presentation can be found in the supplemental material.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"116-121"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10339713/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9879919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Real-life evidence in allergen immunotherapy: Moving forward with mHealth apps.","authors":"Bernardo Sousa-Pinto, Oliver Pfaar, Jean Bousquet","doi":"10.5414/ALX02343E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02343E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>The efficacy and safety of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in allergic rhinitis has been classically assessed using randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, RCTs may have limitations in their external validity, and their evidence may be complemented with that from real-world studies. We aimed to review the mHealth apps that can be used for retrieving real-world data on AIT in allergic rhinitis.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>We applied an automatic tool to identify the mHealth apps (available in the Google Play and Apple App stores) that can be used to assess patients under AIT for allergic rhinitis. Apps meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed, and the corresponding scientific evidence was assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified five apps with scientific publications in the context of allergic rhinitis: AirRater, AllergyMonitor, MASK-air, Husteblume, and Pollen App. Of those, only MASK-air and AllergyMonitor assessed AIT in patients with allergic rhinitis. MASK-air has enabled the comparison of reported symptoms among patients treated vs. not-treated with AIT. MASK-air has also allowed for the development of combined symptom-medication scores that can be used as endpoints for AIT trials. AllergyMonitor has identified that mobile technology can improve adherence to AIT and is set to support the prescription of AIT for patients with allergic rhinitis by a more precise identification of the pollen season.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Mobile health tools allow for the collection of large volumes of real-world data and can be useful for generating hypotheses on AIT. However, such hypotheses require confirmation by epidemiological studies and RCTs.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"47-56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10012883/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9484194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prospective, monocentric, observational study of the long-term effectiveness of omalizumab in chronic urticaria.","authors":"Stephan Traidl, Bettina Wedi","doi":"10.5414/ALX02376E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02376E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Omalizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting IgE, has been approved in 2014 for the treatment of H1 antihistamine-refractory chronic urticaria. Data on long-term effectiveness and predictive factors for treatment response are currently limited. In this monocentric, prospective, observational study, 112 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and 32 patients with chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU) were included. In addition to a rapid response, omalizumab also showed good effectiveness on both forms of chronic urticaria over 2 years. Low total IgE and elevated <i>Yersinia</i> IgA were identified as potential predictive markers for slower treatment responses in CSU. In conclusion, the present study highlights the efficacy of omalizumab for the treatment of chronic urticaria. With emerging new therapeutic options for chronic urticaria, further genetic as well as molecular markers are needed to establish patient-specific therapy selection.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9835204/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10535617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vaccination against infectious agents and allergen-specific immunotherapy: A critical analysis.","authors":"Margitta Worm, Oliver Pfaar","doi":"10.5414/ALX02390E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02390E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) and vaccination against infectious agents (VIA) are treatments actively interfering with the immune system. This raises the question of whether these therapies influence each other positively and/or negatively if applied simultaneously. For AIT, it should be taken into account that the mechanisms of subcutaneous and sublingual allergen application are in principle similar, but must be assessed in respect to vaccination differently due to their different routes of allergen administration. Here, the immunological mechanisms of both AIT application forms in respect to VIA are discussed in more detail followed by a critical discussion based on the literature and considering current practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":"7 ","pages":"84-89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10088876/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9674381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allergologie SelectPub Date : 2022-11-21eCollection Date: 2022-01-01DOI: 10.5414/ALX02318E
Francesca Gehrt, Qingqing Xu, Ilaria Baiardini, Giorgio Walter Canonica, Oliver Pfaar
{"title":"Adherence in allergen immunotherapy: Current situation and future implications.","authors":"Francesca Gehrt, Qingqing Xu, Ilaria Baiardini, Giorgio Walter Canonica, Oliver Pfaar","doi":"10.5414/ALX02318E","DOIUrl":"10.5414/ALX02318E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment in allergy. However clinical trials as well as real-life studies revealed poor treatment adherence. This article is intended to provide an overview of the current literature of the last 10 years, to outline reasons for poor treatment adherence in AIT and to provide possible solutions for improving adherence.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":" ","pages":"276-284"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9707370/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40459279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allergologie SelectPub Date : 2022-11-21eCollection Date: 2022-01-01DOI: 10.5414/ALX02300E
Pattraporn Satitsuksanoa, Alba Angelina, Oscar Palomares, Mübeccel Akdis
{"title":"Mechanisms in AIT: Insights 2021.","authors":"Pattraporn Satitsuksanoa, Alba Angelina, Oscar Palomares, Mübeccel Akdis","doi":"10.5414/ALX02300E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02300E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is currently the only treatment with potential long-term disease-modifying effects for patients suffering from allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, venom allergy, or IgE-mediated food allergy. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying immune responses during successful AIT is of utmost importance and it may help to develop more effective and safer treatments.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>PubMed literature review was performed using keywords such as allergen-specific immunotherapy; regulatory T cells; regulatory B cells; regulatory innate lymphoid cells; and allergen-specific antibody from years 2018 to 2021.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The proposed mechanism of long-term tolerance induction in AIT, even upon treatment discontinuation, involves basophils, mast cells, innate lymphoid cells, dendritic cells, allergen-specific regulatory T and B cells, downregulation of effector type 2 responses, decrease in the production of IgE and increase in production of allergen-specific blocking antibodies, such as IgG2 and IgG4.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We summarize the most recent advances related to mechanisms involved in the restoration of healthy immune responses to allergens during AIT. Our knowledge in this regard has significantly improved over the last years, which might well contribute to design novel and improved therapeutic approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":" ","pages":"259-266"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9707368/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40549642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Allergen immunotherapy for food allergy: Evidence and outlook.","authors":"Antonella Muraro, Angelo Tropeano, Mattia Giovannini","doi":"10.5414/ALX02319E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5414/ALX02319E","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Food allergy represents a significant health issue characterized by a sizeable epidemiological burden, involving up to 5% of adults and up to 8% of children in the Western world. The elimination diet of the trigger food is the cornerstone of food allergy management. However, novel treatment options are most wanted to provide alternative strategies for this potentially fatal medical condition. Allergen immunotherapy for food allergy (FA-AIT) is considered an immunomodulatory intervention where regular exposure to increasing doses of food is performed in the context of an allergist's supervised protocol. The main objective is to decrease reactivity, attenuate life-threatening allergic episodes and reduce frequent access to the emergency department. Achieving food tolerance off-treatment is, however, the ultimate aim. In this review, we aim to summarize FA-AIT evidence and outlook.</p>","PeriodicalId":7485,"journal":{"name":"Allergologie Select","volume":" ","pages":"285-292"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9707367/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40457425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}