New research in allergic inflammation and anti-IgE therapy unveiled.

2003 OCT 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research on allergic diseases and patient care was released at the World Allergy Organization's (WAO) Congress in Vancouver, Canada, which took place September 6-12, 2003.

Respiratory allergies are not affected by varying rates in air pollution in different cities across Europe, according to a study by Martinus Lovik, et al., from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway.

The study was conducted to see whether different amounts of air pollution across Europe affected the prevalence or severity of respiratory allergies. Coarse and fine ambient particulate matter was gathered in Amsterdam, Rome, Lodz, Oslo, and de Zilk during spring, summer, and winter of 2001 and 2002.

There were some finer particles from Rome that had a stronger IgE response when compared to Oslo and Lodz; however, the researchers noted that although the majority of all the particles collected had an adjuvant effect, there were no marked differences between the locations that were observed. It was specifically noted that even de Zilk, a "clean" background Dutch sea-site, did not stand out from the other locations.

Greater amounts of nasal mucus can lead to an increased sensitivity to house dust mite allergen in people with asthma and rhinitis, according to one of the studies.

Janet S. Rimmer, MD, et al., from the Woolcock Institute of Respiratory Medicine in Sydney, Australia, described the connection between nasal mucus and dust mite allergen.

In Australia, a majority of patients with asthma and rhinitis are sensitized to house dust mite allergen. When an allergen challenge is performed for dust mite sensitivity, only 20% of the inserted allergen can be retrieved following the test. The bulk of this allergen appeared to be associated with nasal mucus, where it could be detected for a long time after the challenge.