Asthma atopic

Atopy denotes a hereditary predisposition for IgE-mediated allergic reactions. Clinical pictures include allergic rhinoconjunctivitis ( hay fever ), bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis (neurodermatitis, atopic eczema) and urticaria. Evidently, differentiation ofT-helper (TH) lymphocytes toward the TH2 phenotype is the common denominator. Therapeutic interventions are aimed at different levels to influence pathophysiological events (A). 

The most common form of asthma is allergic asthma (atopic or extrinsic asthma), and it is associated with environmental allergens, such as plant pollens, house dust mites (Dermatophagoides farinae), domestic pet dander, molds, and foods. The less common form, intrinsic asthma, has no known allergic cause and usually occurs in adults older than 35 years. Intrinsic asthma may result from an autonomic dysfunction characterized by excess cholinergic... 

Asthma may present predominantly with cough, often nocturnal, and the diagnosis is supported by the presence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Three other conditions, cough-variant asthma, atopic cough, and eosinophilic bronchitis, are related... 

C23H26O6, Mr 422.46, prismatic cryst., mp. 156 C. p-Terphenyl derivative from cultures of Aspergillus candidus. T. in vitro inhibits the formation of immunoglobulin E in human lymphocytes (IC50 0.18 nM). It is investigated as lead structure for the synthesis of therapeutics against asthma, atopic dermatitis and other allergic diseases. 

This inflammatory disease is characterized by activated T helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes, eosinophils and activated mast cells [68]. Several distinct asthma phenotypes exist, in particular atopic and non-atopic asthma. Atopic asthma is correlated with an elevation of total and allergen-specific IgE in the serum in contrast with the non-atopic asthmatics. In these patients there is no evidence of allergen-specific serum IgE and even total serum IgE levels are within the normal range [69]. 

CCR3 Eotaxin, RANTES, MCP-3, MCP-4, MPIF-2 Eosinophil migration and activation. Asthma, atopic allergy, and parasitic infection. 

Control of severe or incapacitating allergic conditions not controlled by other methods, bronchial asthma (including status asthmaticus), contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, serum sickness, drug hypersensitivity reactions... 

The impact of gender on the onset of anaphylaxis is age-dependent. In children, boys predominate whereas after puberty this relationship reverses (fig. 3). Similar observations have been described for allergic asthma but not atopic eczema previously [41]. 

Asthma results from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors however, the underlying cause is not well understood. There appears to be an inheritable component, as the presence of asthma in a parent is a strong risk factor for the development of asthma in a child. This risk increases when a family history of atopy is also present.13 Approximately 50% of asthma can be attributed to atopy, and atopic asthma is more common in children than adults.3 Furthermore, atopy in childhood asthma is the strongest prognostic factor for continued asthma as an adult.1,3... 

Atopy A genetic predisposition to develop type I hypersensitivity reactions against common environmental antigens commonly seen in patients with allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis. 

Ying S, Robinson DS, Meng Q, et al. Enhanced expression of eotaxin and CCR3 mRNA and protein in atopic asthma. Association with airway hyperresponsive-... 

Robinson DS, North J, Zeibecoglou K, et al. Eosinophil development and bone marrow and tissue eosinophils in atopic asthma. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 1999 118(2-4) 98-100. 

Zeibecoglou K, Ying S, Yamada T, et al. Increased mature and immature CCR3 messenger RNA+ eosinophils in bone marrow from patients with atopic asthma compared with atopic and nonatopic control subjects. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999 103(1 Pt 1) 99-106. 

Asthma is the most serious of the atopic diseases and has become epidemic, affecting more than 155 million individuals in the developed world. It is the most common chronic childhood disease in developed nations [1], and carries a very substantial direct and indirect economic cost worldwide [2]. A number of pharmacological treatments have been developed for asthma. These treatments have a modest efficacy overall, due in part to widely variable individual responses to asthma drugs. Because of such variability, it is clear that some of the substantial resources expended on asthma medication, estimated to exceed U.S. 3 billion per annum in the U.S. alone [3], would be better spent targeting those patients who... 

The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Steering Committee. Worldwide variation in prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic eczema ISAAC. Lancet 1998 351 1225-1232. 

Diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis include the presence of pruritus with three or more of the following (1) history of flexural dermatitis of the face in children younger than 10 years of age (2) history of asthma or allergic rhinitis in the child or a first-degree relative (3) history of generalized xerosis (dry skin) within the past year (4) visible flexural eczema (5) onset of rash before 2 years of age. 

Pb exposure at low to moderate levels appears to alter T lymphocyte responses in such a way as to increase the risk of atopic disease and some forms of autoimmunity. Increased IgE production following exposure to Pb is among the most frequently reported immune alteration, suggesting that Pb is a possible risk factor for allergic asthma [33, 34, 40, 91, 92] as well as later life allergic disease [32],... 

Holt, P.G., A potential vaccine strategy for asthma and allied atopic diseases during early childhood, Lancet, 344, 456, 1994. 

Other personal risk factors such as increased body mass index are being considered as to whether they are important to asthma [45,46], Whether emerging risk factors, along with the general increase in atopic diseases from the mid-1960s to the present [47] will have an impact on development and incidence of OA remain to be determined. 

Pre-employment screening of potential workers for risk factors associated with occupational asthma is not viable from a legal/ethical stand or from a practical point of view. Newman-Taylor estimated that seven atopic individuals would have to be denied employment in order to eliminate one case of OA [81]. Since asthma is a complex disease, focus on one risk factor (e.g., atopy) will have little impact on prevention. Investigators have suggested that this can lead to a false sense of control with the opportunity for greater disease [82],... 

The symptoms of many chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are caused in large part by an excessive and chronic inflammatory response and are therefore potential human diseases for drugs which inhibit the SSAO/VAP-1 activity. Notably, it has been recently shown that patients suffering from either atopic eczema or psoriasis, both chronic inflammatory skin disorders, demonstrate an increase in SSAO/VAP-1 positive vessels in their skin compared to skin from healthy controls [47,48]. 

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