Current guidelines do not adequately address the question of how best to manage patients with a convincing history of insect allergy and negative venom-specific IgE and skin test results. 47 patients out of a total of 1219 (4%), with a clearly positive history of severe sting allergy and negative diagnostic tests, were recruited over a period of 4.5 years. Here we show, that in complex cases with inconclusive diagnostic results, the basophil CD63 activation test could be particularly useful and more sensitive than intradermal skin testing.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26253785
Airway angiogenesis may be an important part of structural remodeling in the pathogenesis of asthma. We found significantly increased angiogenin and VEGF concentrations in the induced sputum of both rhinitis and controlled asthma patients. These in vivo results demonstrated increased airway angiogenesis in patients with rhinitis without asthma as well as in corticosteroid-treated and well-controlled asthma patients. We showed that standard therapy does not sufficiently effect lung remodeling, therefore new therapies are needed.
COBISS.SI-ID: 25417689
We hypothesize that alternate regulation of COX-2 may predispose patients to aspirin-induced exacerbations. The main finding of this study was that COX-2 appears to be differentially regulated in aspirin-sensitive patients. What is really new is the observation that aspirin induced COX-2 over expression might be associated with clinical reaction.
COBISS.SI-ID: 25475545
Immediate allergic reactions to beta-lactam antibiotics are common and can cause serious health problems. Diagnosis relies on patient history, in vitro testing or provocation testing, with frequently yielding discordant results. We showed that before 2006, tests for anti-beta-lactam IgE antibody in patients with total IgE ) 500 kU/l were often false positive. Patients who were diagnosed as penicillin allergic before 2006 solely on the basis of positive tests for specific IgE should be considered for diagnostic reevaluation. After 2006 these reagents were changed, also due to our study.
COBISS.SI-ID: 25699545
Our group is a world leading in the field of basophils and insect venom allergy. Basophils are major effector cells in anaphylactic reactions. The basophil activation test appears to be a useful tool for better selection of allergen for immunotherapy, for identification of patients prone to side effects and patients who might be treatment failures.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26355417