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T Zuberbier

Publications and source records attributed to T Zuberbier.

82 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Pseudoallergen-free diet in the treatment of chronic urticaria. A prospective study.

In chronic urticaria, the possible pathogenetic role of pseudoallergic reactions to food has been repeatedly discussed, but stringent prospective studies regarding their clinical significance are not available. All patients with chronic urticaria and/or angioedema hospitalized at the department of dermatology during a period of 2 years were therefore included in a prospective study. Patients (n = 64) were screened for common causes of urticaria and then evaluated for possible benefits of a stringently controlled pseudoallergen-free diet. Double-blind, placebo-controlled oral provocation tests with food additives were performed on those patients benefitting from diet. In 73% of patients, symptoms ceased or were greatly reduced within 2 weeks on diet, although only 19% of them responded to individual pseudoallergens on provocation tests. Of the remaining patients, 11% responded to treatment of an associated inflammatory disease, and in 16%, no cause of the urticaria was ascertained. Follow-up at 6 months after hospitalization showed complete remission on diet in 46% and lasting improvement in all but one of the remaining patients on diet. An additive-free, stringently controlled diet thus provides a simple means of diagnosing and treating the majority of patients with chronic urticaria.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence of cholinergic urticaria in young adults.

BACKGROUND: Cholinergic urticaria is primarily seen in young adults, but little is known about its prevalence. OBJECTIVE: A prospective study was designed to investigate the frequency and severity of cholinergic urticaria in this age group. METHODS: Four hundred ninety-three high school and university students (15 to 35 years of age) were examined for cholinergic urticaria by means of a questionnaire and partly by exercise provocation tests. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of cholinergic whealing was 11.2%, with most of the affected persons being older than 20 years. The highest prevalence was observed in the age group of 26 to 28 years (20%). Apart from a small group of severely afflicted persons with systemic symptoms (11%), reactions were mostly mild and restricted to fleeting, pinpoint-size wheals (76%). Eighty percent of affected subjects were not troubled by their condition, and only 22% had ever sought medical attention. CONCLUSION: The study shows a high prevalence of cholinergic urticaria, but the condition is mostly mild.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Influence of glycosphingolipids on the release of histamine and sulfidopeptide leukotrienes from human basophils.

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are physiological membrane components known to modulate various cellular functions. In order to study their influence on basophil mediator release washed leukocytes obtained from allergic asthmatics and nonatopics were preincubated with varying concentrations of different GSLs. Cells were washed and stimulated with anti-IgE, allergen, and calcium ionophore A23187. None of the GSLs induced mediator release by itself. Preincubation with the acidic gangliosides GM2, GM3, and GD1a significantly enhanced the release of both mediators when stimulated with anti-IgE or allergen but not with calcium ionophore A23187. Highest enhancement was seen with ganglioside GM2. Mediator release was higher in asthmatics than in nonatopics. The acidic galactosylceramide-sulfate (sulfatide) showed a significantly enhanced mediator release as well, whereas the neutral GSLs lactosyl ceramide and asialo GM2 did not influence mediator release. It is concluded that IgE receptor-dependent mediator release could be modulated by acidic GSLs.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Skin prick tests to common allergens in adult atopic eczema and rhinitis patients: reproducibility on duplicate and repeated testing.

Skin prick test reactivity to a battery of common allergens was examined in 26 adults with atopic eczema, in 9 patients with allergic rhinitis and in 10 nonatopic controls. In both patient groups, reactivity was most frequent for grass pollen, followed by rye, house dust mite, tree and herb, with no reactions to food allergens. Repeated tests at weekly intervals were less reproducible in weak reactions and in severely affected eczema patients compared to those lightly affected. Skin prick tests are therefore reliable and reproducible in atopics and provide means to counsel patients on avoidance of eliciting agents of their disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sugar is not an aggravating factor in atopic dermatitis.

Patients with atopic dermatitis frequently blame food for worsening their eczema. Recently, a sugar-free diet has become very popular among German patients. In order to investigate whether sucrose is an aggravating factor in atopic dermatitis, we conducted a prospective study in 30 patients. Double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges with sugar were performed during a sugar-free diet period, which was started one week prior to the first challenge. Study parameters included the SCORAD index and eosinophilic cationic protein levels, which were determined before diet, on food challenges and one day after. In 29 evaluable patients we observed no significant difference in study parameters after the verum challenge compared to the placebo challenge. From these results, we conclude that sugar is not an aggravating factor in atopic dermatitis, which contradicts the view of many patients and underlines the importance of evidence-based medicine in the guidance of patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

GM-CSF downregulates expression of tryptase, Fc epsilon RI and histamine in HMC-1 mast cells.

Fibroblast-derived growth factors like SCF are able to upregulate the expression of mast cell characteristics in human multilineage hematopoietic progenitor cells. Other factors, like GM-CSF, have been reported to inhibit this process, probably by the competitive recruitment of cells not belonging to the mast cell lineage. In this study, we investigated the influence of GM-CSF on immature mast cells of the HMC-1 cell line which already show low-level expression of mast cell tryptase, histamine and Fc epsilonRI alpha. Culture of HMC-1 cells with mast-cell-conditioning medium, containing fibroblast supernatants, upregulated tryptase activity, histamine contents and expression of Fc epsilonRI alpha. However, addition of GM-CSF (10 ng/ml) markedly downregulated these mast cell markers, without affecting proliferation and viability of cells. Thus, GM-CSF may provide an inhibitory signal during mast cell differentiation and probably even downregulates mast cell characteristics in more differentiated cells.

Cells, Cultured↗