Active clinical trials for "Hypersensitivity"

Grass pollen and house dust mites (HDM) are the most common allergens causing allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (RC) and/or asthma (A). Subcutaneous allergen specific immunotherapy (SCIT) reduces symptoms and use of medication. The purpose of SABAL is to assess the effect of SCIT on disease severity classifications in terms of number of days affected- and sick days on patients with grass pollen and/or HDM induced disease. These outcome measures will be gathered in one single measure: Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY)

Pain is a complex experience influenced by gender and genetics, and, by psychosocial and sensory experiences. Pain sensitivity is thus highly variable between individuals. In the present study we evaluate individuals´ pain perception in response to a number of different pain stimuli in 100 healthy volunteers (50 females and 50 males). The data will allow us to assess pain sensitivity, to predict pain responses and to investigate gender related differences in pain perception. A second aim is to evaluate the robustness of the different pain-tests since the tests are repeated with an interval of 2-4 weeks.

Oral allergy syndrome is a type of food allergy which mainly affects people with springtime hay fever. It is caused by a cross-reaction, between antibodies to pollens, usually birch tree pollen, and allergens in many different plant foods. It is characterised by symptoms of itching and/or swelling in the mouth and/or throat when eating certain fruits vegetables and nuts. Many of the allergens causing OAS are destroyed by heat, making allergy testing using traditional allergen extracts unreliable. Prick testing or challenging with fresh foods is more reliable, but time consuming, inconvenient and largely unavailable. Pilot study results suggest the characteristic symptoms and foods involved in OAS allow accurate diagnosis using clinical history alone, which forms the basis for the hypothesis of this proposal that OAS can be diagnosed accurately by use of a validated questionnaire alone. The diagnostic questionnaire (PFSDQ), revised from the results of the pilot study, will be tested against two reference test methods, the gold standard of oral food challenge, and the 'platinum standard' of diagnosis made by a medical expert based on history, skin prick testing and oral food challenge. This is not an epidemiological study but with no published studies on OAS in a UK population, this study will also provide some information on the prevalence of OAS in those with springtime hayfever in the UK.

Flavor is the primary dimension by which young children determine food acceptance. However, children are not merely miniature adults since sensory systems mature postnatally and their responses to certain tastes differ markedly from adults. Moreover, emerging research has revealed that there are sensitive periods during infancy such that early flavor experiences serve to modify later responses to flavors and foods. The proposed study aims to investigate this important issue by using as a model system a class of infant formulas which are hydrolyzed protein based and thus have very pronounced and distinctive flavors which are unpalatable to older-aged infants and adults. This research was initiated because of anecdotal reports by pediatricians that although it is easy to introduce this type of formula to infants during the first months of life, it becomes extremely difficult to do so later in infancy. Indeed, recent studies in the investigators' laboratory provided the first experimental demonstration that infants younger than 4 months of age willingly accept substantial amounts of, and satiate while feeding, a novel, protein hydrolysate formula. In marked contrast, infants older than 4 months reject the protein hydrolysate formula and this rejection occurs within the first minute of a feed, a finding that strongly suggests the sensory qualities of the formula are responsible, at least in part, for this rejection. Moreover, this rejection is not evident when the investigators test older-aged infants with other unfamiliar, but non-hydrolysate, formulas. In other words, the rejection appears to be in response to a particular component or components of protein hydrolysate formulas. This shift in acceptability can be ameliorated by prior exposure. That is, if these formulas are introduced to infants within the first few months of life and are fed continuously, they remain highly acceptable throughout infancy and early childhood. These observations implicate a sensitive period during development, occurring somewhere before 4 months of age, during which exposure to a formula, which is unpalatable to adults and infants over 4 months of age without exposure, renders it acceptable and presumably palatable. To the investigators' knowledge, this is the clearest example of a sensitive period in the development of responses to foods and flavors in humans thus far identified. There is a paucity of information on whether and how the composition of formulas fed to infants influences their short-term feeding behaviors during the first few months of life. The primary objective of this longitudinal study is to determine the period during early infancy when exposure to the casein-hydrolysate formula, Nutramigen, renders it acceptable during later infancy. The study also aims to determine how early sensory experiences with formula impact upon food acceptance during infancy (8-9 months of age) and childhood. The investigators will also explore how variation in the genes that encode for taste receptors influence preferences for foods and other behaviors.

Background. Patients with chronic low back pain display hyperexcitability of the central nervous system (central hypersensitivity). Such hypersensitivity may occur in the acute phase and represent a risk factor for the development of chronic pain. Objective. To determine the prognostic value of central hypersensitivity for the development of chronic low back pain. Design. Prospective cohort study. Setting. Primary care. Patients. 140 individuals with acute low back pain and no history of chronic pain. Outcomes. Primary prognostic variable will be the pain tolerance threshold at the second toe (the pressure intensity at which a further increase in pressure is deemed intolerable). Exploratory secondary prognostic variables are measures of mechanisms related to central hypersensitivity: stimulus-specific hypersensitivity (pressure, electrical, heat and cold stimulation); tissue-specific hypersensitivity (skin vs. muscle stimulation); localized vs. widespread hypersensitivity; spinal cord modulation (electrophysiological measures of hypersensitivity and changes in receptive fields); modulation at brain level (descending modulation of nociceptive input and cortical plasticity). Clinical primary outcome will be the occurrence of chronic low back pain at follow-up. Main analysis. The investigators will use least square logistic regression models to determine the association of central hypersensitivity with prognosis. Relevance. An understanding of the prognostic value of central hypersensitivity may allow an early stratification for treatment of individuals at risk of developing chronic low back pain. Subgroups of patients may be selected for clinical trials on novel pharmacological approaches for the prevention and treatment of central hypersensitivity.

An objective of this study is to standardize temperature values derived from thermograms of the facial region. It is anticipated that the mean temperature of a defined region of interest, such as the eyes, nose, or sinuses, might be useful for future applications. The investigators will attempt to determine normal temperature ranges based on participants' age and gender.

A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Refined Methods to Mitigate Indoor Allergens in North Carolina and Boston, Massachusetts Homes

This study is aimed at verifying the role and the efficacy of the recombinants allergens Pru p 1, Pru p 3 and Pru p 4, Bet v 1, Bet v 2 and Bet v 4 in the diagnosis of peach allergy

Asthma is a major public health problem among Puerto Ricans. Little is known, however, about the effect of heredity and environment on the development and severity of asthma in this population. This study will examine the relationship between asthma and certain genetic and environmental factors in Puerto Rican children.

Based on the finding that anaphylactic reactions to Benefix ("FIX") are associated with a specific IgE, a Basophil histamine release assay was selected to evaluate and demonstrate subject sensitization to FIX.