Rhinitis

Rhinitis

The recently published Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology had an update on rhinitis.  Rhinitis incorporates two Greek words:  rhinos, meaning nose, and itis, meaning disease or inflammation.  The condition falls into two categories; allergic rhinitis or non-allergic rhinitis.  The former is pretty straightforward in that it is caused primarily by airborne allergens such as pollen, dust mites and animal dander but to a lesser degree (and not quite as obviously) due to food allergy.  Despite the nasal focus of…

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Fc Receptor Therapy

Fc Receptor Therapy

There are five types of immune proteins called immunoglobulins (Ig):  IgG, IgD, IgA, IgM and IgE.  In general, these immune proteins are an integral part of our host defense system.  However, just as Benedict Arnold turned traitor to the American cause, so too our immune proteins can sometimes go awry.  This is the definition of auto-immune disease, i.e. our own immune proteins attack us.  There are two ends of all five immune proteins and they are called the F ab…

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Air Pollution and Health

Air Pollution and Health

It may seem hard to believe but every day we breathe in more than 10,000 liters of air.  Depending on the degree of pollutants in that air, the human lungs can either cope with it or not. As I write these words, I can’t help but think of one of the “I Love Lucy” episodes where she and Ethel get a job in a candy factory hand wrapping expensive chocolates as they come down a conveyor belt.  Early on, the…

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T3SS and T4SS

T3SS and T4SS

Even though bacteria far predate human existence, we have co-evolved once humans hit the scene.  It may be hard to believe in terms of cell count but our total number of human cells (10 trillion cells) is exceeded by a logarithm by the number of bacteria in our microbiota (100 trillion cells).  We humans carry roughly 35,000 different species of bacteria on us and in us.  Despite the very large variety of bacteria on planet earth only about 100 species…

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Dear Dr. K,

Dear Dr. K,

Recently I got a severe leg abrasion when I had an accident on my motorcycle.  I needed surgery to clean the leg and stop all the bleeding.  Three days later my leg got red and swollen and itched.  My surgeon gave me an antibiotic thinking it was infected.  But the culture was negative, and the leg kept getting worse.  Then, he gave me prednisone and the leg got better quickly.  Any ideas? Well, I’m no Dr. House, but since I…

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Jellyfish Allergy

Jellyfish Allergy

Floridians need to be aware that jellyfish can not only be a source of an unpleasant sting, but also of allergic reactions.   In fact, life threatening allergy (anaphylaxis) was first described in 1901 by two scientists; Charles Richet and Paul Portier who were studying jellyfish.  They began their studies at the behest of Prince Albert of Monaco who was an avid oceanographer.  He asked them to study the sting of the Portuguese man-of-war.   They used the venom from both the…

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Dear Dr. K; When I recently started taking Coreg for newly diagnosed hypertension my previously well controlled asthma got worse. Are they related?

Dear Dr. K; When I recently started taking Coreg for newly diagnosed hypertension my previously well controlled asthma got worse. Are they related?

The short answer is yes, the long answer requires explanation.  First of all, asthma and hypertension are both very common conditions with 9% of American adults having asthma and up to 25% having hypertension.  Certain factors can contribute to both conditions:  stress, obesity, sedentary life style, excess salt intake, and sleep-disturbed sleep.  Correcting these factors can help both conditions. In terms of medications, many of the medicines used to treat asthma and hypertension can act on opposing sides of the…

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High Fat Diet and Food Allergy

High Fat Diet and Food Allergy

Over the past thirty years there has been a dramatic increase in both obesity and food allergy.  In fact, the rate of increase for both conditions has followed the same identical track.  For this reason, and others, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine have done exhaustive research to see if there might be a common cause.  As it turns out a high fat diet is the answer.  The rise in obesity is directly linked to the high fat content…

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PFAS

PFAS

PFAS stands for pollen food allergy syndrome.  It used to be called OAS (oral allergy syndrome) but the new name better characterizes the pathogenesis.  Using highly technical immunologic terms, it is called Class II food allergy.  Class I food allergy refers to the common/classic form of food allergy where sensitivity occurs due to ingesting the food.  In Class II food allergy, the sensitivity occurs from exposure to pollen and leads to cross reactivity with a food.  The symptoms involve immediate…

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Q – Tips: COVID-19

Q – Tips: COVID-19

The two main tests being used during this pandemic are nasal swabs to detect active infection, and antibody tests to detect prior infection.     The nasal swab uses a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which is a chemical tool that amplifies tiny amounts of nucleic acid to allow detection of viral RNA. Antibody tests fall into two main categories:  detection and protective value. The two main detection assays are for either spike glycoprotein (allows the virus to enter human cells) or…

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