These results indicate that tiotropium bromide can inhibit Th2 cytokine production and airway inflammation, and thus may reduce airway remodelling and AHR in a murine model of asthma.
The carbohydrate moiety (α-Gal) on laminin γ-1 and collagen α-1 (VI) chain are possibly common IgE-reactive proteins in the Japanese patients with beef allergy.
This study was designed to determine seasonal changes in cytokines, soluble CD23 and specific IgE in the serum of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis, and the effect of immunotherapy on these seasonal changes. Fifty-four patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis caused by Japanese cedar pollens were divided into a medication group and an immunotherapy group. The patients of the medication group were treated with nonsedating antihistamines alone during the pollen season. The patients of the immunotherapy group had been treated for variable periods (mean, 5.0 Ϯ 3.2 years) with immunotherapy using Japanese cedar pollen antigens. Serum samples were collected before and during the pollen season from each patient, to determine specific IgE, interleukin-4 (IL-4), interferon-g (IFN-g) and soluble CD23 levels in serum. A significant increase in specific IgE and IL-4 and a significant decrease in IFN-g were observed during the pollen season in the medication group. In contrast, in the immunotherapy group, none of specific IgE, IL-4 and IFN-g was significantly changed following natural exposure to pollens. However, these effects were not significant in patients undergoing immunotherapy for 3 or fewer years. Seasonal rates of increase in specific IgE and IL-4 differed significantly between good responders and poor responders to immunotherapy, but seasonal rates of decrease in IFN-g did not. A seasonal rate of increase in soluble CD23 was significantly correlated with a seasonal rate of increase in specific IgE, in both the medication and the immunotherapy groups. The seasonal rate of increase in soluble CD23 was significantly smaller in the good responders than in the poor responders to immunotherapy. In conclusion, pollen immunotherapy reduces the seasonal increase in specific IgE, IL-4 and soluble CD23 in serum, and in addition switches the seasonal preferential activation of Th-2 cells to reciprocal activation of Th-1 cells with treatment over several years. It is likely that the mechanisms responsible for the clinically beneficial effects of immunotherapy principally involve the modulation of Th-2 rather than Th-1 cytokines.
Interleukin-4 (IL-4) may play a central role in the IgE synthesis system, the development of Th-2-like cells, and co-ordination as well as the persistence of airway inflammatory process in allergic disorders. Therefore, IL-4 plays a key role in airway allergic disorders. This study aimed at investigating the serum concentrations of IL-4 in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis, with special reference to the possible changes and the clinical relevance following long-term immunotherapy. The study has demonstrated that the serum level of IL-4 in allergic rhinitis patients before immunotherapy is significantly higher than that in non-atopic individuals. However, the serum IL-4 level in allergic rhinitis patients did not decrease following anti-allergic medications but significantly decreased following immunotherapy. The percentage decrease in IL-4 was correlated significantly with the percentage decrease in specific IgE antibodies following long-term immunotherapy. Immunotherapy also significantly decreased specific IgE anti-bodies, but this reduction in specific IgE antibodies was not significantly correlated with the clinical improvement. In contrast, the percentage decrease in serum IL-4 was significantly correlated with the percentage decrease in symptomatic scores. The authors interpret these data to mean that immunotherapy alters T-cell cytokine profiles in the long-term, and a decline of IL-4 following immunotherapy could modulate not only production of specific IgE antibodies but also inflammatory cellular events, leading to symptomatic relief in allergic rhinitis.
Chronic epipharyngitis is a common latent but serious condition that may contribute to a wide range of diseases in humans, including collagen diseases, glomerulonephritis and autonomic nervous disorders. In a previous study, we presented a putative causal role of chronic epipharyngitis in the development of functional somatic symptoms and syndromes following human papillomavirus vaccination by demonstrating a significant improvement in symptoms following abrasive therapy using ZnCl 2 on the epipharynx. Since this initial study, we have expanded our clinical experience, providing epipharyngeal abrasive therapy to 988 patients with confirmed chronic epipharyngitis associated with a wide variety of clinical symptoms. These symptoms could be classified into three broad categories, namely local inflammation-referred, autoimmune-related, and neuroendocrine symptoms. Symptom alleviation was achieved in the majority of patients with repeated epipharyngeal abrasive therapy.Through an in-depth review of the literature on epipharyngeal abrasive therapy, combined with our clinical experience, we propose three mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of epipharyngeal abrasive therapy: the astringent anti-inflammatory effect of ZnCl 2 , a blood-letting effect that promotes removal of epipharyngeal activated lymphocytes and drainage of excess inflammatory fluids containing various antigens, cytokines or noxious substances, and a neuromodulation effect achieved through stimulation of the vagus nerve. These effects can be explained within the context of current understanding of immunology, lymphology and neuroscience.Our hypothesis-driven review provides a theoretical basis for the observed therapeutic effects of epipharyngeal abrasive therapy in ameliorating various diseases, including functional somatic symptoms and syndromes following human papillomavirus vaccination.
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