title: Comparative analysis of lyophilized fresh fruits and vegetables with commercial extracts for skin testing of patients with food allergy.
abstract: Most allergic reactions to fruits and vegetables are immediate IgE-mediated reactions following either contact or ingestion. In such problems, the practice of skin tests represents an important diagnostic tool. However, we often observe a discordance between the clinic and the results of the skin tests performed with commercial glycerinated extracts. A simple procedure of lyophilization applied to some fruits and vegetables is described, which allowed the comparison with fresh juicy material and commercial extracts. This material was applied in 10 individuals shown to be allergic to the corresponding food and in 10 healthy controls. When compared to the commercial extracts, the lyophilized material showed a significantly better sensitivity and specificity. Some control individuals reacted, but insignificantly, to the lyophilized material. The technical procedure is very simple. It allows the preparation of large amounts of aliquot, kept at -20 degrees C until needed. Further work is needed to extend the procedure to other allergens and to improve the standardization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deluze
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dunoyer-Geindre
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Girard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000485:Allergens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D005612:Freeze Drying; D005638:Fruit / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011852:Radioallergosorbent Test; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014675:Vegetables / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens