title: Spontaneous histamine release in whole blood in patients before and after 4 months of specific immunotherapy.
abstract: Spontaneous histamine release (SHR) in whole blood was assessed before and after 4 months of specific immunotherapy (SIT) for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in 32 patients. Spontaneous histamine release was significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) in patients prior to immunotherapy compared with 20 controls. Spontaneous histamine release decreased significantly in patients after 4 months of specific immunotherapy (P < 0.04) and almost reached the same values as spontaneous histamine release in controls. Clinical success of treatment after 4 months was seen in 15 patients (improvement > or =50%), 10 of whom showed a significant decrease in spontaneous histamine release. Decrease of spontaneous histamine release after 4 months indicates the efficacy of specific immunotherapy already at an early stage of treatment. Assessment of spontaneous histamine release appears to be a useful and easily performable method for monitoring success of treatment of patients during specific immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Dermatologic and Pediatric Allergy Clinic, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wantke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jarisch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006636:Histamine Release; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D012621:Seasons; D016896:Treatment Outcome