Susan Lewis

Allergy to human seminal fluid: Characterization of the allergen and experience with immunotherapy☆

A 20-year-old woman was observed with a history of a severe generalized systemic reaction after topical contact with seminal fluid. A prick test with undiluted seminal fluid produced a 5.0 mm wheal-and-flare response with pseudopods. Prick tests with saliva and serum from the same source as the seminal fluid were negative. Measurement of IgE antibody to seminal-fluid allergen with a Biotin-Avidin ELISA technique yielded strong activity. No IgG antibody could be detected. Significant prick test reactivity could be found in Sephadex G-100 fractions that had a molecular weight range of 12,000 to 75,000 daltons and that contained approximately 5% of the total protein in the starting material. Isoelectric focusing fractions with strong skin test reactivity had a pI range of 5.4 to 6.6. These fractions contained one major protein band. Immunotherapy was conducted with a Sephadex fraction of seminal fluid during a 24-month period. A cumulative dose of 32 mg of protein was administered. No side effects other than local swelling occurred. Ten months after the start of immunotherapy, IgE antibody became unmeasureable, an effect that was demonstrated not due to the inhibitory effect of IgG antibody. IgG antibody rose progressively in this period. Clinically, the patient became less sensitive to topical contact. Although the natural history of seminal-fluid allergy is not known, immunotherapy may be effective.

Beta-blocking autoantibodies in pediatric bronchial asthma

We have used the inhibition of binding of a potent beta antagonist, iodohydroxybenzylpindolol, to canine lung-plasma membrane beta-adrenergic receptors as a test for beta-blocking autoantibodies in the sera of 376 mildly and severely asthmatic children. This binding inhibition assay, coupled with a variant test in which the binding assay was performed on selected sera (binding values below 2 SD from the mean) before and after immunodepletion of the sera (removal of IgG and IgA), permitted the conclusion that about 5% of the juvenile asthmatic population studied produce beta-blocking autoantibodies.

Cat allergen content of commercial house dust extracts: Comparison with dust extracts from cat-containing environment

Eighteen lots of house dust extract from nine commercial sources (obtained as weight per volume or protein nitrogen unit per cubic centimeter) were analyzed for cat allergen content by direct quantitative immunoelectrophoresis after concentration. Cat allergen 1 was measurable (greater than 0.3 units) in 11 extracts with a mean (range) of 5.8 (1.3 to 31.0) U/gm of source material. Cat albumin was measurable (greater than 2.4 units) in 12 extracts with a mean (range) of 53.4 (11.5 to 319.7) U/gm. In order to evaluate whether the cat allergen 1 content is a significant contribution to the allergenic activity of the extract, 17 cat-allergic subjects were tested by prick test with a purified preparation of cat allergen 1. The mean (range) concentration that produced a 3 mm wheal was 0.01 (0.0013 to 1.33) U/ml. Therefore, the commercial house dust extracts studied, when these extracts were diluted to a concentration commonly used for prick testing, would frequently contain enough cat allergen 1 to produce strong prick test reactions in cat-allergic subjects. It is difficult to justify the use of such commercial dust extracts as diagnostic reagents. For comparison purposes, nine dust samples from an apartment housing two cats were similarly analyzed. Cat allergen 1 was measurable in seven samples with a mean (range) of 23.8 (1.8 to 64.3) U/gm. Cat albumin could be measured in all nine samples with a mean (range) of 32.3 (0.16 to 70.8) U/gm. The average amount of cat allergen 1 that could be washed off the surface of the cats was 270 units. Large reservoirs of cat allergen 1 were present.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neurofibromatosis: a familial and family disorder.

&NA; Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a devastating illness which is extremely variable in its symptoms, intensity, and progression. Nursing literature has suffered markedly from lack of information on this important health care problem. This article is the result of an interface of the senior authors own personal experience with neurofibromatosis and an extensive review of international and multidisciplinary publications on the subject. The nurse can exert a profound impact on the care of the patient/family experiencing the crisis of neurofibromatosis.