ISSN:
1573-3025
Keywords:
air pollution and allergy
;
air pollution/aeroallergens interaction
;
allergic asthma
;
pollen allergy
;
pollinosis
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Respiratory allergic diseases appear to be increasingin both prevalence and severity in most countries, andsubjects living in urban and industrialized areas aremore likely to have respiratory allergic symptoms thanthose living in rural areas. This increase has beenlinked, among various factors, to air pollution and tothe westernized lifestyle. In the outdoor environment,the most important air pollutants are sulphur dioxide,nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter.Particulate diesel exhaust emissions, besides actingas irritant, are thought to modulate the immuneresponse, with an adjuvant activity on IgE synthesis,thereby facilitating allergic sensitization inpredisposed subjects. In other words, atopic statecan be upregulated by environmental influences, andsome subjects develop atopic disease in response tothese environmental factors when they are inhaled incombination with aeroallergens. Moreover, airpollutants produce greater responses in asthmaticsubjects. Since airborne pollen allergens and airpollutants are often increased contemporaneously, anenhanced IgE-mediated response to aeroallergens andenhanced airway inflammation could account for theincreasing frequency of allergic respiratory diseases,in particular those induced by pollen allergens, inurban areas.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1007608510653
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