PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Niinimäki

Publications and source records attributed to A Niinimäki.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Association of an early respiratory syncytial virus infection and atopic allergy.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes postbronchiolitic wheezing but its role in allergic sensitization is controversial. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of an early RSV infection on allergic sensitization. METHODS: Seventy-six subjects were examined 6-10 years after hospitalization for RSV infection during the first year of life. Fifty-one subjects (68%) attended clinical studies and 25 filled in a questionnaire. The study protocol included lung function, skin-prick and blood tests. The controls were matched for birth date and sex. RESULTS: Eight per cent of the subjects and 37% of the controls had at least one positive skin-prick test (SPT) (difference -35%, 95% CI -50 to -19%, P < 0.0001). Allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and asthma occurred as often in both groups, but asthma had been diagnosed significantly earlier in the subjects than in the controls [mean age 3.0 years (SD 2.6) and 5.6 years (SD 3.0), difference 2.6 years, 95% CI 0.57-4.65, P = 0.014]. In a logistic regression analysis, RSV infection was associated with negative SPTs. CONCLUSIONS: An early RSV infection results in reduction of SPT positivity but not of occurrence of atopic diseases. This finding might explain why there is less atopic sensitization in countries with a greater probability of acquiring RSV infection at an early age.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed2001

Mucosal pathology of the foregut associated with food allergy and recurrent abdominal pains in children.

UNLABELLED: To determine whether children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) include an excess of children with food allergy (FA), this study examined a consecutive series of 84 children (43M, 41F, mean age 7.9 y, range 1.6-15 y) referred during 1 y to 2 university hospitals. In addition to a clinical examination, the patients underwent gastroduodenoscopy with three biopsy specimens, skin-prick and patch tests, and comprehensive laboratory tests for atopic allergy. Based on an open elimination-challenge test, a total of 28 (33%) subjects were diagnosed for FA. In the whole material, specific endoscopic abnormalities were found in 38 (45%) subjects: oesophagitis in 17, gastric erosions in 8, lymphonodular duodenitis in 12 and erosive duodenitis in 5. FA showed a close relationship with duodenal lesions, but no significant association with oesophagitis and gastritis. The histological findings were mild, although some alterations could be observed in up to 66 (79%) subjects, equally often in patients with and without FA. None showed villous atrophy or severe infiltration of eosinophilic or mononuclear cells. Slightly increased densities of eosinophilic cells were significantly associated with endoscopic findings, especially oesophagitis. At least one positive skin-prick test with food allergens was found in 11 subjects and a positive patch test in 21 subjects, but neither showed an association with the endoscopic or histological findings, or even with clinical FA. CONCLUSION: Since the children with FA showed significantly more often concomitant mucosal pathology of the foregut than those without FA, FA may be considered one of the major factors underlying RAP. The report suggests the trial of an elimination diet in cases with RAP if lymphonodular hyperplasia or duodenitis is seen on gastroduodenoscopy.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed2001

A multicenter study of patch test reactions with dental screening series.

BACKGROUND: Dental products contain many allergens, and may cause problems both for patients undergoing dental treatment and for dental personnel because of occupational exposure. Individual patch test clinics may not study sufficient numbers of patients to collect reliable data on uncommon allergens. OBJECTIVE: To collect information on dental allergens based on a multicenter study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Finnish Contact Dermatitis Group tested more than 4,000 patients (for most allergens, 2,300 to 2,600 patients) with dental screening series. Conventional patch testing was performed. The total number and percentage of irritant (scored as irritant [IR] or doubtful [?]) and allergic (scored as +, ++, or +++) patch test reactions, respectively, were calculated, as well as the highest and lowest percentage of allergic patch test reactions recorded by the different patch test clinics. A reaction index (RI) was calculated, giving information on the irritancy of the patch test substances. RESULTS: The most frequent allergic patch test reactions were caused by nickel (14.6%), ammoniated mercury (13%), mercury (10.3%), gold (7.7%), benzoic acid (4.3%), palladium (4.2%) and cobalt (4.1%). 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (2.8%) provoked most of the reactions caused by (meth)acrylates. Menthol, peppermint oil, ammonium tetrachloroplatinate, and amalgam alloying metals provoked no (neither allergic nor irritant) patch test reactions. CONCLUSION: Patch testing with allergens in the dental screening series, including (meth)acrylates and mercury, needs to be performed to detect contact allergy to dental products.

Allergens↗
PubMed2000

Status of children with cow's milk allergy in infancy by 10 years of age.

UNLABELLED: To assess the development of milk protein tolerance and atopic diseases in children diagnosed for cow's milk allergy (CMA) in infancy, we conducted re-examinations of 56 CMA subjects at the age of 10 y using 204 age-matched controls. The children underwent clinical examinations and skin prick tests (SPT), and their IgE-specific antibodies to milk and five other food allergens were determined. By the age of 10 y, all but four subjects had become tolerant to at least small amounts of milk protein. However, gastrointestinal symptoms relating to more abundant milk consumption were reported by 45% of the study subjects and 15% of the controls (p < 0.001). The incidence figures for asthma, allergic rhinitis and dermatitis, as well as the occurrence of recurrent otitis, were three to four times higher than in the controls. Positive SPTs were seen in two-thirds of the subjects, the figure being highest (83%) in those with dermatitis onset CMA. Seven subjects showed positive titres of IgE-class milk-specific antibodies, and five showed a clinical response. CONCLUSION: This re-examination study showed that CMA in infancy, even when properly treated, has significant clinical consequences by posing special risks for respiratory atopy and persistence of atopic dermatitis as well as positive SPT and recurrent ear infections. However, each of these clinical manifestations seems to have an independent curriculum unrelated to the persistence of CMA itself.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Cow's milk allergy is associated with recurrent otitis media during childhood.

To determine whether cow's milk allergy (CMA) in infancy is associated with recurrent otitis media (ROM) or other chronic ear infections, we conducted a cohort study by enrolling 56 milk-allergic and 204 control schoolchildren. We also studied the association between ear problems and different atopic manifestations. A higher proportion of children with CMA had had ROM. defined as at least 15 acute otitis media episodes by the age of 10 years (27%, vs 12%, p = 0.009), and had undergone adenoidectomy and or tympanostomy compared with the controls (48%, vs 28%, p = 0.005). However, this was only true of the children who had developed respiratory atopy. Asthma and/or allergic rhinitis, but not atopic dermatitis, posed a significant risk for ROM, while all the three atopic manifestations enhanced the risk for secretory otitis media. Positive skin prick tests with food, but not with inhaled allergens, tended to be associated with ear problems. In conclusion, we found that children with CMA in infancy, even when properly treated, had experienced significantly more ROM, the risk associating with concomitant development of respiratory atopy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Occupational induction of hypersensitivity after an accidental exposure to chloromethylisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone (CMI/MI) in an industrial worker.

A process worker in a paper chemical plant developed an immediate local dermal irritation and delayed bullous dermatitis due to induction of hypersensitivity following an accidental exposure to chloromethylisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone (CMI/MI) biocide. Contact allergy to the isothiazolinone mixture was confirmed by skin patch testing. The dermatitis healed in four weeks, and the worker was advised to avoid all CMI/MI containing products. In a one-year follow-up he did not present with any further skin symptoms. Preventive measures are important for avoiding induction of hypersensitivity to concentrated CMI/MI solutions in industrial workers.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1999

Lymphonodular hyperplasia as a sign of food allergy in children.

BACKGROUND: Lymphonodular hyperplasia of the gastrointestinal tract in children is a rare endoscopic finding of uncertain clinical significance. In this study, 12 children with lymphonodular hyperplasia of the duodenum from a series of 63 children were studied for recurrent abdominal pain. Four additional children with lymphonodular hyperplasia of the colon are described. All the patients with lymphonodular hyperplasia were also evaluated for food allergy. METHODS: A gastroduodenoscopy was performed in the patients with recurrent abdominal pain and in the four in whom lymphonodular hyperplasia of the colon had been diagnosed by colonoscopy. An open oral elimination and challenge test to diagnose food allergies was scheduled for all subjects with lymphonodular hyperplasia or any suspicion of food allergy. The study design also included skin prick tests with common allergens and determination of serum immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin E concentrations. RESULTS: Lymphonodular hyperplasia of the duodenal bulb was the main finding in 12 (19%) of the 63 children. The condition was found to be associated with food allergy in nine subjects (75%), which was significantly more often than among the remaining 51, 12 (24%) of whom had food allergy by the same criteria. In an oral challenge, food allergy first manifested gastrointestinal symptoms in the subjects of both groups and, in all except one, on days 2 through 5 after the foodstuffs were administered in minimal doses. In a histologic study, the duodenal specimens revealed significantly more eosinophilic cells in the children with food allergy and lymphonodular hyperplasia than in the children with food allergy but no lymphonodular hyperplasia. The major symptoms in the four patients with lymphonodular hyperplasia of the colon had been anemia and blood in stool in two and abdominal pains with mucous loose stools in the remaining two. Colonoscopic examination showed one to have diffuse and the other three patchy lymphonodular hyperplasia of the colon. In an oral challenge, three reacted to milk and two to cereals. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary observations showed that lymphonodular hyperplasia of the duodenum or the colon is related to the gastrointestinal type of food allergy to basic foodstuffs. Further research is needed to define this finding as a separate entity.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1998

Contact urticaria from protein hydrolysates in hair conditioners.

Protein hydrolysates (PHs) are added to hair-care products (to "repair" broken hair), soaps, bath gels, creams, etc. From one to 22 PHs used in hair-care products (collagen, keratin, elastin, milk, wheat, almond, and silk) were tested in three patient groups: A) 11 hairdressers with hand dermatitis B) 2160 consecutive adults with suspected allergic respiratory disease subjected to routine skin prick tests C) 28 adults with atopic dermatitis. In group A, all the 22 PHs were tested with scratch and patch tests. In groups B and C, one to three PHs were tested with prick tests. Positive scratch/prick test reactions were seen in 12 patients from three PHs altogether. All were women with atopic dermatitis, and all reacted to at least hydroxypropyl trimonium hydrolyzed collagen (Crotein Q). In three patients, prick and open tests with a hair conditioner containing Crotein Q were performed with positive results. One patient reported contact urticaria on her hands, and two reported acute urticaria on their head, face, and upper body from a hair conditioner containing Crotein Q. In seven of the eight studied sera, specific IgE to Crotein Q was detected. In conclusion, PHs of hair cosmetics can cause contact urticaria, especially in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Latex-induced allergic rhinitis in a laboratory nurse.

A case of occupational rhinitis in association with natural rubber latex hypersensitivity is presented. In the nasal provocation test for natural rubber latex glove powder the nurse experienced rhinorrhoea. A significant increase in the amount of nasal secretion and mucosal oedema could be detected. The patient also showed a positive skin prick test to natural rubber latex allergens, and an elevated natural rubber specific IgE level in her serum. This, to our knowledge, has not been previously reported in the literature.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Honey allergy is rare in patients sensitive to pollens.

We challenged in a double-blind manner 46 pollen-allergic patients with 30 g of honey and another 32 patients with a placebo (30 g of syrup). Minor, mostly subjective, symptoms were seen in or reported by 26% of those challenged with honey and 41% of those challenged with placebo. In no case could the symptoms with certainty be related to the challenge. Eight commercially available honeys were examined for allergen activity by RAST inhibition and immunospot methods. Both pollen and insect allergen activity was found in all honeys, and they could cause allergic reactions. However, no serious or even obvious reaction occurred in pollen-allergic patients challenged with honey.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Double-blind placebo-controlled peroral challenges in patients with delayed-type allergy to balsam of Peru.

Patch tests (PTs) with spices, such as clove, cinnamon, Jamaica pepper and vanillin sugar, and with balsam of Peru were made on 29 patients 0.8-2.9 years after an allergy to balsam of Peru had been detected. Positive reactions to balsam of Peru were seen in 17 patients, and to clove, Jamaica pepper or cinnamon in 5. Double-blind placebo-controlled peroral challenges (DBPCPCs) with balsam of Peru and spices (active substances) were performed on 22 patients. A substantial increase (30-280%) in the number of palmar vesicles after the DBPCPC with the active substances, but not with placebo, was seen in 8 patients, an increase with both the active substances and placebo in 3, and with placebo but not the active substances in 1 patient. 4 of the 8 patients with positive DBPCPCs with the active substances were negative to balsam of Peru in the 2nd PT. No other objective symptoms were seen after the DBPCPCs. Balsam of Peru and the spices were retested 3 months after the DBPCPC. Both alleviation and aggravation of the PT reactions were seen. It is concluded that ingested flavoured foods might cause systemic contact reactions in some patients with allergy to balsam of Peru, but the benefits of a flavour-avoiding diet are questionable in all of them.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1995

Skin prick tests and in vitro immunoassays with native spices and spice extracts.

BACKGROUND: Skin prick tests of native spices (commercial powdered spices) are common in patients with allergy to birch or mugwort pollen. Clinical symptoms from spices are infrequent but occasionally severe. OBJECTIVE: To compare the skin prick test results with native spices and spice extracts and to determine the clinical relevance of test material. METHODS: Skin prick tests with the native spices coriander, caraway, paprika, cayenne, mustard, and white pepper were made twice at 2-month to 2.9-year intervals in 49 patients. During the latter time, tests were also made with spice extracts and spice-specific serum IgE was measured. RESULTS: The reproducibility of skin test results with native spices was 67% to 100%. Spice extracts, except white pepper, elicited positive skin test reactions in half those with positive reactions to native spices. Higher specific IgE concentrations (> or = 3.5 PRU/mL) were seen in cases where the skin tests were positive to the corresponding spices with 5% extracts of > 8 kD Mw. Three-fourths of the patients with positive skin tests to native spices were positive to birch pollen and one-half to a vegetable. Mild clinical symptoms from spices were reported by one-third. CONCLUSIONS: Spice allergens partly crossreact with those of pollens and vegetables. A minority of spice allergens may give clinical symptoms. The > 8-kD 5% extracts may be relevant skin prick test materials for identifying patients at risk of developing severe symptoms from ingested spices.

Adolescent↗