Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M C van der Hooft-van Asbeck.
With a perfected technique of skin testing it was impossible to demonstrate any significant difference in skin reactivity to pollen extracts deriving from four grass species. When pollen allergen from three grass species were used, The RAST-test results did not differ from duplicate values either.
Desensitization with aqueous grass-pollen extracts led to a considerable decrease in skin reactivity (by a factor of 50). This decrease proved not to be specific for the grass-pollen species used.
Some formulas are given for the relationship between the sizes of wheals and flares of skin reactions to three allergen extracts and to histamine and compound 48/80. Only compound 48/80 shows a somewhat different wheal/flare relationship.
Using a perfected technique for skin testing, no difference was found between skin reactions to either histamine or compound 48/80 in atopic and non-atopic patients or in healthy volunteers. The correlation of the size of the skin reactions to both compounds was only slightly lower than the correlation of the duplicates, which indicates that compound 48/80 can be used as a control extract in skin testing. The skin reactions to this compound are read after 15 minutes, just as those to inhalant allergens.