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Biomedical subjects

M Raffard

Publications and source records attributed to M Raffard.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

[Allergic conjunctivitis: diagnosis and treatment].

Allergic conjunctivitis are the most frequent presentation of ocular allergy. They concern two specialists, ophthalmologists and allergists, who must establish a close collaboration, to succeed in an etiological diagnosis and consequent efficacious treatment. On one hand the history of allergy must be deep and on the other a simple pollen etiology giving simple functional signs: skin tests (pricks or epicutaneous) after a flawless questioning, at need completed by the measurement of specific and total IgE titres in the tears and even sometimes by a conjunctival provocation test, minimal other ophthalmological examination, researching anomalies in the tear level and signs of cellular suffering (Break-up time: time of rupture of the tear film). The differential diagnosis falls into the field of the ophthalmologist: traumatic or infectious conjunctivitis (herpes), vernal kerato-conjunctivitis for acute conjunctivitis; dry eye, viral conjunctivitis, anomalies of convergence for the most frequent signs of chronic conjunctivitis. The treatments are symptomatic to relieve the patient, eye lotions without preservatives for long term treatment and etiological that include allergen avoidance, without forgetting specific desensitisation (mites, pollens) that may need a rigorous indication.

Anti-Allergic Agents↗
PubMed1996

Exercise-induced anaphylaxis: useful screening of food sensitization.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Exercise-induced anaphylaxis is a well-defined entity as described by Sheffer and Austen. Exercise-induced anaphylaxis can be associated with ingestion of a specific food. We report our experience with a series of cases of exercise-induced anaphylaxis in which anaphylaxis was considered to be associated with food allergy. METHODS: We observed 19 patients in whom severe systemic signs of anaphylaxis occurred during or immediately after exercise, while the severity of reactions excluded challenge testing. The causal relationship with various foods was systematically investigated in all cases, even in the absence of any history of allergy. RESULTS: Sensitization to wheat flour was demonstrated in 12 patients, to peanut in seven, and to tree nuts in six cases with skin tests and/or RAST. Sensitivity to various other foods was found less often. Further, avoidance of specific foods according to results of skin tests and RAST was systematically observed during the five hours prior to exercise and no symptom occurred, suggesting a role of specific food intake in the pathogenesis of exercise-induced anaphylaxis. With such elimination diets, most of these young patients were able to engage in regular vigorous exercises (more than twice a week in some cases) without any clinical manifestation with a median followup of 2 years. In two patients, however, recurrence of exercise-induced anaphylaxis was subsequently explained by concomitant ingestion of other foods such as rice and peanut. Additional avoidance of these foods before exercise was then effective in 14 cases (median follow up: 2 years). CONCLUSIONS: Investigations to detect food sensitization, in particular to wheat, peanut and/or tree nuts, and specific avoidance of these foods five hours before exercise appear essential in cases of exercise-induced anaphylaxis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Seasonal increase of spontaneous histamine release in washed leucocytes from rhinitis patients sensitive to grass pollen.

The spontaneous histamine release (SHR) in basophils from patients sensitive to grass pollen has been studied before and during the 1987 grass pollen season. Nineteen patients were recruited on seasonal rhinitis symptoms, positivity for cutaneous tests and for serum-specific IgE with grass pollen. At the time of the biological investigations the patients were following a clinical trial of hyposensitization, including placebo, calcium phosphate and aluminium hydroxide-adsorbed grass pollen extract treatments. During the pollen season, grass pollen counts and clinical scores were checked over a 40-day period. Mean SHR was significantly higher during the pollen period than before, for the whole population of 19 patients (10.9% and 4.6%; P less than 0.005) as well as when the high SHR responders were excluded (5.5% and 3.6%; P less than 0.01). No significant correlation existed between SHR and clinical scores or treatments. SHR could be inhibited at 4 degrees C, in absence of CA++ or of oxidative metabolism and thus originated from cells actively secreting histamine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Immunochemical study of the venom from the hornet Vespa orientalis (hymenoptera:Vespinae).

Venom from young (0 to 48 hours after eclosion) Vespa orientalis should presumably be less allergenic and/or antigenic than venom from adult hornets. This point was confirmed by skin tests, by crossed immunoelectrophoresis and by radioallergosorbent test (RAST), using rabbit IgG antibodies and human IgE antibodies. It is suggested that the venom of young hornets could have therapeutic applications.

Allergens↗