Histamine and catecholamine values in allergic subjects under specific hyposensitization treatment.

It has been quite some time since a histamine/catecholamine balance was established. This balance was also observed at the moment of anaphylactic shock in dogs previously hypersensitized. Few findings have demonstrated that histamine is released in skin reaction produced by allergen injection. The hypothesis that the histamine release was positive in intradermal and subcutaneous reaction provoked through injecting both routes by allergen used for hyposensitization led us to carry out the present study in a group of allergic patients. We determined the quantity of histamine found in blood plasma prior to and 4 hours after hyposensitization, and observed if there was an increase in the histamine and catecholamine produced, that is to say if a histamine-catecholamine balance was established. However, no such balance was produced. Instead it was evident in this work that no histamine was released in the area of administration. We in part confirm the works of other authors which doubt the existence of such a release and incline towards the idea that what is released are vasoactive kinins.

The role of catecholamines in specific hyposensitization.

With the use of modern techniques for the evaluation of catecholamines, this work studies the behavior of catecholamines in the urine of a group of 33 allergic patients before and after injection of allergens as part of immunotherapy. In 24 of these patients the amount of adrenalin and norepinephrine had increased 24 hours after the injection of the allergens (p less than 0.001). This confirms the noradrenergic role of the allergen, apart from the release of histamine as a result of the immunologic mechanism. Histamine is released as a result of the increase of the norepinephrine and is evidence of a homeostatic mechanism, as had been established in a previous investigation by the authors.

Cell-mediated immune reactions in asthma.

Abnormally high levels of IgE are produced in various diseases, including atopic eczema, and a functional decrease in the T-lymphocyte population occurs at the same time. T-cell function has been studied in a group of asthma patients with high, normal and low IgE levels and in a control group. T-cell function appears to be reduced in asthmatic patients with high concentrations of IgE when skin tests are performed with Candida antigen (P less than 0.05). There was also a decline in the lymphocyte transformation tests with candida antigen in autologous serum (P less than 0.05), although not in foetal calf serum. The responses to in vivo tests with streptokinase-streptodornase were normal, as was the response of the lymphocytes to PHA.