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Mites and other indoor allergens — from exposure to sensitization and treatment

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Abstract

House dust mites, cats and dogs are amongst the most frequent sources of indoor allergens in Europe. The fact that the allergens of house dust mites cause allergic disease through inhalation of house dust was discovered in 1964. The diagnosis of mite allergy is regularly complicated by its often nonspecific symptoms, which frequently develop insidiously and by no means always include attacks of paroxysmal sneezing and itching. Antibody-based immunological detection methods can be used to measure exposure to mite allergens. The structure and function of more than 20 allergens from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and D. farina are known. Other relevant indoor allergens come from mammals kept in households. Here again, allergens have been described and diagnostic as well as exposure-measurement tools are available. It is important to remember indoor pests and other „unwelcome lodgers“ as a possible cause in the case of unexplained symptoms experienced indoors. This short overview summarizes the current key points on the subject of „mites and other indoor allergens“. The present article provides an overview of several articles published in a special issue of the German journal Allergologie [February 2015; 38(2)] on the subject of „Mites and other indoor allergens“.

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Abbreviations

AH:

Antihistamines

AIT:

Allergen-specific immunotherapy

AR:

Allergic rhinitis

cNP:

Cimex lectularius nitrophorin

EDC:

Electrostatic dust fall collector

ELISA:

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

FAD:

Flea allergy dermatitis

GCS:

Glucocorticosteroid

IgE:

Immunoglobulin E

IUIS:

International Union of Immunological Societies

LRA:

Leukotriene receptor antagonists

MG:

Molecular weight

NPT:

Nasal provocation testing

SIT:

Specific immunotherapy

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Allergology/Immunology Competence Centre, Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum (IPA), Bürkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany

    Monika Raulf, I. Sander, T. Brüning & E. Zahradnik

  2. Charité Allergy Centre, Charité University Hospital, Berlin, Germany

    K. C. Bergmann

  3. Research Group Clinical and Molecular Allergology, Borstel Research Centre, Borstel, Germany

    S. Kull & U. Jappe (Airway Research Centre North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL)

  4. Department of Infection & Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxemburg, Luxemburg

    Ch. Hilger

  5. Department of Dermatology, Allergology and Venereology, Lübeck University, Lübeck, Germany

    U. Jappe (Airway Research Centre North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL)

  6. Bad Lippspringe, Germany

    H. Müsken (Specialist Practice for Allergology and Pulmonology)

  7. Centre for Rhinology and Allergology, Wiesbaden, Germany

    A. Sperl & L. Klimek

  8. Institute for Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Centre for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    S. Vrtala

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  1. Monika Raulf
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  2. K. C. Bergmann
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  3. S. Kull
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  4. I. Sander
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  5. Ch. Hilger
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  6. T. Brüning
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  7. U. Jappe
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  8. H. Müsken
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  9. A. Sperl
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  10. S. Vrtala
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  11. E. Zahradnik
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  12. L. Klimek
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Correspondence to Monika Raulf.

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Raulf M, Bergmann KC, Kull S, Sander I, Hilger C, Brüning T, Jappe U, Müsken H, Sperl A, Vrtala S, Zahradnik E, Klimek L. Mites and other indoor allergens — from exposure to sensitization and treatment. Allergo J Int 2015;24:68–80 DOI: 10.1007/s40629-015-0049-1

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Raulf, M., Bergmann, K.C., Kull, S. et al. Mites and other indoor allergens — from exposure to sensitization and treatment. Allergo J Int 24, 68–80 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40629-015-0049-1

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