Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma, and anaphylaxis. Symptoms may include red eyes, an itchy rash, sneezing, coughing, a runny nose, shortness of breath, or swelling. Note that food intolerances and food poisoning are separate conditions.
Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the following: an itchy rash, throat closing due to swelling that can obstruct or stop breathing; severe tongue swelling that can also interfere with or stop breathing; shortness of breath, vomiting, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, low blood pressure, and medical shock. These symptoms typically start in minutes to hours and then increase very rapidly to life-threatening levels. Urgent medical treatment is required to prevent serious harm and death, even if the patient has used an epipen or has taken other medications in response, and even if symptoms appear to be improving.
A radioallergosorbent test (RAST) is a blood test using radioimmunoassay test to detect specific IgE antibodies in order to determine the substances a subject is allergic to. This is different from a skin allergy test, which determines allergy by the reaction of a person's skin to different substances.
Rhinitis, also known as coryza, is irritation and inflammation of the mucous membrane inside the nose. Common symptoms are a stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, and post-nasal drip.
Allergen immunotherapy, also known as desensitization or hypo-sensitization, is a medical treatment for environmental allergies, such as insect bites, and asthma. Immunotherapy involves exposing people to larger and larger amounts of allergens in an attempt to change the immune system's response.
JAMA Internal Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. It was established in 1908 as the Archives of Internal Medicine and obtained its current title in 2013. It covers all aspects of internal medicine, including cardiovascular disease, geriatrics, infectious disease, gastroenterology, endocrinology, allergy, and immunology. The editor in chief is Rita F. Redberg.
Applied kinesiology (AK) is a pseudoscience-based technique in alternative medicine claimed to be able to diagnose illness or choose treatment by testing muscles for strength and weakness.
Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET) is a form of alternative medicine which proponents claim can treat allergies and related disorders. The techniques were devised by Devi Nambudripad, a California-based chiropractor and acupuncturist, in 1983, drawing on a combination of ideas from applied kinesiology, acupuncture, acupressure, nutritional management, and chiropractic methods.
Founded in 1943, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) is a professional medical membership organization of nearly 6,800 allergist/immunologists and related professionals around the world with advanced training and experience in allergy, asthma and other immunologic diseases. The Academy is dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge and practice of allergy, asthma and immunology for optimal patient care.
The Journal of Immunology is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes basic and clinical studies in all aspects of immunology. Established in 1916, it changed its name to Journal of Immunology, Virus Research and Experimental Chemotherapy from 1943 to 1949, then returned to the original Journal of Immunology in 1950. It is the official journal of the American Association of Immunologists. The editor-in-chief is Eugene M. Oltz.
Andrzej Szczeklik was a Polish immunologist working at the Jagiellonian University School of Medicine in Kraków. Having received numerous distinctions for his research, Szczeklik was also well known as a writer.
The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is a non-profit organisation for European clinicians, researchers and allied health professionals in the field of allergy and clinical immunology, covering asthma, rhinitis, eczema and occupational allergy, food and drug allergy, severe anaphylactic reactions, autoimmune disorders, and immunodeficiencies.
The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is an international umbrella organization of 108 regional and national allergology and clinical immunology societies. Since the first World Allergy Congress (WAC) held in Zurich, Switzerland in 1951, there have been 28 WACs as well as a number of WAO International Science Conferences (WISC), Webinars, and Symposia. Beyond sharing research findings, these meetings also allocate funds for postgraduate programs on allergy and clinical immunology.
Igor Petrovych Kaidashev is a Ukrainian immunologist and allergist, MD, and Professor. Igor Kaidashev is President of the Ukrainian Society of Immunology, Allergy and Immunorehabilitation, Professor of the Department of Internal Medicine No. 3 with Phthisiology, and Vice-Rector for Research & Development at Poltava State Medical University (PSMU) since 2010.
The Annals of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering allergy, asthma, and immunology. The journal was established in 1943 under the name Annals of Allergy, obtaining its current name in 1995. The journal is published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, of which it is the official journal. The editor-in-chief is Mitchell H. Grayson, MD. According to the journal's website, the journal has a 2021 impact factor of 6.248.
Kari C. Nadeau is the Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health and John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies. She is adjunct professor at Stanford University in the Department of Pediatrics and the co-chair of the Medical Societies Consortium for Climate Change and Health. She practices Allergy, Asthma, Immunology in children and adults. She has published over 400+ papers, many in the field of climate change and health. Her team focuses on quantifying health outcomes of solutions as they pertain climate change mitigation and adaptation at the local, regional, country, and global levels. Dr. Nadeau, with a team of individuals and patients and families, has been able to help major progress and impact in the clinical fields of immunology, infection, asthma, and allergy. Dr. Nadeau is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. EPA Children’s Health Protection Committee.
Cezmi Akdis is a medical researcher in the field of immunology. He is director of the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF) in Davos, Switzerland and the editor in chief of the journal Allergy.
Marc E. Rothenberg is an American physician-scientist who has made significant contributions to the fields of allergy, gastroenterology, and immunology. He is currently a Professor of Pediatrics, at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the Director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology, the Director of the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, and the principal investigator of the Consortium of Eosinophilic Disease Researchers (CEGIR) as part of the Rare Disease Clinical Research Network of the National Institute of Health. Rothenberg's research is focused on eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases.
Giorgio Walter Canonica is an Italian allergist, pulmonologist and professor of Respiratory Medicine at Humanitas University, Milan, Italy and Director Personalized Medicine Asthma & Allergy Center at Humanitas Research Hospital IRCCS-Milano Italy since December 2016. He is known for his research work related to innovative treatment strategies for allergic diseases which includes biological response modifier in form of targeted immunotherapy with primary emphasis on sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). He has served as Secretary General and President elect of World Allergy Organisation for six consecutive years and has served as president of the same organization during 2007–09. He is also the vice-president of INTERASMA.
