Treating allergies..

[Zebra]

Let take Hay fever for example. Pollen, the allergen causes specific antibodies called immunoglobulin E that is attached to the mast cells. When the pollen is encounted on a subsequent occasion, the pollen attaches to the IgE on the mast cells. This triggers the mast cells to release histamine and enzymes which produce symptoms of allergic disease..

To treat this...

1. Repeated injection of tiny amount of pollen extracts
2. Injection of Antihistamine

Correct?

and What exactly is histamine?? please help

[liuetenant]

histamine is secreted by mast cells (and to some extent basohils) in response to things like the pollen attaching to the IgE......

it causes things like : permeability of blood vessels (which equals swelling, increased blood flow which equals pain, redness) as well as constricitng bronchioles in the lungs (so there's difficutly breathing) for hay fevre sufferes...sound familiar?

So yeah, antihistamine obviously does the opposite of all the above....also i heard another way of treating it is by injecting with adrenaline....it also does the opposite to histamine

hope i helped?

[shinny]

Let take Hay fever for example. Pollen, the allergen causes specific antibodies called immunoglobulin E that is attached to the mast cells. When the pollen is encounted on a subsequent occasion, the pollen attaches to the IgE on the mast cells. This triggers the mast cells to release histamine and enzymes which produce symptoms of allergic disease..

To treat this...

1. Repeated injection of tiny amount of pollen extracts
2. Injection of Antihistamine

Correct?

and What exactly is histamine?? please help

I don't think you even need to know this? Sort out what from your textbooks is just an example and what's actually core material. Regarding 'treating', the pollen extracts is a long-term treatment to prevent the allergies from occurring in the future. Antihistamines are just a short-term solution which last only for the duration that the drug remains in the body. Other ways include use of steroids and such which dampen the immune response, but you don't really need to know this.

also i heard another way of treating it is by injecting with adrenaline....it also does the opposite to histamine

Adrenaline is only used in allergic reactions which lead to anaphylaxis, whereby severe systemic release of histamine leads to widespread swelling, and of that, most worryingly in the airways which can lead to obstruction and death. You wouldn't normally pump adrenaline into someone who's having some sniffles from hayfever though.

[Zebra]

Guys, I have another question. During inflammatory response.... one textbook says histamine is produced by the
phagocytes that arrive early to the infected region whereas another textbook says histamine is produced by the damaged cell...

Which on do I go with?

[Russ]

I forget a large chunk of my pathology from last semester, but both.

[Zebra]

So.. I'd say histamine is produced by mast cells, damaged cells, platelets and phagocytes...?