Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0042109 (urticaria)
 6,569 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

It is possible to treat vertebral disc hernias by chemonucleolysis because of the enzymatic properties of chymopapain extracted from Carica papaya. But, 1% of the general population would seem to have a latent sensitivity to this protein, and would thus be at risk of presenting life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Recent clinical studies have identified different risk factors: atopy, previous food and drug allergies. A case is here reported of a 35 year old woman with a history of urticaria following anti-tetanus serum and penicillin injections, who frequently ate exotic fruit, and who was intolerant to alcohol. HBDT and prick tests confirmed both drug allergies. A prick test to chymopapain 1 mg X ml-1 gave a borderline result; the HBDT was positive, with 45% degranulation. Both these tests had been previously assessed by a study of 20 volunteers in good general health: negative prick tests in all 20, and negative HBDT in 19 out of the 20, with chymopapain concentrations ranging from 10 micrograms X ml-1 to 1 micrograms X ml-1. The one volunteer with a positive HBDT probably had latent sensitivity to the enzyme. The great sensitivity of both prick tests and HBDT in detecting IgE specific for food proteins is recalled. It is suggested that a routine predictive immuno-allergological assessment be carried out, with prick tests to the standard airbone allergens (to find a possible atopy), and a prick-test with 1 mg X ml-1 chymopapain, and a HBDT to the enzyme. A sample of serum should be kept for possible RAST and FAST carried out later.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:[Allergy to chymopapain: value of predictive tests before chemonucleolysis]. 389 37

Chymopapain has been approved for intradiscal injection in the United States and is expected to be used in approximately 100,000 patients per year. The need to identify the population at risk for anaphylaxis is obvious. Both in vivo and in vitro methods are available for measurement of IgE against chymopapain. This is a report of two cases of chymopapain allergy. One case discusses a 25-year-old woman who had rhinitis, asthma, and urticaria associated with occupational health hazards who was rejected for chemonucleolysis. The other case describes a 59-year-old man who had a predictably severe anaphylactic reaction to chymopapain and responded to treatment with epinephrine. Both patients had IgE antibody against chymopapain.
 ...
PMID:Chymopapain allergy: case reports and identification of patients at risk for chymopapain anaphylaxis. 638 Aug 59

We studied clinical and immunologic aspects of the reactions to two newly introduced drugs, chymopapain and human recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid insulin (HI), in patients demonstrating allergies to one of these two drugs. We then used this information to improve our ability to diagnose and prevent chymopapain allergy and to further our understanding of systemic insulin allergy and its management. Of the patients who were sensitive to chymopapain, one had severe anaphylaxis to intradisc injection while the other had rhinitis, asthma, and urticaria with occupational exposure. The latter demonstrated cutaneous reactivity to papain; the former refused skin testing. Both demonstrated immunoglobulin (Ig) E and IgG to chymopapain as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We have prospectively skin tested 61 patients with chymopapain. Sixty-one patients have had negative skin tests and have tolerated the intradisc injection of chymopapain without incident. We are continuing our prospective skin test study in order to identify a population at risk for allergy to chymopapain. Two patients with systemic allergic reactions to animal insulin have at least as much cutaneous reactivity and IgE and IgG antibodies to HI as to porcine insulin. A large local reaction occurred during an attempt to desensitize one of them to HI; the patient was subsequently desensitized without difficulty to porcine insulin, to which she was less skin reactive. We conclude that HI will not eliminate insulin allergy in patients with systemic allergy to animal insulin and that such patients will continue to require the usual therapeutic measures for insulin allergy.
 ...
PMID:Proteins: chymopapain and insulin. 638 38