Natural or Recombinant Allergens
Allergenic materials are used to prepare allergen extracts to diagnose and treat allergic patients. Natural materials have been used for this purpose for many years. It is often difficult to obtain sufficient quantities of natural allergenic products. In addition, the safety of those materials is questioned, particularly in Europe, where regulatory entities have proposed guidelines […]
Fungal Allergen Extracts
A large number of fungal allergen extracts for diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases are available on the market. This can be confusing for the allergist/immunologist to properly select the most clinically relevant extracts. While the proper selection of the appropriate extracts derived from particular genera and/or species is critical, other factors regarding the materials […]
Dog Allergen Extracts
Dog allergen extracts are used to diagnose and treat allergic diseases. Mammalian allergens are present in a variety of sources, and different raw materials are used to produce allergenic extracts extracts. Those materials include dander, hair, epithelium, pelt, skin scrapings, and hides. However, dander is the most commonly used product. Because most individuals sensitized to […]
Pollen Allergen Extracts
Pollen is a unique raw material because it is exposed to the outdoor environment before and during collection. Therefore, pollen can be potentially impacted by moisture and airborne components present outdoors. They include both ubiquitous biological and chemical contaminants. The potential impact of chemical contaminants in pollen is not discussed in this post. Proper pollen […]
Allergen Extracts on the Market
A large number of allergen extracts for diagnosis and/or treatment of allergies are available on the market. However, the safety and efficacy of many of them are controversial. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluations and Research (CBER), which regulates allergenic products, created a committee to review scientific data about […]
Storage of Allergenic Raw Materials
Environmental factors are responsible for the deterioration of the raw materials used to manufacture allergenic extracts. Among these factors, moisture content and storage temperature of the materials play a combined role, responsible for the allergenic stability of raw materials. The proper storage of allergenic raw materials is critical to guarantee a particular shelf-life. We performed […]
Spring Allergies
After a winter, we appreciate the following spring with milder temperatures and longer days. However, many people suffering from spring allergies are concerned about exacerbations of their symptoms, resulting from exposure to airborne pollen. Allergies are the most common chronic diseases in the USA, with one out of four people in this country suffering from […]
Production of allergen extracts
Introduction: Allergen extracts are biological products used to diagnose and treat allergic diseases. Allergy diagnosis is performed by a careful review of the patient’s medical history, often followed by in vivo and/or in vitro testing, which involve the use of allergen extracts. Allergen avoidance should be the first measure to prevent allergies. However, this approximation […]