Publications by authors named "Bartra J"

Background/objectives: Histamine intolerance is primarily caused by a deficiency in the diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme at the intestinal level. The reduced histamine degradation in the gut leads to its accumulation in plasma, thereby causing multiple clinical manifestations, such as urticaria, diarrhea, headache, dyspnea, or tachycardia, among others. The dietary management of this food intolerance consists of the follow-up of a low-histamine diet, often combined with DAO supplementation.

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Article Synopsis
  • Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) is used to warn people about possible allergens in food that could affect those with allergies.
  • The World Allergy Organization found that PAL is not consistently regulated, which makes it confusing for people with food allergies.
  • There are discussions among global organizations to create better rules for PAL so that it is clear and helpful for everyone, but there are still some challenges to making these rules work everywhere.
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  • Molecular diagnosis in allergology, particularly using the ImmunoCAP ISAC 112 microarray, improves identification of specific allergens in patients, enhancing the understanding of their allergies.
  • A study conducted in Catalonia assessed this method's impact on diagnosis and treatment (specifically immunotherapy) in young patients with allergic conditions, showing significant shifts in treatment plans.
  • Results indicated that over half of the patients (51%) had changes in their immunotherapy prescriptions based on molecular diagnostic findings, suggesting this approach leads to better-targeted treatments.
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Background And Objective: The prevalence of food allergy (FA) has increased significantly, and the risk of developing anaphylaxis is unpredictable. Thus, discriminating between sensitized patients and those at risk of having a severe reaction is of utmost interest. To explore mast cell activation pattern and T follicular helper (TFH) 13 presence in sensitized and food anaphylaxis patients.

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Background: Clinical trials showed the efficacy of 300 mg/4 weeks of omalizumab (OMA) during 6 months in patients with severe chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Nevertheless, in real life, many patients require higher doses and/or longer treatment. This study assesses the real-life performance of OMA in severe CSU and identifies factors associated with the response.

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microRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate post-transcriptional gene expression. Accumulating evidence suggests their involvement in regulating various biological and pathological processes, including inflammation. Studies have revealed distinct expression patterns of miRNAs in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with (CRSwNP) and without (CRSsNP) nasal polyps (1).

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Background And Objective: To analyze the sensitization pattern to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and to associate the diagnostic findings and clinical severity in 218 allergic patients from two different continents.

Methods: Mite allergic patients were recruited by the Allergology departments from Latin America (n=88: Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala) and Spain (N=130). All patients had allergic rhinitis with or without asthma and positive skin prick test results to D.

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Background: Ibuprofen and other arylpropionic acid derivatives (APs) are among the most consumed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs worldwide at all age ranges; however, little is known about drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) they induce.

Objective: To characterize in detail patients reporting DHRs to APs.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated patients with symptoms suggestive of AP-DHRs and analyzed their clinical characteristics, reported reactions, and diagnostic approaches.

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Introduction: Studies on the prevalence of asthma and allergies often lack representation of the pediatric population, and their impact has not been examined using children without these diseases as a reference group. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of asthma and allergies in children under 14 years old in Spain and their impact on health-related quality of life, activities, healthcare utilization, and environmental and household exposure risk factors.

Methods: Data came from a Spanish population-based representative survey of children aged <14 years (N=6297).

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Around 25% to 50% of food-induced allergic reactions in adults cause anaphylaxis, and epidemiologic evidence suggests that food is the most common cause of anaphylaxis. Reaction severity is unpredictable, and patients will often experience reactions of variable severity, even to an identical exposure (both dose and allergen). A common explanation for this phenomenon has been the impact of "cofactors"-factors that might contribute to reaction severity independent of the allergen exposure.

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Selective immunoglobulin E deficiency (SIgED) is still an unrecognised primary immunodeficiency despite several observations supporting its existence. This study aimed to describe the skin manifestations associated with SIgED. We retrospectively assessed medical records of patients with SIgED, the diagnosis being based on serum IgE levels ≤2 Uk/L associated with normal serum levels of immunoglobulins G, M, and A.

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Background: Although recent studies indicated that many fish-allergic patients may safely consume certain fish species, no clinical guidelines are available for identification of the exact species tolerated by specific patients.

Objective: To investigate whether multiplex immunoglobulin E (IgE) testing reveals potentially tolerated fish through absence of IgE to parvalbumin (PV) and extracts from specific species.

Methods: Sera from 263 clinically well-defined fish-allergic patients from Austria, China, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Spain were used in a research version of the ALEX multiplex IgE quantification assay.

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Many clinical lab settings still use 0.35 KU/L as the cut-off for serum specific-IgE (sIgE) immunoassays, while the detection limit is 0.1 KU/L.

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Background: The comparative safety profile of SARS-Cov2 vaccines requires further characterization in real-world settings.

Objectives: The aim of the VigilVacCOVID study was to assess the short-term safety of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 during the vaccination campaign of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and solid-organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) at a hospital clinic.

Methods: We conducted an observational, prospective, single-center, post-authorization study to characterize short-term adverse reactions (ARs) after vaccination.

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Plant-food allergy is an increasing problem, with nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) triggering mild/severe reactions. Pru p 3 is the major sensitizer in LTP food allergy (FA). However, in vivo and in vitro diagnosis is hampered by the need for differentiating between asymptomatic sensitization and allergy with clinical relevance.

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The terms control and remission and other key terms used in chronic urticaria (CU) such as flare-up, relapse, exacerbation, and recurrence have not been fully defined in the literature. Disease monitoring and treatment goals in clinical practice are not well established. After a qualitative appraisal of available evidence, we aimed to find a consensus definition of control and remission, clarify key terminology, provide guidance on how to monitor the disease, and establish treatment goals in clinical practice.

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Background: As the use of multiplex-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) detection methods becomes increasingly widespread, proper comparative validation assessments of emerging new platforms are vital.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical and technical performance of a newly introduced microarray platform, Allergy Explorer (ALEX) (MacroArray Diagnostics), in the diagnosis of pollen (cypress, grass, olive), dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus), mold (Alternaria alternata), fruit (apple, peach), and nut (walnut, hazelnut and peanut) allergies and to compare it with those of the ImmunoCAP Immuno Solid-phase Allergen Chip (ISAC) 112 microarray and the ImmunoCAP singleplex method (ThermoFisher Scientific).

Methods: We enrolled 153 patients with allergy and 16 controls without atopy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Betalactam antibiotics are the most common triggers for hypersensitivity reactions, and Rapid Drug Desensitization (RDD) is a method that helps patients temporarily tolerate these drugs.
  • There is a lack of standardized RDD protocols, making it essential to assess their safety and management concerning various factors like drug stability and administration.
  • A review of nine RDD protocols in a hospital over three years showed a 92.9% success rate in desensitizing patients, including those with confirmed allergies, highlighting the effectiveness of these protocols.
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Background: Food anaphylaxis is commonly elicited by unintentional ingestion of foods containing the allergen above the tolerance threshold level of the individual. While labeling the 14 main allergens used as ingredients in food products is mandatory in the EU, there is no legal definition of declaring potential contaminants. Precautionary allergen labeling such as "may contain traces of" is often used.

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