Date palm pollen allergoid: characterization of its chemical-physical and immunological properties.

Background: Date palm (DP) pollen can cause allergic symptoms in people living in different countries. Specific immunotherapy with allergenic extracts by subcutaneous route is effective to cure allergic people. However, the risk of side effects has led to explore safer therapeutic modalities.

Cross-reactivities between date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) polypeptides and foods implicated in the oral allergy syndrome.

Background: Date fruit and pollen antigens share a number of cross-reactive epitopes. Date pollen has been shown to cross-react with antigens from Artemisia, cultivated rye (Secale cereale), Timothy grass (Phleum pratense), Sydney golden wattle (Acacia longifolia) and Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) pollen. The present study was carried out to examine any cross-reactivities between date palm polypeptides and antigens of some common foods and vegetables that have been implicated in the oral allergy syndrome (OAS).

Cultivar-specific IgE-epitopes in date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit allergy. Correlation of skin test reactivity and ige-binding properties in selecting date cultivars for allergen standardization.

Background: Date fruits are allergenic and standardized extracts are required for diagnosis and therapy of this allergy. Since there are several cultivars of dates, this study was carried out to assess the allergenicity of different cultivars in order to select suitable source material for standardization.

Methods: The protein profiles of 18 of the most commonly sold varieties were compared by SDS-PAGE and their relative allergenicity assessed by SPT and IgE-based ELISA and immunoblotting.

Allergy to date fruits: characterization of antigens and allergens of fruits of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.).

Background: Date-palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits are eaten daily by most inhabitants of the Middle East and the neighboring countries. Recent reports have indicated that dates are allergenic.

Latex allergy in Saudi children with spina bifida.

Background: Children with spina bifida (SB) are exposed to latex soon after birth during bladder catheterization, rectal disimpaction, and multiple surgical procedures. IgE-mediated latex-allergic reactions have been reported recently in these children. Our study was designed to assess the prevalence of allergic reactions to latex products in a group of Saudi Arabian children with SB in a tertiary care hospital.