Response to polysaccharide antigens in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia.

Objective: To analyze the production of antibodies to polysaccharide antigens in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia.

Patients And Methods: We used the ELISA technique to measure the levels of IgG antibodies to serotypes 1, 3, 5, 6B, 9V and 14 of Streptococcus pneumoniae in 14 patients with ataxia-telangiectasia before and after immunization with 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine. Adequate response to individual polysaccharide can be defined as a postimmunization antibody titer equal to or greater than 1.

[Allergic drug reactions].

Objective: This review addresses the most recent published literature regarding drug allergy, in order to provide physicians with a background for a better understanding of this problem of great relevance for public health.

Sources Of Data: The sources of data for obtaining the original and review articles published in the last 10 years were MEDLINE, Pubmed and Lilacs. The articles chosen for this review relate drug allergy to immunological mechanisms, epidemiology, clinical and laboratory evaluation, skin lesions, clinical management, and re-exposure to the drug.