[The role of allergology in internal medicine today and vice versa].

Author underlines recent growing importance of allergology as a medical discipline and offers a brief overview focused on the overlap between allergy and internal medicine. The important diagnostic and therapeutic methods are described to give an information useful for a postgraduate medical education in internal medicine. The ana-lysis of individual case history especially in allergy is emphasized.

Immunomagnetic molecular probe with UHPLC-MS/MS: a promising way for reliable bronchial asthma diagnostics based on quantification of cysteinyl leukotrienes.

A sensitive and precise method for simultaneous quantification of cysteinyl leukotrienes (=cys LTs) - leukotriene C4 (=LTC4), leukotriene D4 (=LTD4) and leukotriene E4 (=LTE4) - essential biomarkers of bronchial asthma present in exhaled breath condensate (=EBC) was developed. An immunomagnetic molecular probe was prepared by anchoring cysteinyl leukotrienes antibody on the surface of functionalized monodispersed magnetic particles and used to selectively isolate cys LTs from biological matrices - EBC, plasma and urine. Immobilization and the immunoaffinity capture procedures were optimized to maximize the amount of separated cys LTs, which were detected "off-beads" after acidic elution by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS operated in a multiple reaction monitoring mode.

[Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide in the diagnosis of asthma].

Currently exhaled nitric oxide is taken for the best inflammatory marker used in diagnosis of asthma. This short communication deals with recent recommendation, our own experience and comments on the importance of exhaled nitric oxide in clinical practise.

Exhaled leukotrienes and bronchial responsiveness to methacholine in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Background: Allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma can coexist and affect each other.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the postseasonal increase in the concentration of leukotriene (LT) B4 and LTE4 in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and bronchial responsiveness to methacholine (BRM) in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR).

Methods: In 28 patients with SAR and 50 healthy study patients, the leukotrienes were measured in EBC during and after the pollen season by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry of exhaled breath condensate headspace.

Collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a relatively simple noninvasive method of breath analysis; however, no data have been reported that would relate concentration of volatile compounds in EBC to their gaseous concentrations in exhaled air. The aim of the study was to investigate which volatile compounds are present in EBC and how their concentrations relate to results of direct breath analysis. Thus, samples of EBC were collected in a standard way from several subjects and absolute levels of several common volatile breath metabolites (ammonia, acetone, ethanol, methanol, propanol, isoprene, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) were then determined in their headspace using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS).

Validation of nitrite and nitrate measurements in exhaled breath condensate.

Background: Inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) are investigated as a non-invasive approach to monitoring of inflammation in the respiratory tract. EBC concentrations of nitrite and nitrate, the stable end products of oxidative metabolism of nitric oxide, are increased in patients with asthma, especially during acute exacerbations.

Objectives: To examine methodological aspects of nitrite and nitrate measurements in EBC such as sample collection, storage and analysis.