Spring and summer – a period of high incidence of allergy symptoms
For most people, spring and summer are the best time of the year, and for people with pollen allergies, it is the most "difficult" time of the year. In the spring and summer, frequent climate change, increased pollen concentrations, and increased ultraviolet rays, all of which can easily lead to the occurrence of allergic diseases. According to the World Allergy Organization (WAO), about 30% to 40% of people worldwide have allergies.
In recent years, the incidence of pollen allergies in the mainland has also been increasing, from 4-month-old infants to the elderly over 60 years old. Many parents find that children are prone to symptoms such as itchy nose, sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, and poor breathing during this season, which look like a cold, but are actually pollen allergies.
With the arrival of spring and summer, apricot blossoms, peach blossoms and those unknown flowers continue to bloom. After all winter, parents can't wait to take their children on an outing. Although it is good to enjoy the flowers, you still have to be careful not to be targeted by allergies.
Definition of allergic reactions
An allergic reaction is a reaction to tissue damage or dysfunction that occurs when the body that has developed immunity is stimulated by the same antigen again.
Allergies often occur in a relatively fixed population, because people with allergic constitutions belong to congenital immune dysfunction, often inherited, that is, people with this constitution, the occurrence of allergies may be accompanied by life.
Of course, people with allergies do not necessarily develop allergies, which is determined by the mechanism of allergy occurrence. When people with allergies are first exposed to allergens (antigens), the body does not have symptoms of allergies, but B cells in the body produce a corresponding specific antibody. When this specific antibody accumulates to a certain amount, if it is exposed to this antigen again, the specific antibody will bind to it, causing the body's mediator cells to degranulate and release a variety of mediators, resulting in a series of allergy symptoms.
It can be seen that there is a condition for the occurrence of allergies, that is, it is necessary to be able to contact the same allergen multiple times.
Knowing this, it is not difficult to understand why people who are allergic to a certain pollen only develop allergies in the spring and do not get sick in other seasons, precisely because these flowers only bloom in the spring, and only in the spring can they come into contact with its pollen.
Immunity 5: Diagnostic factors of allergy
So how to diagnose whether it is an allergy?
To put it simply, the conventional laboratory diagnostic indicators of allergy mainly include five immunization items, and the five immune items we often say refer to immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and complement C3 and C4. (Immunoglobulin refers to a globulin with antibody activity or a chemical structure similar to an antibody molecule, consisting of two identical light chains and two identical heavy chains connected by disulfide bonds between the chains.) ）
Immunoglobulins are a chemically structural concept, while antibodies are biologically functional. The chemical basis of all antibodies is immunoglobulins, but immunoglobulins do not all have antibody activity, such as abnormally high myeloma proteins in the serum of patients with myeloma, although it is produced by plasma cells, its structure is similar to that of antibodies, but it has no immune function. Complement is a group of immune-related proteins that are present in normal human and animal serums and have enzymatic activity.
Next, through the following table, we look at the clinical disease situation of the five indicators of immunity.
In addition, immunoglobulins not only have great diagnostic value in allergic reactions, but also play a pivotal role in the diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia.
On March 14, 2022, the National Health Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued the Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (Trial Ninth Edition), which mentioned that serological tests for positive IgM antibodies and IgG antibodies specific to the new coronavirus can be used as evidence to confirm the diagnosis of new crown pneumonia.
The antibodies in the protocol refer to specific antibodies produced against the new crown virus antigen, and the immunoglobulin antibodies we discuss here refer to the total antibody content, which cannot be used as a basis for confirming the diagnosis, but is helpful in assessing the overall immune system of patients with new crown pneumonia and monitoring treatment.
It is worth mentioning that the level of immunoglobulins and complement can reflect the state of the body's immune system, and its levels vary in different diseases.
The dynamic monitoring of the five immunization items can reflect the progress and changes of infectious diseases, provide a reference for clinical selection of reasonable treatment options, and then help prevent and control the new variant of the new coronavirus - "Delta Kerong".
Shenzhen Libang Precision Instrument Co., Ltd. (Libang Instrument SHE: 300206) launched the SP series of specific protein immunoassay analyzer, fully automatic injection, speed measurement up to 200T/H, support the original tube directly on the machine and continuous injection, with a number of core patented technologies, can assist the laboratory department to quickly carry out the joint examination of the five items of immunity, to provide a diagnostic basis for the clinic. In addition, the SP series protein-specific immunoassay analyzer also provides a series of detection reagent items, including infection inflammation project (CRP, hs-CRP, SAA), rheumatism three items (RF, ASO, CRP), coagulation thrombosis project D-Dimer and diabetes program HbA1C, as well as sialic acidated glycose chain antigen 6 (KL-6) for interstitial pneumonia.
Libang Instrument will continue to adhere to valuable innovations and continue to introduce products that are more in line with user needs and more suitable for patient needs.
【Reference】
Clinical diagnosis and treatment path of recurrent respiratory tract infection, Chinese Journal of Practical Pediatrics.
[2] Diagnosis and treatment plan for novel coronavirus pneumonia (trial ninth edition).
[3] CCTV news client