Abstract
Eosinophil granulocytes play an important role in inflammation of the nasal mucosa. The eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) is a specific eosinophil granule protein. It is released upon activation of these cells. ECP concentration in nasal secretions has been demonstrated to be a good marker for the activity of eosinophilic nasal mucosal inflammation in patients with symptomatic allergic rhinitis. However, the natural course of ECP concentration in nasal secretions under natural allergen exposure has never been investigated. The aim of our study was to evaluate the course of ECP concentration in nasal secretions under natural allergen exposure. We investigated the natural course of ECP levels in nasal secretions of 179 patients with grass or birch pollen-allergic rhinitis at the beginning, during and after (111 patients) the pollen season. Within the first 2 weeks of the season, we noted a significant increase in the ECP concentration and this concentration continued to increase significantly throughout the rest of the season. In contrast, symptom scores significantly increased within the first 3 days of the season without any further significant increase thereafter. Post-seasonally, ECP concentrations decreased significantly within 4 weeks. In conclusion, our investigation provides information about the natural course of ECP in nasal secretions of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis suggesting that ECP levels reflect the late phase of allergic reaction and confirming other studies which recommend using ECP levels in nasal secretions for monitoring disease activity or therapy control in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Published Version
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