ORAL ALLERGY SYNDROME

Abstract

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is defined as a set of clinical manifestations caused by IgE-mediated allergic reactions that occur at oral and pharyngeal mucosae in the patients with pollen sensitization after ingestion of certain fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices. OAS arises from cross-reactivity between specific pollen and food allergens, due to similarity of a configuration and amino acid sequence of allergenic molecules. OAS is considered as class II food allergy, being caused by thermo- and chemolabile allergens, and it is rarely combined with generalized manifestations of food allergy. Prevalence and spectrum of the causal allergens depend on a kind of pollen sensitization. In Moscow region, as well as in Northern Europe, allergic sensitization most commonly occurs to the pollen of leaf trees, whereas OAS is mostly connected with ingestion of fruits from Rosaceae family and nuts. Since last years, a newly developed technique of component-resolved molecular diagnosis (CR diagnostics) allows of more precise detection of OAS-causing allergen molecules. These data are of extreme importance for administration of adequate nutritional therapy and prediction of SIT efficiency. (Med. Immunol., 2011, vol. 13, N 1, pp 17-28)