Guest guest Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Hi , You are very welcome! Your question is a great one, absolutely no reason to be apologetic. Allergen exposure triggers IgE exposure in an individual genetically susceptible to producing IgE in response to that allergen. At the time of the very first exposure to a particular allergen, there is no pre-existing IgE and so no allergic response to the exposure. The allergen to which an individual is allergic initially triggers the transformation of specific immune cells into cells that can secrete IgE but these cells do not secrete enough IgE to trigger an allergic response at the time of first exposure. However, subsequent allergen exposure causes the now primed immune system to produce more IgE that can trigger the onset of the allergic cascade with each further antigen exposure. And each time the allergic cascade is triggered, it can self-perpetuate itself. The degree to which that happens also has a genetic basis and differs between individuals. That's a very simplified summary of what is really a very complicated process involving many different types of immune cells and immune mediators. Any individual will have her/his own genetic propensity to affect each step of the overall process to varying degrees. That's why different folks allergic to the same allergens have different degrees of allergic responses to the same level of allergen exposure. Fran > > Fran, > > First of all thank you. Your explanations are clear, > concise and accurate. We are so lucky to have you! > > Question: What determines how much IgE one produces in > the first place? Clearly person 1 and person 2 do not > produce the same quantity in response to the same > allergic trigger. Genetics? What happens first? Ige > production or is it trigger by allergen? > > Sorry for the innocent questions. My immunology was > quite a long time ago... > > C > > > Get news delivered with the All new . Enjoy RSS feeds right on your Mail page. Start today at http://mrd.mail./try_beta?.intl=ca > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Oops! I meant to say " Allergen exposure triggers IgE production... " Fran > > > > Fran, > > > > First of all thank you. Your explanations are clear, > > concise and accurate. We are so lucky to have you! > > > > Question: What determines how much IgE one produces in > > the first place? Clearly person 1 and person 2 do not > > produce the same quantity in response to the same > > allergic trigger. Genetics? What happens first? Ige > > production or is it trigger by allergen? > > > > Sorry for the innocent questions. My immunology was > > quite a long time ago... > > > > C > > > > > > Get news delivered with the All new . Enjoy RSS > feeds right on your Mail page. Start today at > http://mrd.mail./try_beta?.intl=ca > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Suzanne, you're very welcome. Have you been on this board long enough to know the term " asthnostics " ? It's part of our lingo, meaning folks who don't really believe in asthma as a serious illness. I'm sorry you've been having to deal with some. Have you considered bringing your husband or any of the others to a doctor's appointment with you for confirmation of what you're dealing with? At some point, someone on this board (Doug?) mentioned a friend, I think, who described asthma as feeling like you're breathing through a straw. It's a great description - maybe you could mention that to the asthnostics in your life and offer them a straw to try it. Seriously. Fran > > Thanks for the explanations. I finally have something I can hand to my husband to hopefully make him understand what is going on in my body. Having others think you are not that sick when you're dragging your wheezing body around is most frustrating, particularly the people closest to you. > > Suzanne > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > " Don't mess with me because I've sold cars, stolen guns and made grown men cry... " > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. > Play Sims Stories at Games. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 > > > > Fran, > > > > First of all thank you. Your explanations are clear, > > concise and accurate. We are so lucky to have you! > > > > Question: What determines how much IgE one produces in > > the first place? Clearly person 1 and person 2 do not > > produce the same quantity in response to the same > > allergic trigger. Genetics? What happens first? Ige > > production or is it trigger by allergen? > > > > Sorry for the innocent questions. My immunology was > > quite a long time ago... > > > > C > > > > > > Get news delivered with the All new . Enjoy RSS > feeds right on your Mail page. Start today at > http://mrd.mail./try_beta?.intl=ca > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Terry, in response to your question about what happens if Xolair is discontinued, preliminary studies showed that generally IgE levels remain elevated above the pre-Xolair level for as long as a year but eventually do return to the pre-Xolair level (which in all of us on Xolair was abnormally elevated), and previous symptoms do return. This sounds confusing but remember that the measured IgE levels are increased above the pre-Xolair level during Xolair treatment because the widely availabe lab test is measuring both free IgE and IgE- Xolair complexes as IgE without distinguishing the two. So what happens after discontinuation is that free IgE production continues as before while IgE-Xolair complexes are gradually cleared from the blood and the lab test will show a gradual decline in total IgE even if free IgE remains the same. In the end, you end up where you started. I don't really think we're going to know the full, detailed answer to your question until a study is done of patients who have been on Xolair for a number of years and then choose to stop treatment for whatever reason. Fran > > > > Fran, > > > > First of all thank you. Your explanations are clear, > > concise and accurate. We are so lucky to have you! > > > > Question: What determines how much IgE one produces in > > the first place? Clearly person 1 and person 2 do not > > produce the same quantity in response to the same > > allergic trigger. Genetics? What happens first? Ige > > production or is it trigger by allergen? > > > > Sorry for the innocent questions. My immunology was > > quite a long time ago... > > > > C > > > > > > Get news delivered with the All new . Enjoy RSS > feeds right on your Mail page. Start today at > http://mrd.mail./try_beta?.intl=ca > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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