Allergic rhinitis and asthma: are they manifestations of one syndrome? Allergy and Clinical Immunology

摘要

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common atopic disease worldwide and its increasing incidence to epidemic proportions is associated with a reduced quality of life of the patients, lower work productivity and school learning performance as well as increasing medical costs [1-5]. AR is an IgE-mediated inflammation of the nasal mucosa characterized by an inflammatory infiltrate made up of eosinophils, T cells, mast cells and basophils, which release several mediators, chemokines and cytokines (among these, histamine and cysteinyl-leukotrienes are the major vasoactive mediators), regulation of the local and systemic IgE synthesis, and communication with the immune system and the bone marrow .