RSS Feeds
Autonomic Nervous System Abnormalities and Allergy
- MICHAEL KALINER, M. D.;
- JAMES H. SHELHAMER, M.D.;
- PAMELA B. DAVIS, M.D., Ph.D.;
- LAURIE J. SMITH, M.D.; and
- J. CRAIG VENTER, Ph.D.
Abstract
Abnormal autonomic nervous system responsiveness may contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma and other allergic diseases. Therefore, we measured alpha- and beta-adrenergic and cholinergic responsiveness in allergic subjects. Allergic asthmatic subjects had an abnormal adrenergic (alpha = hyperresponsive; beta = hyporesponsive) and cholinergic (hyperresponsive) profile. However, subjects with allergic rhinitis and preallergic subjects (those with positive allergen skin tests without any disease manifestation) had equivalent beta-adrenergic and cholinergic abnormalities. Thus, all allergic subjects showed abnormal beta-adrenergic hyporeactivity and cholinergic hypersensitivity whereas allergic asthma was singularly associated with excessive alpha-adrenergic responsiveness. Autoantibodies against beta-receptors were found predominantly in subjects with beta-adrenergic hyporeactivity. The presence of these autoantibodies and the physiologic abnormalities associated with their presence suggests a causitive relationship.
Article and Author Information
-
▸An edited transcription of a Clinical Staff Conference at the Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, 13 March 1980, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
-
▸Authors who wish to cite a section of this conference and specifically indicate its author can use this example for the form of reference:
SHELHAMER JH. Beta-adrenergic responsiveness, pp. 350-2. In: KALINER M, moderator. Autonomic nervous system abnormalities and allergy. Ann Intern Med. 1982;96:349-57.
-
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Michael Kaliner, M.D.; Head, Allergic Diseases Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 11N-250; Bethesda, MD 20205.
