Mold Allergy in Austria: Clinical Relevance of Alternaria Alternata and Related Species

Medical University of Vienna70 enrolled

Overview

Mold allergies are becoming increasingly important among the population. Increasing amounts of fungal spores are analyzed in air-samples because of urbanization, industrialization of food products and climate change. Mold also grows indoor and hence lead to additional health complaints. Alternaria alternata, and its only major allergen Alt a 1, is the most important fungus for allergy sufferers. Alternaria alternata can not only cause allergic symptoms but can also cause intensified asthmatic symptoms. Besides Alternaria alternata, there are over 700 other species of the genus Alternaria. The influence of these other species on allergic symptoms is poorly understood. Furthermore, prevalence and incidence of an allergy to Alternaria alternata among the Austrian population is not known. Estimates range between 1-5% among the Austrian population. This study aims to further investigate the incidence and characteristics of an allergy to Alternaria in Austria. This will be investigated with the help of participants (50 Alternaria allergy sufferers and 20 non allergic participants), spore counts in Austria and crowd-sourced symptom data.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

Conditions

Fungal Allergy Allergy

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 60 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Participants will be healthy people over 18 years of age. Allergic participants should have an allergic reaction against Alternaria, visible in the Skin-Prick-Test. Furthermore symptom data in the pollen diary of the Austrian Pollen Information Service should be existing Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects participating in a pharmacological study, pregnant subjects and subjects with an existing infectious- and/or autoimmune disease

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Prevalence, Immunoglobulin-E (IgE)-antibodies to selected Alternaria species

Determine the prevalence of sensitization to multiple Alternaria species in the Austrian population

Time frame: 12 months

Secondary Outcomes

Cytokine-profile (e.g. Interleukin-13, Interleukin-5, Interleukin-10, TNFalpha, IFNgamma) upon Alt a 1 incubation

Changes in the immun response when ligand-binding mononuclear cells from the blood to Alt a 1, characterized by the cytokine profile (Th1/Th2/regulatory) and the cell population (B- and T-cells, macrophages/monocytes)