Florin-Dan Popescu

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy | UMF CD · Allergology

Adopting an immune response and tissue-based nomenclature in food allergies brings the field closer to precision and personalized medicine. An updated classification of non-IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity highlights mechanisms through a complex pathophysiological perspective and endotype-driven framework. This approach aligns with the essential...

Anemophilous weeds from the Asteraceae family are highly allergenic and represent a significant source of aeroallergens in late summer and autumn. Ragweed and mugwort pollen allergies have become a significant health burden in Europe. Some people with respiratory allergies to weed pollen may also suffer hypersensitivity reactions to herbal medicine...

IgE-mediated wheat allergy can take on various forms, including childhood food allergy to wheat, wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis in young adults, baker’s respiratory allergy/asthma in workers exposed to wheat flour inhalation, and contact urticaria that is caused by hydrolyzed wheat proteins in some cosmetics, and that is sometimes ass...

Efficacious, effective and efficient communication between healthcare professionals (HCP) and patients is essential to achieve a successful therapeutic alliance. Telemedicine (TM) has been used for decades but during the COVID‐19 pandemic its use has become widespread. This position paper aims to describe the terminology and most important forms of...

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a pleiotropic cytokine that has emerged as a critical player in the development and progression of allergy and asthma. It is primarily produced by epithelial cells and functions as a potent immune system activator. TSLP acts through interaction with its receptor complex, composed of the TSLP receptor (TSLPR) a...

Bradykinin (BK) metabolism and its receptors play a central role in drug-induced angioedema (AE) without urticaria through increased vascular permeability. Many cardiovascular and diabetic drugs may cause BK-mediated AE. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and neprilysin inhibitors impair BK catabolism. Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV)...

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions to anesthetic agents are rare, but with a worrying morbidity and mortality rate. Allergy evaluation is mandatory when hypersensitivity reactions to anesthetic agents are suspected. Skin prick tests and intradermal tests are important tools due to their clinical utility in establishing the diagnosis of IgE-mediat...

Hesperis matronalis L. is an herbaceous species used in traditional medicine for stimulatory, antiscorbutic, diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant properties. The antioxidant effect of a 20% hydroalcoholic extract from the flowering aerial part of H. matronalis (HMHE) was evaluated in mice with chronic experimental streptozotocin-induced diabetes (...

The dysfunctionality of the protective skin barrier in psoriasis allows easier cutaneous penetration of various contact haptens; thus, such patients can develop allergic contact hypersensitivity as a comorbidity. Both skin conditions involve T-cell-mediated mechanisms. Dermatologists and allergists should consider assessing allergic contact cell-me...

Accurate identification of a culprit drug involved in an immediate hypersensitivity adverse reaction has critical consequences on antibiotic stewardship and patient quality of life, therefore simple reliable diagnostic skin tests are of great importance. Succinct information on the use of positive and negative controls and nonirritating concentrati...

Background Anaphylaxis, which is rare, has been reported after COVID‐19 vaccination, but its management is not standardized. Method Members of the European Network for Drug Allergy and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology interested in drug allergy participated in an online questionnaire on pre‐vaccination screening and manageme...

Vaccinations during pregnancy can protect the mother from several infections, thus blocking vertical transmission. Furthermore, through passive antibody transfer, the newborn can be protected against some infections in the first months of life until their own vaccination regimen is initiated and completed at the appropriate age. Pregnancy can be co...

Portable devices, such as smartphones and mobile Internet access have become ubiquitous in the last decades. The term ‘eHealth’ stands for electronic health. The tools included in the eHealth concept utilize phones, computers and the Internet and related applications to improve the health care industry. Implementation of eHealth technologies has be...

Anaphylaxis is an unpredictable systemic hypersensitivity reaction and constitutes a high risk of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality when occurring during pregnancy. Currently, the acute management of anaphylaxis is based on clinical parameters. A total serum tryptase is only used to support an accurate diagnosis. There is a need to detect...

Immune modulation is a key therapeutic tool for allergic diseases and asthma. It can be achieved in an antigen-specific way via allergen immunotherapy (AIT) or in endotype-driven approach using biologicals that target the major pathways of the type 2 (T2) immune response: IgE, IL-5 and IL-4/IL-13. COVID-19 vaccine provides an excellent opportunity...

Domestic cats represent one of the most common sources of indoor allergens. All over the world, many households own cats, whose allergens are persistent and widespread. Cat allergy itself is frequent, and its symptoms vary from rhinoconjunctivitis to life-threatening asthma. In vitro diagnosis using precision medicine allergy immunoassays is import...

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare clinical condition with a high maternal fatality rate. The definitive diagnosis in fatal cases is based on various postmortem biomarkers: histochemical (amniotic fluid components in the maternal pulmonary vessels visualized by routine and special stains), immunohistochemical (cytokeratin from fetal squamous c...

Allergy to insects of the family Tabanidae (order Diptera), commonly called horseflies or deerflies, is anecdotally common, although the published literature is limited to case reports and small case series. This review summarises the available literature, in which there is enormous variability in clinical detail, identification of species or even...

The methods used to quantify the physico-chemical parameters of molecular allergens are multiple. The physico-chemical parameters selected for the evaluation of the quality of natural purified and recombinant allergens include the identity of the primary structure, the secondary structure, the purity and homogeneity. However, there is no single met...

Molecular allergy diagnosis in food allergies is a modern approach utilized to characterize the molecular components of food allergens from the point of view of specific IgE-mediated immune responses. In the clinical practice, it can improve diagnosis accuracy and may assist the allergist in many aspects of the specialty work-up. Modern multiplex i...

Cross-reactivity between Platanus pollen and plant-derived foods is described in the literature, but cross-reactive allergen components were not accurately defined. We report a case of spring seasonal intermittent allergic rhinitis with sensitization to plane tree and multiple episodes of oral allergy syndrome after consumption of maize-derived pro...

Cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCDs) represent fucosylated/xylosylated N-glycans present in pollen and food of plant origin, latex and hymenoptera venoms. IgE antibodies against CCD do not have significant clinical relevance, but represent an important cause of cross-reactivity in the case of in vitro immunoassay methods for determining...

Allergic contact dermatitis represents a frequent inflammatory skin disease. The evolution of this affliction is studied by the dedicated European and international societies. Allergic contact dermatitis is a delayed hypersensitive immune response, acquired after contact with specific low molecular-weight allergens. This hypersensitivity reaction i...

Olanzapine is one of the atypical antipsychotics widely used in the treatment of schizophrenia and has been associated with metabolic changes as adverse effects, including hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and weight gain. In a batch of adult female Wistar rats, we studied the prolonged-release intramuscular olanzapine pamoate induced quantitative chang...

Introduction-Ambrosia elatior pollen sensitivity can lead to respiratory diseases such as rhinitis, asthma and allergic conjunctivitis. Ambrosia is quite an important source of pollen and it is thought to be an invasive plant. Sensitivity prevalence to Ambrosia pollen varies from one country to another. The aim of the present study was to assess th...

Dental wear is an irreversible loss of dental hard tissues under the action of physical and chemical factors that may come from the external or internal environment of the body. Dental wear is the consequence of three mechanisms: biocorrosion, friction and stress. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of risk factors on the severity...

Serum specific IgE antibodies for non-primate mammalian carbohydrate galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) are associated to α-Gal syndrome: delayed allergy to red meat manifested as anaphylaxis, angioedema or urticaria after ingestion of beef, pig or lamb meat, immediate-onset anaphylaxis at first parenteral exposure to drugs significantly containing...

Molecular-based allergy diagnosis for the in vitro assessment of a patient immunoglobulin E (IgE) sensitization profile at the molecular level uses allergen molecules (also referred to as allergen components), which may be well-defined, highly purified, natural allergen components or recombinant allergens. Modern immunoassay methods used for the de...

Asthma, rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and other allergic diseases are complex and heterogeneous diseases in clinical outcomes and pathophysiology. Preexisting genetic, epigenetic, metabolic, and immunologic factors as well as age-dependent nutrition, microbiome, virome, allergen exposure, and other environmental influences all shape the disease char...

Epidemiological data on drug hypersensitivity are variable, the prevalence being generally higher in women, adults and inpatients. Although drug hypersensitivity reactions have a significant impact on clinical practice and health costs, pharmacoepidemiological studies are currently limited. Drug hypersensitivity is most commonly attributed to beta-...

Clinical entities of food allergy in allergic rhinitis patients due to IgE-sensitization to cross-reactive aeroallergen and food allergen components are well described, but less data are available regarding allergic reactions to foods containing aeroallergens, either due to food contamination, such as oral mite anaphylaxis, or due to their natural...

Zirconia is a metal used in dental implantology. Its biocompatibility was studied in vitro and in vivo, results of the studies being analyzed in reviews and meta analyses. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate biocompatibility of zirconia in animal studies in vivo expressed as results of histomorphometric tests. Databases were searched...

Study Motivation: After assessing electronic databases of medical scientific literature, we have observed that the interrelation between urinary tract infections (UTIs) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is poorly studied, especially when UTIs are caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae). Materials and methods: K. pneumoniae was isolated in...

Pathological external root resorption is a process by which the hard tooth substance is lost because of action of different local irritative or systemic factors. Six forms of external root resorption are described: surface external root resorption, inflammatory external root resorption, replacement external root resorption, invasive external cervic...

Aim: The main objective of the study was to highlight the histopathological aspects of some rare forms of facial basal cell carcinomas. Patients, materials and methods: The 65 selected patients were diagnosed with head basal cell carcinoma (BCC), during 2011-2013, and they underwent surgery. The excised tumor tissue fragments were processed for...

From the 26th to the 28th of April 2016, an allergy awareness campaign was organized by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and the European Federation of Allergy and Airway Diseases Patients Associations (EFA) in the European Parliament in Brussels, with support of the European Parliament's Interest group on Allergy and...

Table of contents ORAL ABSTRACTS Symposium 1: Biochemistry, structure and environment of the allergen: what makes a protein an allergen? O1 Two cell-membrane peptidases carrying galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose are implicated in delayed anaphylactic reactions upon pork kidney ingestion in patients with IgE-antibodies to alpha-Gal Christiane Hilger, Ky...

The selection of patch test haptens contained in oral rehabilitation materials is not an easy task, therefore baseline series and additional dental series are used for screening and to increase the chance for the detection of patient's contact sensitizations. Moreover, the clinical relevance of positive patch tests must be evaluated. We conducted a...

Polcalcins are highly cross-reactive calcium-binding allergen components specifically expressed in pollen from trees, grasses and weeds. The grass allergen component rPhl p 7, a recombinant non-glycosylated calcium-binding protein of 2-EF-hand type, is the most cross-reactive polcalcin and may be used as a polcalcin biomarker of IgE-mediated hypers...

In patients with respiratory allergy, cross-reactivity between aeroallergens and foods may induce food allergy, symptoms ranging from oral allergy syndrome to severe anaphylaxis. Clinical entities due to IgE sensitization to cross-reactive aeroallergen and food allergen components are described for many sources of plant origin (pollen-food syndrome...

Tiotropium is an inhaled long-acting anticholinergic, with high M3 receptor subtype (M3R) binding affinity, exceedingly half-life at M3R, and functional selectivity. Molecular mechanisms explain binding to muscarinic receptors, long duration of action, kinetic selectivity, and its role as inverse agonist. Tiotropium inhibit airway smooth muscle M3R...

According to the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA²LEN), a pan-European skin prick test panel for the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis and asthma includes 18 aeroallergen extracts, supplemented if necessary for regional or for particular patient needs, while the Allergen Subcommittee and Immunotherapy Committee of the American Academy of...

Autophagy has emerged not only as an essential repair mechanism to degrade damaged organelles and proteins but also as a major player in protection of tumor cells from multiple stresses. It was shown that autophagy gene polymorphisms are correlated with development of chronic inflammatory lesions, which represent a risk factor for colorectal tumors...

Grass pollen allergy represents a significant cause of allergic morbidity worldwide. Component-resolved diagnosis biomarkers are increasingly used in allergy practice in order to evaluate the sensitization to grass pollen allergens, allowing the clinician to confirm genuine sensitization to the corresponding allergen plant sources and supporting an...

A subset of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) has recently been classified as autoreactive urticaria on the basis of the presence of anti-IgE and/or anti-IgE receptor antibodies. Such antibodies can be detected by skin testing with autologous serum (ASST). The clinical forms of hypersensitivity to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are r...

Clinically relevant contact allergies to dental metals are seen in dental and allergy practice. Palladium is a significant contact allergen in oral rehabilitation. In our experience, in the majority of cases, patients sensitized to palladium present also positive patch tests to nickel. Palladium belongs to the platinum group of metals (PGMs), which...

Derived from a transition metal, zirconia is an interesting material, with a lot of biomedical applications. After obtaining yttrium-oxide partially stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ) ceramics, characterized by high biocompatibility and improved fracture toughness, zirconia was more extensively become a biomaterial of choice in oral rehabilitation and imp...

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare disease, associated with quantitative or qualitative genetic deficiency of C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) caused by different mutations within an abnormal C1-INH gene on chromosome 11. During attacks, endothelial cells in postcapillary venules contract, which allows fluid and plasma proteins to leak between the...

Driving performances depend on cognitive, psychomotor and perception functions. The CNS adverse effects of some H1 antihistamines can alter the patient ability to drive. Data from studies using standardized objective cognitive and psychomotor tests (Choice Reaction Time, Critical Flicker Fusion. Digital Symbol Substitution Test), functional brain i...

Modern tools of genomics and proteomics reveal potential therapeutic antisense targets in asthma, increasing the interest in the development of anti-mRNA drugs. In allergic asthma experimental models, antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) are administered by inhalation or systemically. ASO can be used for a large number of molecular targets: cell membra...

Because human histamine H1 receptors were visualized at different brain levels, we evaluated the effects of levocetirizine (LCZ) on the visual evoked potentials (VEP). Eighteen volunteer subjects were included in a placebo-controlled study, VEP recordings (pattern-reversal technique) were performed at baseline and 240 min. post-medication, and the...

Modern therapeutic methods for manipulation of gene expression in allergic diseases have been receiving increased attention in the emerging era of functional genomics. With the growing application of gene silencing technologies, pharmacological modulation of translation represents a great advance in molecular therapy for allergy. Several strategies...

New asthma drugs acting on transcription are transcription factor agonists (dissociated steroids, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists), transcription factor inhibitors (NF-kappaB / AP-1 inhibitors, STAT6 inhibitors), inhibitors of protein kinases acting on transcription factors (p38 MAP kinase inhibitors), and chromatin modify...