Metall Allergene
Immuntoxikology der Metall
Allergene
The enclosed article
represents “State of the Arts”
regarding the growing importance
of metal allergens. The author, Dr G.Forte is
the director of research group at Instituto Superiore di
Sanita in Rome (www.iss.it), major Health
State Institute in Italy.
This work
summarizes allergy- inducing properties
of old (Ni, Co, Cr) and new emerging metal allergens, such gold and
titanium. It also reviews existing
diagnostic tests, patch tests and LTT’s and others . The article deals
with visible changes, such as skin and oral lesions caused by metals . This
is current State of the Arts.
In addition, it emphasizes mechanisms
behind the skin and oral lesions, especially the key role of T
cells in the metal-induced process. By this, it opens the way to
understanding of metal-induced systemic diseases such as CFS, fibromyalgia and
other diseases where etiology is unknown. Those diseases are
characterized by profound fatigue and multiple symptoms all of
those can be explained by cytokine-induced deregulation of HPA axis.The
authors also mention metal-induced autoimmunity-through
altered-self, described in susceptible rodent systems.
We are now on the
verge paradigmatic shift, leading to undestanding of the origin of many
allergic and autoimmune diseases in man.The prospective studies in susceptible subjects (selected on
the basis of functional phenotype) and combined with genotype testing
will facilitate this process. As a result, economic and human savings will
be enormous.
The paradigm shift
is also facilitated by recent FDA acknowledgement of amalgam risks for
suceptible populations, among others for chidlren, pregnant women, patients
with neurologic diseases and patient sensitive to mercury.
I urge you to
contribute tothis process by publishing your clin ical experience and spreading
the information to you collegues.
Kind regards