Abstract | PURPOSE OF REVIEW:
Isocyanates, reactive chemicals used to generate polyurethane, are a leading cause of occupational asthma worldwide. Workplace exposure is the best-recognized risk factor for disease development, but is challenging to monitor. Clinical diagnosis and differentiation of isocyanates as the cause of asthma can be difficult. The gold-standard test, specific inhalation challenge, is technically and economically demanding, and is thus only available in a few specialized centers in the world. With the increasing use of isocyanates, efficient laboratory tests for isocyanate asthma and exposure are urgently needed. RECENT FINDINGS: The review focuses on literature published in 2005 and 2006. Over 150 articles, identified by searching PubMed using keywords ' diphenylmethane', ' toluene' or ' hexamethylene diisocyanate', were screened for relevance to isocyanate asthma diagnostics. New advances in understanding isocyanate asthma pathogenesis are described, which help improve conventional radioallergosorbent and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay approaches for measuring isocyanate-specific IgE and IgG. Newer immunoassays, based on cellular responses and discovery science readouts are also in development. SUMMARY: Contemporary laboratory tests that measure isocyanate-specific human IgE and IgG are of utility in diagnosing a subset of workers with isocyanate asthma, and may serve as a biomarker of exposure in a larger proportion of occupationally exposed workers.
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Authors | Adam V Wisnewski |
Journal | Current opinion in allergy and clinical immunology
(Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol)
Vol. 7
Issue 2
Pg. 138-45
(Apr 2007)
ISSN: 1528-4050 [Print] United States |
PMID | 17351466
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
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Chemical References |
- Immunoglobulin G
- Isocyanates
- Immunoglobulin E
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Topics |
- Asthma
(chemically induced, diagnosis, immunology)
- Humans
- Immunoglobulin E
(immunology)
- Immunoglobulin G
(immunology)
- Immunologic Tests
- Isocyanates
(poisoning)
- Occupational Diseases
(chemically induced, diagnosis, immunology)
- Occupational Exposure
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