Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Nightly asthma caused by allergens in silkfilled bed quilts: Clinical and immunologic studies

1985; Elsevier BV; Volume: 75; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0091-6749(85)80017-8

1097-6825

S. G. O. Johansson, B. Wüthrich, C Zortea-Caflisch,

Entomological Studies and Ecology

Bed quilts filled with silk waste were found to cause nightly attacks of asthma.The first symptoms appeared on an average after 7 mo of exposure at a mean patient age of 30 yr.About 50% of the patients could be classified as atopic.Extract of the filling material revealed positive scratch and RAST tests in most patients.The bed quilts were advertised as being filled with pure wild silk (from silk moths of the genus Antheraea feeding on oak leaves), but it was found that in most cases the filling also included waste of cultivated silk (Bombyx mori).The origin of the allergen was sought.Since textile products of silk are considered to be practically nonallergenic, some type of contaminant appeared the most likely candidate.No allergen was found in cocoons, chrysalis (pupa), or moths of Antheraea.However, some cocoons of Bombyx mori, usually in small amounts, and excretions of the silkworm did contain allergen.High concentrations of allergen were found in an extract of living insects of the genus Anthrenus that was present in one batch of Bombyx mori cocoons.Thus, the silk waste appeared to be contaminated with material from the silkworms and also with infesting insects, which together create a very potent allergen repertoire that after a short incubation time, in a considerable frequency, elicits a rise in asthmatic symptoms and high serum IgE antibody levels.( J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL 75:452-9, 1985.)According to Chinese legend, silk culture dates back to the year 2640 BC, when the Empress Si-Ling-Chi learned how to rear the silkworms and unwind the cocoons that they made.For 3000 yr China held a monopoly in the silk industry.Sericulture, the silkproduction industry, then spread to Japan and later westward over Asia.China and Japan still dominate the world production; of the total 52,300 tons of raw silk produced in 1981, their shares were 22,400 and 14,800 tons, respectively.~ Large quantities are also produced in India and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but no significant amounts are produced in Western Europe or the United States.Allergy to silk products is well-known as an oc-