Canadian Medical Guide > Diseases > Immunologic Diseases > Hypersensitivity Terms and Definitions

Hypersensitivity

Medical Definition:	Altered reactivity to an antigen, which can result in pathologic reactions upon subsequent exposure to that particular antigen.
Guide Notes:	IM; use qualif with caution; /drug ther: consider also ANTI-ALLERGIC AGENTS; atopic = HYPERSENSITIVITY, IMMEDIATE; to food = FOOD HYPERSENSITIVITY; to light = PHOTOSENSITIVITY DISORDERS; RESPIRATORY HYPERSENSITIVITY is also available; in occup or environ
Also Called:	Allergic Reaction

Hypersensitivity Categories.

	Drug Hypersensitivity - Immunologically mediated adverse reactions to medicinal substances used legally or illegally.
	Environmental Illness - A polysymptomatic condition believed by clinical ecologists to result from immune dysregulation induced by common foods, allergens, and chemicals, resulting in various physical and mental disorders. The medical community has remained largely skeptical of the existence of this "disease", given the plethora of symptoms attributed to environmental illness, the lack of reproducible laboratory abnormalities, and the use of unproven therapies to treat the condition. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)
	Hypersensitivity, Delayed - An increased reactivity to specific antigens mediated not by antibodies but by cells.
	Hypersensitivity, Immediate - Hypersensitivity reactions which occur within minutes of exposure to challenging antigen due to the release of histamine which follows the antigen-antibody reaction and causes smooth muscle contraction and increased vascular permeability.
	Immune Complex Diseases - Group of diseases mediated by the deposition of large soluble complexes of antigen and antibody with resultant damage to tissue. Besides SERUM SICKNESS and the ARTHUS REACTION, evidence supports a pathogenic role for immune complexes in many other systemic immunologic diseases including GLOMERULONEPHRITIS, systemic lupus erythematosus (LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS, SYSTEMIC) and POLYARTERITIS NODOSA.
	Latex Hypersensitivity - Allergic reaction to products containing processed natural rubber latex such as rubber gloves, condoms, catheters, dental dams, balloons, and sporting equipment. Both T-cell mediated (HYPERSENSITIVITY, DELAYED) and IgE antibody-mediated (HYPERSENSITIVITY, IMMEDIATE) allergic responses are possible. Delayed hypersensitivity results from exposure to antioxidants present in the rubber; immediate hypersensitivity results from exposure to a latex protein.

Hypersensitivity Medical Definitions and Terms

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