Behavioral conditioning of antihistamine effects in patients with allergic rhinitis

Behavioral Conditioning of Antihistamine Effects in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis
Marion U. Goebela, Nuschin Meykadehb, Wei Koua, Manfred Schedlowskia, Ulrich R. Henggeb
aInstitute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, andbDepartment of Dermatology, Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany Abstract
Background: Allergic symptoms can be induced by behavioral conditioning. However, the
conditionability of antiallergic effects has not yet been studied. Thus, we investigated whether the effects of a histamine 1 (H1) receptor antagonist are inducible in patients suffering from house-dust mite allergy using a behavioral conditioning procedure. Methods: During the association phase, 30 patients with allergic house-dust mite rhinitis received a novel-tasting drink once daily, followed by a standard dose of the H1 receptor antagonist, desloratadine, on 5 consecutive days. After 9 days of drug washout, the evocation trial commenced: 10 patients received water together with an identically looking placebo pill (water group), 11 patients were re-exposed to the novel-tasting drink and received a placebo pill [conditioned stimulus (CS); CS group] and 9 patients received water and desloratadine (drug group). Results: During the association phase, desloratadine treatment decreased the subjective total symptom scores, attenuated the effects of the skin prick test for histamine and reduced basophil activation ex vivo in all groups. During the evocation trial, the water group, in which subjects were not re-exposed to the gustatory stimulus, showed a reduction in subjective total symptom scores and skin prick test results, but no inhibition of basophil activation. In contrast, re-exposure to the novel-tasting drink decreased basophil activation, the skin prick test result and the subjective symptom score in the CS group to a degree that was similar to the effects of desloratadine in the drug group.Conclusions: These data show that behaviorally conditioned effects are not only able to relieve subjective rhinitis symptoms and allergic skin reactions, but also to induce changes in effector immune How Vaccines Work
The immune system is a “trained” or conditioned system which is the very reason why immunizations are effective. We condition the immune system to develop antibodies to attack an antigen. Vaccines are foreign organisms such as bacteria (Streptococcus pneumonia – causes meningitis) or viruses (herpes varicella – causes chicken pox) that are placed into a solution and injected into the body. These viruses and bacteria are either live but weakened or dead; therefore, the actual disease does not occur. The body will still make antibodies to that weakened or dead organism. The next time that a person is exposed to that organism, the body recognizes the antigen of the bacteria or virus and make antibodies more quickly to attack the organism than the first time the antigen was detected in the body. This quick response to the second exposure prevents the person from getting the disease caused by the bacteria or virus. This is why a non vaccinated person who gets the chicken pox or measles gets the disease only Classical Conditioning of Total Respiratory Resistance in Human
DOUGLAS J. MILLER, PHD, AND HARRY KOTSES, PHD Theoretical considerations aside, conditioned respiratory resistance may be an important element in the development of shortness of breath reactions in healthy individuals. Conditioned respiratory resistance may also have implications for asthma. Through pairing, a stimulus that accompanies a precipitant of asthma may ultimately elicit asthmalike airway changes. It is likely that this mechanism explains the occurrence of asthma in response to seemingly neutral stimuli (7). More generally, the conditioning of respiratory resistance provides an avenue through which the study of the emotional precipitants of asthma may proceed.
Psychotherapy (NLPt) treatment can modulate the reaction in
pollen allergic humans and there state of health
Effects of mental allergy therapy – the HILDESHEIM HEALTH TRAINING® which is Universität Hamburg, Psychologisches Institut III, Germany, Witt Klaus, Akademie für Psychotherapie und Beratung, Baumschulenstr. 23, 22941 1. In comparison to the people of the control groups the participants of the NLPt- HHT-groups experienced highly significant improvement in all psychologicaldiagnostic- 2. The in vivo results demonstrated a significant difference between the treatment groups in both, symptoms and medicine consumption.
3. The force of the allergical reactions showed a drastically decrease during the 4. In the subjective estimation people of the HHT-group witness highly significant improvements of their mental condition, their physical state of health and in the proceed of treatment compared to the last season.
The clinical message of this study can be concluded as follows: 1. Allergic symptoms, especially towards birch-pollen, can be treated effectively by psychological tools like HHT which inkludes several nlpt-techniques.
2. All in all it is not only shown that it is possible to influence allergic immune processes by means of complex mental methods like nlpt, but also that the strategic group concept of “HHT“ was practicable.
3. From the patient’s point of view such NLPt procedures should be instigated as part of the standard medical treatment from the outset as part of secondary 4. The efficiency of this method could be reinforced through further research, if psychological mechanisms could be investigated more closely on the level of a) biochemical mediators, which seem to be a mirror for mood (happiness or sadness and anxiety for pollen) and influence the organism, NLPt-psychological treatment can modulate the reaction in pollen allergic humans b) perceptual strategies, which are the missing link between the environment and cognition, emotion and neurotransmitters which affect

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