Abstract
We have recently demonstrated 1 that when guinea pigs are subjected to an organic dust-laden atmosphere, after a certain incubation period, they will become highly sensitized to the substance which they have inhaled. Prior to our work, it was thought that nasal sensitization could be brought about only through the insufflation of solutions. It was our privilege to prove that this sensitization could be induced through the inhalation of a dry substance (horse dander). We ventured the opinion that this particular demonstration proved that respiratory anaphylaxis in the guinea pig and bronchial asthma in the human being should be regarded as identical conditions.
In a further series of experiments 2 we have shown that a guinea pig sensitized prior to or during pregnancy will sensitize her offspring in vtero, and that this mechanism is dependent entirely upon the permeability of the placenta.
Thus we have shown 2 ways in which sensitization may be brought about; first by the absorption of inhaled dry substances through the upper respiratory tract; and second by the transmission of sensitizing substances from the circulation of a pregnant mother to the circulation of the fetus.
In the present work, we have taken guinea pigs before and during pregnancy, and produced respiratory anaphylaxis (asthma) in them. We studied 26 guinea pig families in all, and in 20 of these we were able to produce respiratory anaphylaxis in the mother.
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