Allergy and autoimmunity: internal medicine at the frontiers of allergy

At the crossroad of numerous medical specialties, Internal Medicine incorporates a number of different fields, including autoimmune diseases and other immunological conditions, the symptoms of which can simulate those of allergies, particularly allergies of the skin and lungs. We will limit our discussion to only a few aspects of this subject: 1) concerning immunological aspects, CD4+ IL17+ lymphocytes and the detection of autoantibodies in chronic urticaria; 2) concerning pharmacological aspects, discussion of the eventual role of acetaminophen in the recent increase in the frequency of asthma and allergic diseases; and 3) concerning other clinical matters, mastocytosis and insect stings, eosinophilic esophagitis, mosquito bites, allergy and NK lymphoma. (c) 2006 Elsevier SAS. Tous droits reserves.