HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE

Clinically heterogeneous disorders , such as intestinal problems (bloating, indigestion, nausea, diarrhea), headache, pruritus, urticaria , may have an origin certainly not allergic, although probably triggered by the main mediator of allergic inflammatory , i.e. histamine .

Histamine is a substance produced physiologically in various circumstances , including allergies. In the above listed conditions,  it is likely that histamine is liberated from the tissues or accumulated as a result of its exogenous introduction with certain foods.

From these premises derive the difficulty of identifying one or more specific foods whose elimination (with the so-called histamine free diets) can lead to a clear benefit.

Histamine intolerance indicates the genetically determined and/or induced condition where the mechanisms of elimination of histamine are not effective.  Among them, an important role is played by the enzyme Diamino oxidase (DAO), whose  levels widely change from person to person (normal values > 10 U / ml in serum or plasma). A low level of DAO makes rational the integration of foods with preparations containing this enzyme. ALLTOX will make it shortly available the test for the determination of DAO. Presently, the test is available through the Clinical Lab of the san Raffaele Hospital in Milan.

Also, to allow the interpretation of genetic origin or induced histamine, ALLTOX has begun a project aimed to the assessment of genetic markers associated with the deficiency of DAO in patients with and without hypersensitivity to know triggers of histamine release, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)