BRONCHIAL-ASTHMA INDUCED BY RICE

A 43-year-old patient with rice-induced bronchial asthma was first adm itted to our hospital for developing bronchial asthma induced by mite and house dust, At that time, there was no sign of allergic response t o rice, Two years later, he was readmitted in an emergency state, with a severe attack of bronchial asthma, This time, however, the result o f immunoglobulin E (IgE)-radioallergosorbent test (RAST) for rice was positive, with those to mite and house dust were unexpectedly negative , The causative factors and pathological mechanisms of various kinds o f food allergies still remain unknown. The patient is now followed up in an ambulatory setting, and has been eating hypoallergenic rice with no bronchial asthma-induced attack, The present case, being an adult patient with severe grain-induced bronchial asthma previously allergic to mite and house dust, seems to be rather rare in the literature.