Atopy

Atopy is the tendency to produce an exaggerated <a href="/facts/Immunoglobulin_E/76uGAl7k">immunoglobulin E</a> (IgE) <a href="/facts/Immune_response/dtLulqIy">immune response</a> to otherwise harmless substances in the environment. <a href="/facts/Allergic_disease/dYAVosh8">Allergic diseases</a> are clinical manifestations of such inappropriate, atopic responses.
Atopy may have a <a href="/facts/Heredity/t0aMmRWx">hereditary</a> component, although contact with the <a href="/facts/Allergen/bnM4cttq">allergen</a> or irritant must occur before the <a href="/facts/Hypersensitivity/j2AWmqCD">hypersensitivity</a> reaction can develop (characteristically <a href="/facts/Type_I_hypersensitivity/fSqwUhBH">after re-exposure</a>). Maternal psychological trauma <a href="/facts/Uterus/LIrApMXs">in utero</a> may also be a strong indicator for development of atopy.
The term atopy was coined by <a href="/facts/Arthur_F._Coca/XB09DAmt">Arthur F. Coca</a> and <a href="/facts/Robert_Cooke_(physician)/z0JvoYqw">Robert Cooke</a> in 1923. Many physicians and scientists use the term "atopy" for any IgE-mediated reaction (even those that are appropriate and proportional to the antigen), but many <a href="/facts/Pediatrics/hnkMfLeg">pediatricians</a> reserve the word "atopy" for a genetically mediated predisposition to an excessive IgE reaction. The term is from <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Greek</a> ἀτοπία meaning "the state of being out of place", "absurdity".

Atopy open-in-new

Atopy