| allergy desensitization | Stimulation of the immune system with gradually increasing doses of the substances to which a person is allergic, the aim being to modify or stop the allergy war (by reducing the strength of the IgE and its effect on the mast cells). This form of treatment is very effective for allergies to pollen, mites, cats, and especially stinging insects (e.g., bees, hornets, yellowjackets, wasps, velvet ants, fire ants). Allergy immunotherapy usually takes 6 months to a year to become effective and injections ( shots ) are usually required for 3-5 years. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| heterologous desensitization | Stimulation by one agonist which leads to a broad pattern of unresponsiveness to further stimulation by a variety of other agonists. (05 Mar 2000) |
| homologous desensitization | Loss of sensitivity only to the class of agonist used to desensitise the tissue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| systematic desensitization | A type of behaviour therapy for eliminating phobias or anxieties: the patient and therapist construct a list of imagined scenes eliciting the phobia, ranked from least to most anxiety-producing; the patient then is trained in deep muscle relaxation, and is repeatedly asked to imagine himself in the presence of the least anxiety-producing scene on the list until he feels fully relaxed while doing so; the procedure is repeated for each scene on the list until the patient develops the capacity to feel relaxed with any of the anxiety-producing scenes; real life scenes are then substituted for the imagined scenes. Synonym: reciprocal inhibition. (05 Mar 2000) |
| desensitization | 1. The reduction or abolition of allergic sensitivity or reactions to the specific antigen (allergen). Synonym: ananaphylaxis, antianaphylaxis. 2. The act of removing an emotional complex. Synonym: hyposensitization. (05 Mar 2000) |
| desensitization, allergy | Stimulation of the immune system with gradually increasing doses of the substances to which a person is allergic, the aim being to modify or stop the allergy war (by reducing the strength of the IgE and its effect on the mast cells). This form of treatment is very effective for allergies to pollen, mites, cats, and especially stinging insects (e.g., bees, hornets, yellowjackets, wasps, velvet ants, fire ants). Allergy immunotherapy usually takes 6 months to a year to become effective and shots (injections) are usually required for 3-5 years. (12 Dec 1998) |
| desensitization, immunologic | Immunosuppression by the administration of increasing doses of antigen. Though the exact mechanism is not clear, the therapy results in an increase in serum levels of allergen-specific IgG, suppression of specific IgE, and an increase in suppressor T-cell activity. (12 Dec 1998) |
| desensitization, psychologic | A behaviour therapy technique in which deep muscle relaxation is used to inhibit the effects of graded anxiety-evoking stimuli. (12 Dec 1998) |
| reversible | Capable of going through a series of changes in either direction, forward or backward, as a reversible chemical reaction. (18 Nov 1997) |
| reversible calcinosis | A form of calcinosis sometimes observed in patients who constantly ingest large quantities of milk and alkaline medicines, as in the treatment of peptic ulcer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| reversible colloid | A colloid that is again soluble in water after having been dried at ordinary temperature. Synonym: stable colloid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| reversible decortication | A temporary loss of function of the cerebral cortex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| reversible hydrocolloid | A hydrocolloid composed of a base substance whose physical state may be changed to that of a liquid by the application of heat and then changed to that of an elastic gel by cooling. (05 Mar 2000) |
| reversible hydrogenase | <enzyme> Isolated from heterocysts and vegetative cells of anabena Registry number: EC 1.12.- (26 Jun 1999) |
| reversible process | <chemistry> A cyclic process carried out by a hypothetical pathway, which leaves the universe exactly the same as it was before the process, no real process is reversible. For chemical systems we consider a process at equilibrium to be reversible. Examples are phase transitions that occur at the melting point or boiling point temperatures at 1 atm pressure. (09 Jan 1998) |