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Predicting Drug Hypersensitivity Reactions: Mechanistic And Clinical Implications, Abdelbaset A. Elzagallaai

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are responsible for a high number of morbidities and mortalities worldwide and estimated to be the fourth most important cause of death in the US and Canada after heart diseases, cancer and stroke. ADRs are either type A (~80%) which are predictable, related to the drug pharmacology and dose-dependent or type B (~20%), which are unpredictable, unrelated to the drug pharmacology and have no clear dose-dependency. Drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) represent the majority of type-B ADRs, which are rare but potentially fatal and unpredictable. The latter aspect makes DHRs very difficult to diagnose and necessitate the …