Cascade

A biochemical cascade is an instance when there are a series of chemical reactions in which the products of one of the reactions lead to subsequent reactions. These have been very important in biochemistry with enzymatic cascades involving the treatment of coagulation. However, for most doctors, it is the allergic cascade that is of the greatest importance.

[Page 355]An allergic cascade occurs when a person is allergic to a specific item and faces a cross-reaction when their immune system reacts to another item that the body identifies as the first. This becomes particularly important when a person is trying to work out exactly what they are or are not allergic to. If, for example, a person is allergic to rye, but because of his or her diet, the only time he or she comes across rye in the diet is in bread that contains gluten. The body's immune system may link the two together, and as a result, if the person eats something with gluten but without rye, it is possible for an allergic reaction to result if there has been an allergic cascade. This is actually far more common than has been previously thought, especially as there are medical tests that people can take to identify allergies and identify levels of the body's intolerance to specific items in the diet.