allergies Tag
28 Mar Hello, Peanut! Offers Simple, Controlled Solution for Peanut Introduction to Babies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_22941" align="alignleft" width="120"] Dr. David Erstein[/caption] Dr. David Erstein MD MPH Founder of Assured Bites Board certified allergist MedicalResearch: What is the background for peanut allergy? Why is introducing peanuts to infants important? Dr. Erstein: Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies and is commonly associated with anaphylaxis, a sudden...
26 Mar Epigenetic Mechanism Linked To Increased Allergies in Fall and Winter Births
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_22876" align="alignleft" width="180"]
Dr. Gabrielle Lockett[/caption]
Dr Gabrielle A. Lockett PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Asthma Genetics Laboratory,
Faculty of Medicine,
University of Southampton
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Lockett: Season of birth has been known for decades to influence a huge range of traits, such as height and lifespan, as well as the risks of diseases such as allergy and schizophrenia. But until now the mechanism for season of birth effects was unknown. This study discovered that epigenetic marks (specifically DNA methylation) on the genome are associated with season of birth in 18-year-olds, suggesting that this could be a mechanism for such long-lasting birth season effects.
Epigenetic marks on the genome are known to both influence gene expression and to change in association with environmental exposures. This study is the first to identify DNA methylation associated with season of birth. This discovery therefore extends our knowledge of environmental exposures that are able to affect the epigenome.
The study also went on to further examine the genes identified to contain birth season-associated DNA methylation. Groups of these genes have functions related to development, cell death and the cell cycle, suggesting that season of birth alters the epigenetic regulation of these processes in particular. There was also suggestive evidence that season-associated DNA methylation could be on the functional pathway to allergic disease outcomes.
14 Mar New Protocol Uses Fewer Allergy Shots For Hay Fever Control
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stacy L. Rosenberg, MD UPMC Montefiore Allergy and Immunology Fellow MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Rosenberg: Allergy shots or allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is an effective therapy for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (hay fever). Low adherence has been a significant barrier, whereas rush immunotherapy to environmental allergens provides rapid build-up and offers quicker efficacy, which may improve adherence. However, there have been concerns for increased risk of systemic reactions with rush protocols. We describe a new protocol for modified rush AIT that offers quicker build-up towards a maintenance dose with improved safety and lower risk of systemic reactions. We also hypothesize that there are specific characteristics that distinguish patients who develop systemic reactions in the setting of modified environmental rush immunotherapy (MERIT). MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Rosenberg: Overall, MERIT has a good safety profile. A subset of patients did develop systemic reactions, which were mild. Lower BMI was associated with systemic reactions and there was a trend between history of urticaria (hives) and younger age with development of systemic reactions. Significantly more patients with systemic reactions had allergen extracts containing cat, dust mite, and weed pollen. Neither gender, asthma, nor anaphylaxis history were associated with an increased risk of systemic reactions.08 Feb Chronic Hives and Self Reported Penicillin Allergy Often Co-Exist
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_21384" align="alignleft" width="170"]
Dr. Susanna Silverman[/caption]
Susanna Silverman, MD
Allergy & Asthma Care of New York
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Silverman: Approximately 10% of the general population has self-reported penicillin allergy. Because hives and rash are often attributed to drug allergy, we began to think about certain conditions that may be confused with penicillin allergy. Chronic urticaria, which is defined as the presence of hives for six weeks or longer, is one such condition. We were interested in looking at the prevalence of self-reported penicillin allergy in patients with chronic urticaria, and the prevalence of chronic urticaria in patients with self-reported penicillin allergy.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Silverman: Our study found that in patients seen at the University of Pennsylvania Allergy and Immunology clinic, the prevalence of self-reported penicillin allergy in patients with chronic urticaria was approximately three times higher than in the general population. Similarly, the prevalence of chronic urticaria in patients with self-reported penicillin allergy was three times higher than in the general population. This suggests that in some patients, self-reported penicillin allergy may be due to chronic urticaria, not true drug allergy.
15 Jan Children With Food Allergies May Have Overactive Immune System From Birth
More on Allergies on MedicalResearch.com [caption id="attachment_20683" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Yuxia Zhang[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Yuxia Zhang PhD
Population Healthy and Immunity Division
Walter + Eliza Hall Institute
Parkville VIC 3052 Australia
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Zhang: There has been a dramatic increase in hospital presentations due to food allergy over recent decades, most among children under five years of age. In Melbourne Australia, up to one in every 10 babies develop food allergy during the first year of life. To understand the mechanisms underlying the increased incidences of allergy and other diseases in children, Associate Professor Peter Vuillermin and colleagues established the Barwon Infant Studies (BIS), following and collecting bio-speciments from pregnant mothers and their babies. Together with my colleagues Prof. Leonard Harrison and Mr. Gaetano Naselli from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, we examined the immune cell composition and function in cord blood in babies who developed food allergy compared to allergy-free babies at one year of age.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Zhang: Our initial observation was that in cord blood the proportions of CD14+ monocytes and CD4+T cells were inversely associated. In infants who developed food allergy, there was a higher ratio of CD14+monoctypes/CD4+T cells and a lower ratio of naive natural regulatory T cells (nTreg). The reduced nTreg frequency was also independently discovered by Dr. Fiona Collier in the BIS fresh blood cohort. CD14+ monocytes are the foot-solders of the immune system, which immediately release inflammatory cytokines upon infection. These inflammatory cytokines then guide the unexperienced CD4+T cells down to different paths to control infection. nTreg cells police the immune system to prevent unwanted damages during the elimination of the infections. Despite this widely accepted view of how our immune system are activated, we do not know if and how these interactions may cause an allergic reaction in babies. Through a series of in vitro experiments, we found that the inflammatory cytokines- most likely in the mucosal sites where food allergy was initiated-could lead the development of both CD4+T cells and nTregs towards a Th2-type immune phenotype. These Th2-type immune cells secrete large amount of IL-4, a cytokine through which may cause allergic reactions to some foods.
16 Dec Do All Beta Lactam Antibiotics Need To Be Avoided In Patient With Reported Allergy?
[caption id="attachment_20129" align="alignleft" width="149"]
Dr. Meghan Jeffres[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Meghan Jeffres, PharmD
Assistant Professor | Dept of Clinical Pharmacy
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, CO 80045
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Jeffres: There are over 500,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S. in which patients will have a reported allergy against first line antibiotics. Beta-lactams are the largest group of antibiotics which include penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems. These antibiotics are the first line treatment against most serious bacterial infections; however, they are also the class of antibiotics to which patients are most commonly allergic. Patients labeled as allergic to one of these antibiotics are often prescribed second line antibiotics. Previous studies have shown that the use of second line antibiotics are more expensive, result in more adverse events, and longer hospital stays.
We theorized that patients labeled as penicillin, cephalosporin, or carbapenem allergic treated with non-beta-lactams would have higher rates of clinical failure, but lower rates of allergic reactions, than patients treated with beta-lactams. Analysis of the data revealed that patients treated with non-beta-lactams did indeed have higher rates of clinical failure. Unexpected findings of the study were the low number of new allergic reactions which occurred in 16 patients, less than 3% of the study population.
16 Dec House Dust Mites May Play a Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
[caption id="attachment_20108" align="alignleft" width="180"]
Dr. Meri Tulic[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Meri K Tulic PhD
Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis
Immune Tolerance
Nice, France
The International Inflammation 'in-FLAME' Network
Worldwide Universities Network
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Tulic: We know that damaged epithelial gut barrier is a hallmark of gut inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It has been long known that respiratory allergens such as house-dust mites (HDM) are the main causes of epithelial destruction in the lungs and initiation of allergic airway disease such as asthma. We set out to test whether house-dust mites may also be present in the human gut and may contribute to intestinal barrier dysfunction. In this paper, we have shown that house-dust mites is found in the gastrointestinal system of ~50% of all healthy subjects tested and it has detrimental effect on gut barrier function. The mechanisms include its direct destruction of tight-junction proteins which normally hold adjoining epithelial cells together, resulting in increased gut permeability. This process is driven by cysteine-proteases contained within the mite. In healthy individuals this effect is likely to be regulated by increased production of regulatory IL-10 (an anti-inflammatory mediator); our preliminary data indicate that a defect in regulatory responses may exist in IBS patients.
18 Nov Summer Newborns May Be Least Likely To Develop Allergic Disorders
[caption id="attachment_19464" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Prof. Bisgaard[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor of Pediatrics Hans Bisgaard, MD, DMSc
Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood
Herlev and Gentofte Hospital,
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Prof. Bisgaard: Birth season has been reported to be a risk factor for several immune-mediated diseases, although the critical season varies depending on the disease. Autoimmune diseases are generally associated with spring births, whereas asthma and allergies are more common among subjects born in fall and winter. Because many of these diseases, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis, have an underlying immune-mediated pathology, we hypothesized that this association might be mediated by differential changes in neonatal immune phenotype and function with birth season. We therefore sought to investigate the influence of season of birth on neonatal immunity by a combined analysis of immune cells subsets from cord blood and inflammatory mediators in the airways of neonates from the Copenhagen Prospective Study on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) 2010 birth cohort.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Prof. Bisgaard: We found a birth season–related fluctuation in neonatal immune cell subsets and in early-life airway mucosal immune function. The seasonal airway immune pattern was associated with the number of activated and regulatory T cells in cord blood whereas it was independent of concomitant presence of pathogenic airway microbes. Specifically, summer newborns presented with the lowest levels of all cell types and mediators and thereby seem to display the most quiescent immune status. Fall births presented mainly with an enhanced type 2 profile (eosinophils and IL-13), along with high TNF-a, IL-12p70, IL-10, and IL-2 levels, suggesting recent immune activation; whereas winter newborns had the highest levels of most cell types and mediators, including an anti-bacteria/ fungi–associated type 17 response (neutrophils, IL-17, and IL-1b), an antiviral response (pDCs and NK cells), increased eosinophil counts and an IL-5–mediated type 2 response. These season-linked immune profiles were similar to the known immune pathology of type 2 immune-mediated diseases associated with the fall and winter birth seasons, suggesting that immune function in early life might be biased toward the trajectory to later disease development.
18 Nov FDA Study Compares Anaphylactic Risk of IV Iron Products
[caption id="attachment_19471" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Wang[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Cunlin Wang, MD, PhD
Division of Epidemiology I,
Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology,
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
US Food and Drug Administration
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Wang: IV Iron has been known for its risk of anaphylactic reaction, but there has been little research on the comparative safety of individual IV Iron products from a large population-based study. This study included 688,183 new users of IV iron not on dialysis from the U.S. Medicare program over a ten-year span (January 2003 to December 2013). The main findings of the study are: the risk for anaphylaxis at first exposure was higher for iron dextran than non-dextran IV iron products combined (iron sucrose, gluconate and ferumoxytol). When individual IV Iron products were compared, the data suggested that iron dextran has the highest risk of anaphylaxis and Iron sucrose has the lowest risk, estimated both at the first time exposure and after cumulative exposures. The low and high molecular weight dextran products could not be individually identified during most of study period. However, from January 2006 through March 2008, during which the use of two dextran products could be distinguished, there was very low use of high molecular weight dextran (Dexferrum@). This suggested that the study results likely represent the risk of the low molecular weight dextran (Infed@).
12 Sep Furry Pets May Reduce Allergies in Kids By Changing Gut Bacteria
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Merja Nermes, MD
Dept. of Pediatrics
Turku University Hospital
Turku, Finland
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Earlier it was thought that exposure to pets early in childhood was a risk factor for developing allergic disease. Later epidemiologic studies have given contradictory results and even suggested that early exposure to pets may be protective against allergies, though the mechanisms of this protective effect have remained elusive. Our results are the first to show that specific bifidobacteria present in pets can be transferred to the infant gastrointestinal tract during a close contact. Bifidobacteria in general are a part of the microbiota in healthy breast fed infants, and many studies have shown that human-specific bifidobacteria have beneficial effects to health, e.g. lower the risk of allergic disease. The same might hold true for bifidobacteria of animal origin which may enhance and strengthen the development of the infants´ immune system to be protective against allergies.
Our results showed that animal-derived bifidobacteria were found in a higher proportion in infants of pet-keeping families than in those without such exposure. We also found that B. thermophilum (pet-derived Bifidobacterium) was associated with a lower risk for atopic sensitization at 6 months of age.
14 May Scientists Get Closer To A Vaccine Against Allergies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Christine McCusker MD
Associate Professor, Department Pediatrics
Meakins-Christie Laboratories
McGill University and the MUHCRI, Montreal
Quebec, Canada
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. McCusker: When the body is exposed to new substances, the immune system must evaluate the “threat” and choose the type of response that will best protect the host. Allergies and allergic asthma develop after the response to “allergens” follows the TH2-type inflammatory pathway instead of the non-inflammatory tolerant pathway. Evidence suggests that there is some plasticity in this “choice” and thus it may be possible to influence the immune response to preferentially choose the tolerant pathway when exposed to allergens. We therefore treated very young mice to a molecule designed to inhibit activation of the TH2 pathway.
We showed that this early treatment resulted in long-lasting protection from the development of allergies. Instead of allergic responses, vaccinated animals developed tolerant responses to allergens and did not show any signs of allergies or asthma. Importantly, while the influence of the treatment was long-lasting, the molecule itself is rapidly removed from the system.
06 Apr Exclusive Breastfeeding Does Not Reduce Allergies by Age 7
[caption id="attachment_19464" align="alignleft" width="133"] Prof. Bisgaard[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor of Pediatrics Hans Bisgaard, MD, DMSc
Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood
Herlev and Gentofte Hospital,
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Bisgaard: Extended breast-feeding is recommended for
newborn children at risk of allergy-associated diseases, but the
evidence of a protective effect on sensitization and these diseases
remains elusive.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Bisgaard: Exclusive breastfeeding does not affect
sensitization in early childhood or associated diseases at 7 years
of age in at-risk children.
27 Mar Chronic Rhinosinusitis Varies By Bacterial Microbiome
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Vijay R. Ramakrishnan, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Colorado
Department of Otolaryngology
Aurora, CO 80045
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Ramakrishnan: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an extremely common problem, associated with major quality of life alterations and financial burden. Bacteria are thought to play a role in the initiation or sustenance of the disease, at least in a subset of CRS patients. Chronic rhinosinusitis is probably a group of heterogeneous diseases with different pathways that result in the same endpoint. Here, we study the bacterial microbiome of a large group of CRS and healthy sinuses, and discover that a few clinical subtypes display unique bacterial microbiome profiles and that the microbiome may predict outcomes from severe Chronic rhinosinusitis patients electing to undergo surgery.
28 Feb Epigenetics: More Than 30 Genes Affect Allergies and Asthma
Dr. Liming Liang PhD Assistant Professor of Statistical Genetics Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts Allergies affect 30% of the population and 10% of children suffer from asthma. Researchers in the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden and Canada report in Nature that they have discovered more...
27 Feb Majority of Asthma Patients Do Not Use Inhalers Correctly
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Rana Suzette Bonds, MD
The University of Texas Medical Branch
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Bonds: Both anaphylaxis and asthma can be life threatening disorders requiring prompt treatment. Each disorder can be successfully treated with medication which is delivered by devices designed for self-administration. Unfortunately there has been evidence in the literature that patients frequently do not use the devices appropriately. We sought to determine which factors were associated with incorrect use of metered dose inhalers and epinephrine autoinjectors, and to determine if rates of correct use have improved since earlier reports.
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings?
Dr. Bonds: Sixteen percent of patients used the epinephrine autoinjector properly and 7 percent of patients used the metered dose inhaler correctly. The most common error with the autoinjector was not holding the unit in place for at least 10 seconds after triggering. For patients using the metered dose inhaler the most commonly missed step was exhaling to functional residual capacity or residual volume prior to actuating the canister. Male sex, Caucasian race, and previous medical education correlated with correct use of epinephrine autoinjector device.
24 Feb Study Finds Fewer Childhood Allergies In Homes Where Dishes Washed By Hand
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Bill Hesselmar
University of Gothenburg
Sweden
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Hesselmar: The hygiene hypothesis is the background for this study, and the hypothesis states that children’s immune system need to be stimulated by bacteria and microbes to mature in a proper way prevent the children from developing immune mediated diseases such as allergies. There are increasing support for the hygiene hypothesis, with less allergies found in children from milieus with a rich microbial exposure such as: growing up on a farm or in a developing country, in children with many siblings, and after vaginal delivery as compared to caesarean section. Even though these findings are interesting from a theoretical point of view, they can’t be use in primary prevention since you can’t recommend anyone to live by a farm. We are investigating if there are harmless “microbial sources” in different daily life-situations that are good enough to stimulate children’s immune system. So far we have observed two such possible sources, the sharing of children’s pacifier (Pediatrics 2013) and hand dishwashing (this study). These are, however, only observational data – we have only found an association between hand dishwashing and a lower risk of allergy, we don’t know for sure that the lower risk of allergy was just because of the hand dishwashing. So far we regard it as an “interesting observation”, which need to be confirmed in new studies before any general conclusions could be made.
The main findings was a lower risk of allergy (Odds Ratio 0,57) in children from hand dishwashing families as compared to children from families who use machine dishwashing.
23 Feb Infant Gut Microbiome Linked to Allergic Predisposition
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Christine Cole Johnson, PhD, MPH
Senior Staff Epidemiologist & Henry Ford Distinguished Scientist
Department Chair Department of Public Health Sciences
Henry Ford Hospital and Health System Detroit Michigan
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Johnson: Our research group is focused on the environmental and infant gut microbiomes. We are interested in studying what environmental, lifestyle and behavioral factors affect the microbial community of the baby's gastrointestinal tract, and how that microbial community composition affects the development of allergic disorders. We have been following a birth cohort called WHEALS in Detroit and its suburbs since 2003, collecting data on potential risk and preventive factors as well as environmental samples and stool samples from the babies. We have used sequencing of the v4 region of the 16s rRNA gene, common and unique to all bacteria, to develop a fingerprint of the bacterial community in the stool samples.
We have found that many variables shown in the past by ourselves and others to allergic disorders are associated with different types of bacterial communities, such as breastfeeding, mode of delivery, first born status, socioeconomic status, pets in the home, levels of endotoxin in the home, and environmental tobacco smoke. Current breastfeeding is the most important variable at both 1 and 6 months, and at one month, mode of delivery is next most important. Endotoxin levels in house dust samples, a crude marker of bacteria levels, are important at 1 month but even more important at 6 months.
We also found that certain bacterial community patterns in the baby's gut impact whether or not they have parental-reported allergic symptoms when exposed to cats and dogs when the children are about 4 years of age.
28 Nov Genetics Plays Large Role in Allergic Esophagitis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Hakon Hakonarson MD PhD
The Center for Applied Genomics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Department of Pediatrics, The Perelman School of Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Hakonarson: We have built the world’s largest pediatric biobank at the Center for Applied Genomics at CHOP. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is among the projects we have sampled in collaboration with the EoE Center in collaboration with Dr. Spergel. We have nearly 1,000 samples now of this relatively rare disorder, which is now well powered for GWAS. We previously reported association of the TSLP locus with Eosinophilic esophagitis. Here we report genome-wide significant associations at four additional loci; c11orf30 and STAT6, which have been previously associated with both atopic and autoimmune diseases, and two EoE-specific loci, ANKRD27 that regulates the trafficking of melanogenic enzymes to epidermal melanocytes and CAPN14, that encodes a calpain whose expression is highly enriched in the esophagus in EoE. This discovery not only improves our understanding of the pathobiology of EoE, but also represents novel targets for the development of new therapies to treat the disease.
20 Nov Childhood Skin Prick Allergies Remain Predictive of Future Allergies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maria Pesonen MD, PhD Specialist in Dermatology Assistant Chief Medical Officer Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Occupational Medicine Helsinki, Finland Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Pesonen: Skin prick test is a widely used, established methods in assessing immediate (i.e. immunoglobulin E-mediated) sensitization. However, the knowledge on long-term reproducibility and predictive value of skin prick testing in children has been limited. We assessed the predictive value of skin prick testing in the setting of a follow-up study on healthy, unselected newborns, who were followed up to age 20 years with skin prick testing with 11 common allergens, structured interview and clinical examination at ages 5, 11 and 20 years. The reproducibility of skin prick test positivity at age 5 years was 100% at ages 11 and 20 years, i.e. none of the skin prick positive subjects turned negative during the follow-up. Gaining of new sensitizations to aeroallergens was common. Skin prick test positivity at age 5 years predicted allergic symptoms at ages 11 (sensitivity 28%, specificity 94%) and 20 years (sensitivity 23%, specificity 91%), but not atopic dermatitis.22 Oct Cow’s Milk May Be Protective Against Childhood Infections
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Georg Loss, PhD
Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Munich, Germany
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Loss: In this large population based cohort study we observed that consumption of fresh unprocessed cow’s milk protected from respiratory infections, febrile illness and inflammation of the middle ear during the first year of life. The risk of developing these conditions was reduced by up to 30%, and the effect was diminished if the milk was heated at home before consumption. Conventionally pasteurized milk retained the ability to reduce the risk of febrile illness, while exposure to the higher temperatures used in UHT (Ultra-heat-treatment) processing eliminated the effect altogether. Importantly, the positive impact of fresh milk could be clearly separated from the confounding effects of other elements of the children’s nutrition. Furthermore, infants fed on unprocessed milk were found to have lower levels of the C-reactive protein, which is a measure of inflammation status.
10 Oct Chronic Contact Dermatitis May Promote Skin Cancer Development
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Shawn Demehri, M.D., Ph.D.
Instructor of Medicine
Division of Dermatology
Washington University in St. Louis and
Wayne M. Yokoyama, M.D.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Rheumatology Division
Washington University Medical Center
St. Louis, MO 63110-1093
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Research: This bedside to bench research has clearly demonstrated a cause and effect relationship between chronic allergic contact dermatitis and skin cancer development. This research originated from a clinical case of invasive skin cancer that developed in the context of chronic allergic contact dermatitis to a nickel-containing metal implant. Using animal models, we have demonstrated that chronic exposure to a contact allergen creates an inflammation that drive skin cancer development.
29 Sep Adverse Reactions to Cephalosporin Antibiotics Reviewed
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Eric Macy, MS, MS
Allergy & Immunology
Kaiser Permanente Medical Group-Allergy
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Macy:
- Cephalosporins are currently widely and relatively safely used in individuals with a history of a penicillin "allergy" in their medical record.
- Cephalosporin associated anaphylaxis is very rare, even in individuals with a history of penicillin "allergy".
- Cephalosporin associated serious cutaneous adverse reactions are extremely rare.
- Cephalosporin associated Clostridium difficile and serious nephropathy are relatively common.
29 Jun Passive Exposure to Tobacco Linked to Increased Allergies in Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Dr. Wojciech Feleszko
Department of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases and Allergy
The Medical University of Warsaw
Działdowska Warsaw, Poland
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Feleszko: We combined data from nineteen population-based cohort studies of 24 000 children and we found that household exposure to tobacco smoke after birth has immunomodulating effects. We demonstrated an increased sensitivity to allergens, measured by serum IgE and skin testing which may contribute to the increased development of allergy in children exposed postnatally to household tobacco smoke.
05 Jun Link Between Environmental Greenness and Allergies Explored
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Elaine Fuertes
Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health Neuherberg, Germany and
School of Population and Public Health
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: The main finding of our study was that despite the use of identical study designs and statistical methods, the level of greenness (measured using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) around a child's home address was differentially associated with the development of allergic health outcomes among children living in two areas in Germany.
In our urban study centre, which includes the city of Munich, we found that higher greenness levels around a child's home increased their risk of developing allergic rhinitis and experiencing eyes and nose symptoms. In contrast, greenness around the home appeared to be protective for allergic rhinitis, nose and eye symptoms and sensitization to inhalant allergens in the second more rural study centre investigated.
These observations emphasize that the effects of greenness around the home on respiratory health is complex and multifaceted, and are based on 5,803 German children followed from birth to 10 years as part of the GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts.
12 May Socioeconomic Disparities in Prevalence of Childhood Food Allergies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Julie Wang, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Allergy and Immunology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY 10029
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Wang: The results of this study demonstrate that differences in prevalence of reported food allergies exist in elementary schools representing diverse socioeconomic and racial/ethnic characteristic. In this study, we conducted a survey at 4 elementary schools in New York City, 2 private schools that had a predominantly White student body with over 80% of families having paid a full tuition of over $35,000 per year and 2 public charter schools that had a primarily Black and Hispanic student body where over 90% of students qualified for free or reduced price school lunch. The results show a high rate of reported food allergy, with rates significantly higher in the private school population as compared to the public charter school population.
03 Mar After Outgrowing One Food Allergy, Some Patients Develop Second Allergic Reaction to Same Food
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jonathan M. Spergel, M.D., Ph.D. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Chief, Allergy Section Associate Professor of Pediatrics Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Spergel: We were examining patients with Eosinophilic Esophagitis, an unique food allergy of the esophagus. We found...
09 Feb Lung Cancer: Allergic Disease History Might Decrease Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mariam El-Zein, PhD.
Associée de recherche/ Research associate
Unité d'épidémiologie et biostatistique / Epidemiology & Biostatistics Unit
INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier
Université du Québec
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: The overall indication is that a prior history of allergic diseases (asthma, eczema or hay fever) might decrease lung cancer risk. There was a 36% (odds ratio= 0.64, 95% confidence intervals: 0.44-0.93) reduction in lung cancer risk among subjects who reported a history of asthma. Hay fever was associated with a 67% (odds ratio= 0.33, 95% confidence intervals: 0.19-0.59) reduction in lung cancer risk. Smoking was accounted for using a comprehensive smoking index that takes into account multiple dimensions of smoking behaviour (i.e., smoking status, intensity, duration, and time since cessation). A lower risk of lung cancer (reduction by 37%; odds ratio= 0.63, 95% confidence intervals: 0.38-1.07) was found among those having had eczema, but was not statistically significant.
05 Feb Pregnancy Exposure to Colds, Dust Mites and Offspring Atopic Dermatitis, Hayfever
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Sabina Illi, Dipl.-Stat., MPH
University Children's Hospital
Lindwurmstr. 4
80337 Munich Germany
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We observed that the offspring of atopic pregnant women that showed symptoms of atopy during pregnancy, i.e. atopic dermatitis or hay fever, had a higher risk of having the respective atopic disorder themselves. However, we do not know whether this is due to timing, i.e. pregnancy, or whether it merely mirrors the severity of maternal disease.
Furthermore, in our study pregnant mothers with repeated colds during pregnancy were at increased risk of having a child that wheezed at pre-school age, this was statistically independent of the intake of medication.
15 Jan Allergic March of Asthma Eczema and Rhinitis
MedicalResearch.com Interveiw with:
Mariona Pinart, PhD
CREAL-Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology
ISGlobal alliance
Doctor Aiguader, 88 | 08003 Barcelona
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: The study examined 23.434 children at 4 and 8 years from 12 ongoing European population-based birth cohort studies that recorded information on current eczema, rhinitis, and asthma from questionnaires and serum-specific IgE to six allergens. We wanted to assess how often eczema, rhinitis and asthma coexist in the same children (comorbidity) and whether the occurrence of comorbidities was due to causality or casualty and finally we wanted to examine whether the occurrence of comorbidity was modified by IgE sensitization.
We found that comorbidity affects about 4% of children aged 4–8 years and that about 50% of this comorbidity is due to causality, suggesting that these diseases share common pathophysiological mechanisms. In addition, we found that children comorbidity at age 4 are 30 to 60 times more likely to have comorbidity at age 8 years, suggesting that the presence of comorbidity at age 4 years is a strong determinant of comorbidity at age 8 years. Even children with one single disease are also at high risk of developing comorbidity by age 8 years. Interestingly, we found that not only comorbidity is present in children both sensitized and not sensitized to IgE but also that only 38% of incident comorbidity at age 8 years is explained by the presence of IgE sensitization at age 4 years.