Leukotrienes can be found in the airway and urine following both spontaneous exacerbations of asthma and acute exposure to bronchoconstrictor stimuli in the laboratory. This in turn indicates that they may have a role in the pathogenesis of acute episodes of bronchoconstriction. Although antileukotrienes are not currently advocated in the management of acute asthma, there are data to suggest that they might be of some potential benefit. Prior treatment with montelukast asthma has been shown in several studies to significantly shorten the time taken to recover (in terms of FEV 1 ) following exposure to a bronchoconstrictor stimulus. (more…)
Despite optimum drug delivery and good compliance with inhaled corticosteroids, many patients experience symptoms and exacerbat ...
Current internationally recognized guidelines indicate that symptomatic asthmatics using a low to medium inhaled corticosteroid ...
The prevalence of aspirin-sensitive asthma is uncertain although it may exist in up to 20% of all asthmatics patients. The char ...
Montelukast has proven efficacy in the treatment of chronic asthma and seasonal allergic rhinitis, but it has not been evaluate ...
The guidelines for asthma management recommend the use of regular inhaled corticosteroid in patients with mild persistent asthma, b ...
Treg cells or regulatory T cells constitute a large population of cellular infiltrate in atopic/allergic inflammation and a dysregulated immune response appears to be an important pathogenetic factor. Cardinal events during allergic inflammation can be classified as activation, organ-selective homing, survival and reactivation, and effector functions of immune system cells. T cells are activated by aeroallergens, food antigens, autoantigens, and bacterial exotoxins superantigens in allergic inflammation. They are under the influence of the skin, lung, or nose-related chemokine network and show organ-selective homing. (more…)
Allergen-specific immunotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of IgE-mediated allergy diseases such as rhinitis, conjunc ...
The induction of immune tolerance and specific immune suppression are essential processes in the control of immune responses. R ...
The intracellular forkhead winged transcription factor Foxp3 (forkhead box P3) appears to be specifically expressed by naturall ...
An emerging concept is that pro-inflammatory signals lead to loss of Regulatory T Cells (Treg) function. Pasare and Medzhitov ( ...
Regulatory T cells Treg (picture above) is the existence of suppressor cells, which limit ongoing immune responses and prevent ...
Topical corticosteroids are the usual therapy for patients with atopic dermatitis, but prolonged use can result in skin atrophy and other side effects. The long-term safety and efficacy of tacrolimus would prove an attractive alternative. Long-term treatment with 0.1% tacrolimus ointment is significantly more efficacious than a corticosteroid ointment regimen in adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. (more…)
Topical corticosteroids are the usual therapy for patients with atopic dermatitis, but prolonged use can result in skin atrophy ...
The pharmacokinetics of pimecrolimus cream 1% and tacrolimus ointment 0.1% in adults with extensive, moderate to severe atopic ...
Atopic Dermatitis is a chronic relapsing skin disease. Several investigations concerning the long-term prognosis of Atopic Derm ...
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the skin which usually starts in infancy. It is sometimes called ‘atop ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...
Asthma is characterized by Th2-dominant cytokine profiles. The risk of developing asthma is lower in children attending day care in the first year of life. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the interaction between day-care attendance, T-cell cytokine profiles and atopic phenotypes in early childhood. Children (n = 208) in the Childhood Onset of Asthma (COAST) study were genotyped for 72 polymorphisms in 45 immune response genes. The COAST cohort was selected on the basis of a high risk of asthma. Measurements of IFN-y (Th1), IL-5 and IL-13 (Th2), and IL-10 (Treg) were made at birth and at age 1 year and the children were stratified by day-care attendance. Wheeze and atopic dermatitis phenotypes were documented in the first year. (more…)
CD14 is part of the receptor complex for endotoxin, which is a component of tobacco smoke. The CD14 gene is located on chromoso ...
The genetics of asthma will be discussed only in the context of environmental exposures. In general, the identification of nove ...
This study sought to determine the influence of passive exposure to tobacco smoke during childhood on the results of genetic linkag ...
A general pattern of factors influencing development of asthma seems to be emerging, including family allergy history/ asthma g ...
The T-bet (T-box 21) gene (TBX21) encodes a transcription factor, T-box expressed in T cells, which has been implicated in asthma t ...
This study examined the genetic basis of sensitization to house dust mite allergy allergens. A genome scan was conducted using 603 microsatellite markers in 82 nuclear families (366 individuals) of German, British and Portuguese origin with at least two affected siblings. Sensitization to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was assessed by determining specific IgE antibody levels detected by immunochemiluminometric assay and immunosorbent assay and categorized as positive or negative relative to a predetermined cut-off point. (more…)
Allergic rhinitis and asthma are common comorbidities. Like asthma, the presence of a genetic component in allergic rhinitis ha ...
Many people are under impression that allergy and asthma disease had genetic or heredity factors playing major role as medium o ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...
CD14 is part of the receptor complex for endotoxin, which is a component of tobacco smoke. The CD14 gene is located on chromoso ...
The manifestations of asthma and allergy are the result of both genetic predisposition and environmental factors. This relation ...
Topical corticosteroids are the usual therapy for patients with atopic dermatitis, but prolonged use can result in skin atrophy and other side effects. The long-term safety and efficacy of tacrolimus ointment would prove an attractive alternative. Long-term treatment with 0.1% tacrolimus ointment is significantly more efficacious than a corticosteroid ointment regimen in adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. (more…)
Topical corticosteroids are the usual therapy for patients with atopic dermatitis, but prolonged use can result in skin atrophy ...
The pharmacokinetics of pimecrolimus cream 1% and tacrolimus ointment 0.1% in adults with extensive, moderate to severe atopic ...
Atopic Dermatitis is a chronic relapsing skin disease. Several investigations concerning the long-term prognosis of Atopic Derm ...
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the skin which usually starts in infancy. It is sometimes called ‘atop ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...
Two factors thought to influence the risk factor asthma are the promoting effect of sensitization to house dust mites and the preventive effect of increased omega-3 fatty acids. Although the avoidance of house dust mites allergen has been used as a preventive strategy in several trials, the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in the primary prevention of asthma and allergic disease is not known. (more…)
To prevent the development of allergy, allergen avoidance has to be instituted before sensitization has occurred. The specific ...
Asthma and allergic diseases are common in both children and adults. Their development depends on an interaction between asthma ...
Allergen exposure plays a role in the development of asthma bronchial hyper-responsiveness and in the acute inflammatory response ...
Exposure to allergens plays a role in the development of BHR and in the chronic inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. R ...
Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its deve ...
Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its development. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention programme for the primary prevention of asthma in high-risk infants at 7 years of age. Five hundred and forty-five high-risk infants with an immediate family history of asthma and allergies were prospectively randomized into intervention and control groups pre-natally. (more…)
The authors investigated whether environmental control during pregnancy and early life affects sensitization and lung function at t ...
Two factors thought to influence the risk factor asthma are the promoting effect of sensitization to house dust mites and the preve ...
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis is increasing in Western societies. The hygiene hypothesis proposes that this is due to red ...
To prevent the development of allergy, allergen avoidance has to be instituted before sensitization has occurred. The specific ...
Exposure to allergens plays a role in the development of BHR and in the chronic inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. R ...
Interleukin-5 is the key cytokine in eosinophil differentiation and growth in the bone marrow and stimulates the release of eosinophils into the peripheral circulation. Thus, it is thought that IL-5 may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES), a diverse group of poorly treated disorders characterized by sustained peripheral blood and/or tissue eosinophilia. Mepolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody to IL-5, and its safety and efficacy were assessed in this open-labelled trial. (more…)
Eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa is a feature of asthmatic airways. Their adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells has been ...
IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has ...
Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic that possesses the ability to potently shorten eosinophil survival. This study assessed the sa ...
Normally present at very low levels in plasma, antibodies of the immunoglobulin E (IgE) isotype were first discovered in 1967, ...
Tumour Necrosis Factor is a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway inflammation, hyper-react ...
The geographical variation in the prevalence of asthma in children does not coincide with variations in air pollution levels. The increase in the prevalence of asthma and allergies seen over the last decades was paralleled by a decrease in emissions of SO2 and particles from coal combustion, and an increase of emissions from motor vehicle traffic. There is a growing number of studies suggesting that increased exposure to traffic exhausts, particularly diesel exhausts, may be a risk factor for the new onset of asthma. (more…)
Asthma is a complex syndrome rather than a single disease entity. Different phenotypes with varying prognosis and determinants have ...
During recent decades there has been extensive epidemiological research to explore the increasing prevalence of asthma and alle ...
Sulfur Dioxide The effects of SO2 have been extensively reviewed. Total emergency room visits for respiratory problems and ...
The effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on children have been extensively studied and numerous surveys hav ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...