Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology
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Food allergy is a prevalent disease for which there is no current treatment beyond careful food avoidance. Accidental exposure to foods causes reactions in allergic individuals that can range in severity from mild skin reactions to severe and life-threatening anaphylaxis, and there are no validated tools to predict severity of reactions. ⋯ In the last few years, there have been significant developments in the field of food allergy that have led to new ideas about food allergy prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This review will discuss these recent advances in the food allergy field as well as identify gaps in our knowledge about the immune mechanisms of allergy and tolerance to foods.
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Review Meta Analysis
The analysis of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath and biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate in children - clinical tools or scientific toys?
Current monitoring strategies for respiratory diseases are mainly based on clinical features, lung function and imaging. As airway inflammation is the hallmark of many respiratory diseases in childhood, noninvasive methods to assess the presence and severity of airway inflammation might be helpful in both diagnosing and monitoring paediatric respiratory diseases. At present, the measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide is the only noninvasive method available to assess eosinophilic airway inflammation in clinical practice. ⋯ The measurement of metabolomic profiles may have important advantages over detecting single markers. There is a lack of longitudinal studies and external validation to reveal whether EB and EBC analysis have added value in the diagnostic process and follow-up of children with respiratory diseases. In conclusion, the use of VOCs in EB and biomarkers in EBC as markers of inflammatory airway diseases in children is still a research tool and not validated for clinical use.
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Asthma and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prevalent in childhood and may cause functional impairment and stress in families. Previous research supports an association between asthma and ADHD in children, but several aspects of this relationship are unclear. ⋯ Childhood asthma, especially severe asthma, is associated with ADHD. Asthma medication seems not to increase the risk of ADHD. Clinicians should be aware of the potential of ADHD in asthma. Optimal asthma care needs to be integrated with effective evaluation and treatment of ADHD in children with co-existing disorders.
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Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a potential treatment for house dust mite-induced atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the mechanisms of action are not clear. ⋯ The mouse model induced by Der f allergen extract reflected the typical hallmarks of human AD. In the Der f allergens-sensitized mice, SLIT treatment with Der f vaccine was shown to significantly inhibit AD symptoms through correction of Th2 and Th1 cytokine predominance. Our study suggested that SLIT could be considered as an attractive treatment for patients with extrinsic AD.
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Review Case Reports
Skin testing for immediate hypersensitivity to corticosteroids: a case series and literature review.
Immediate hypersensitivity to corticosteroids is reported to occur with an incidence of 0.1%. The largest previous case series reporting corticosteroid skin testing has seven patients. ⋯ As the largest case series described, this article provides new evidence for the interpretation of skin tests when investigating possible immediate hypersensitivity to corticosteroids.