Allergologia et immunopathologia
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Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) · Nov 2008
Toll-like receptors: a family of innate sensors of danger that alert and drive immunity.
The innate immune system possesses a network of germline-encoded receptors that recognize microbial molecular motifs and endogenous molecules produced by injured tissues and set in motion a defensive response which adapts to the damage that has occurred. This network includes Toll-like receptors (TLRs), a family of transmembrane receptors that recognize a wide spectrum of ligands at the cell surface and in the lumen of intracellular vesicles. Recognition of ligands by TLRs induces the recruitment of different cytoplasmic adaptor molecules and initiates signalling pathways which ultimately lead to the activation of transcriptional factors such as NF-kappaB , IRF1/3/5/7, or AP-1. ⋯ TLRs regulate many aspects of both innate and adaptive immunity. To prevent an inappropriate or an overactive immune response, a complex network of molecules negatively regulates TLRs and their associated signalling pathways. TLRs are currently viewed as important targets for the development of new vaccines and innovative therapies which may help prevent or treat disorders such as cancer, allergy, autoimmunity, obesity, atherosclerosis, and other inflammatory diseases.
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Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) · Sep 2008
How to fill an application for accreditation of Continuing Medical Education activity in Allergology.
Continuing medical education (CME) is a critical tool as well as a generally accepted concern for physicians, while being both a commitment and an obligation for the Administration. In Spain, during the past decades, CME has been a constant concern of many groups; however, it was not until the end of the eighties when efforts at accreditation began to emerge. ⋯ Since then, various Regional Committees and the Spanish Accreditation System of Continuing Medical Education (SEAFORMEC) have been created. Although we earlier published a guide, in this manuscript we have updated the steps that must be taken to apply for accreditation of CME activity in Allergology, explaining the different items in the official application form, clarifying to whom the request should be addressed, and outlining the foundations on which the activities will be evaluated for accreditation purposes, in order to ensure that the training meets the highest standards for quality, so that the objectives that lead to achieving maximum performance and competence of health professionals may be reached.
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Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) · May 2008
The role of ace gene polymorphism in the development of angioedema secondary to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers.
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) may cause angioedema, with an incidence of 0.1 % to 1 %, which may be life-threatening. ACEi induce angioedema by increasing the levels of bradykinin. Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ATRB), have a pharmacological profile similar to ACEi. The polymorphism of the ACE gene is based on the presence or absence of a 287-bp element on intron 16 on chromosome 17. The plasma level of ACE is related to gene polymorphism. ACE level in genotype DD is double that in genotype II. ⋯ Our results showed that ACE gene polymorphism has no effect on ACEi or ATRB induced angioedema.
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Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) · Mar 2008
Factors associated to recurrent visits to the emergency department for asthma exacerbations in children: implications for a health education programme.
Recurrent emergency department (ED) visits for asthma exacerbations produce anxiety as well as high costs to the health system and the family. ⋯ An educational programme intended to reduce the recurrent ED visits for asthma exacerbations should consider the inclusion of an explanation about the chronic nature of the disease and the importance of long-term therapy.
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Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) · Nov 2007
Efficient bibliographic searches on allergology using PubMed.
PubMed is the most important of the non-specialized databases on biomedical literature. International and quickly updated is elaborated by the American Government and contains only information about papers published in scientific journal/s. Although it can be used as an unique Data Base, as a matter of fact is the addition of several subgroups (among them MEDLINE) that can be searched simultaneously. ⋯ PubMed is elaborated by the American Administration, that condition the character of the registered papers, 90 % of them are written in English in American (50 %) or British (20 %) Journals. Because of this, the information for certain specialties or countries must be obtained from other sources. This paper shows how PubMed allows to search in natural language due to the Automatic Term Mapping that links terms from the natural language with the descriptors producing searches with a higher sensitivity although with a low specificity. Nevertheless the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) thesaurus allows to translate those terms from the natural language to the equivalent descriptor, as well as to make queries in the PubMed's documental language with a high specificity but with lower sensitivity than the natural language. The use of union (OR), intersection (AND) and exclusion (NOT) operators, as well as tags, such as delimiters of the search fields, allows to increase the specificity of the results. Similar results may be obtained with the use of Limits. Searches done using Clinical Queries are very interesting due to their direct clinical application and because allow to find systematic reviews, metaanalysis or clinically oriented papers (treatment, diagnostic, etiology, prognosis or clinical prediction guides) on the area of interest. Other procedures such as the Index, History of searches, and the widening of the selection using Related Articles and the storing of separate results in the Clipboard to be kept by the user, are presented in this paper.